: ae o 8 Ao 2 a am a IN THE COUN’ MDE EAE 18 JUDICIAL CU SD ANR OF fF BREVARD COt au0ioae | One CASE NO.: oa oD z CASE NO.: zee 2 Be ‘l S Plaintiff, 05-20 i 0620 WSC 13S rope vs. Bs | ‘VERICREST FINANCIAL, INC. AND Ee JOHN DOE LOAN OWNER, 3 Defendants. & / fn COMPLAINT COMES NOW The Plaintiff, J | by and through the undersigned counsel, sues the Defendants, Vericrest Financial, Inc. (hereafter Vericrest) and John Doe Lown Onwer, and alleges: is an action for damages less than $2499.00, exclusive of interest, costs and attomey's 2. Atall times material hereto, Defendant, Vericrest Financial, Inc. (hereafter Vericrest) was a foreign corporation, incorporated in Delaware with a principal place business in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Vericrest) conducts business in State of Florida and maintained agents for the transaction of its customary business in Florida. ‘The Plaintiff is a resident of Brevard County, Florida and owns a home in Brevard County which is his and his spouse’s primary residence | 4. Vericrest is a loan servicer that services the mortgage upon J 's primary residence. Vericrest falls within the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) definition of a loan servicer. 5. In the altemative, Vericrest owns the note and mortgage on Plaintiff's residence and is the owner of the debt and is not servicing the loan for a third party. ‘The plaintiff is without knowledge as to whether Vericrest is the owner of the note and mortgage on Plaintiff's home or is merely a third party servicer because Vericrest failed to provide such information in response to the qualified written request submitted to by Plaintiff's counsel to the Defendant.10, il. 12. 13, Itits capacity as a loan servicer, Vericrest acts as a third party debt collector for the owner of mortgage on the Plaintiff's home. Vericrest for purposes of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (hereafter FDCPA) is a debt collector. ‘The owner of the mortgage on the Plaintiff's home, Defendant, John Doe Loan Owner, Inc., is unknown because Vericrest, unlawfully refused to furnish said information upon written, request of plaintiff's undersigned counsel. ‘On or about December 28, 2010, the Plaintiff, through his undersigned counsel sent correspondence to the Defendant via fax and U.S. Mail, that requested validation of the debt pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (hereafter FDCPA). ‘The letter was also sent as a Qualified Written Request (QWR) pursuant to the Real Estate Settlement Practices Act (RESPA). A copy of the subject letter and fax confirmation are attached hereto as Exhibit 1. ‘COUNT I- VIOLATION OF RESPA RESPA establishes the requirements for how a mortgage loan servicer or lender must conduct its post-closing servicing of the loan. ‘Twelve 12 U.S.C. §2605(e) details the duties and statutory obligations of a loan servicer or lender in receiving and responding to borrower written inquiries. Under RESPA if a servicer receives a qualified written request (QWR) the servicer must acknowledge receipt of the QWR within twenty (20) days. A QWR is “a written correspondence, other than notice on a payment coupon or other payment medium supplied by the servicer, that (i) includes, or otherwise enables the servicer to identify, the name and account of the borrower; and (ii) includes a statement of the reasons for the belief of the borrower, to the extent applicable, that the account is in error or provides sufficient detail to the servicer regarding other information sought by the borrower. The Subject correspondence was a QWR under RESPA because it (@) Identified the subject borrower (a) Identified the subject loan (b) Identified the subject property (0) Included a statement of the reasons the borrower believed the account to be in error,, (i.e., payments not being credited and collection by entity other than original lender or servicer).14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. Prior to July 22, 2010, Pursuant to 12 U.S.C. §2605(e)(1)(A) a loan servicer SHALL. provide a written response acknowledging receipt of the correspondence within 20 days. ‘The Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Bill amended RESPA to require acknowledgement of a. QWR within 5 days. See http://www.ncle.org/dodd-frank/ncle-rpts-ccu-jul-aug-2010- web.pdf Vericrest failed to acknowledge receipt of the Qualified Written Request (QWR) within twenty days or in the alternative for QWR served sent after July 22, 2010 within five (5) days. Prior to July 22, 2010, Pursuant to 12 U.S.C. §2605(¢)(2) not later that sixty days after receipt of the QWR and servicer shall: (C)after conducting an investigation, provide the borrower with a written explanation or clarification that includes-- (i information requested by the borrower or an explanation of why the information requested is unavailable or cannot be obtained by the servicer; and (ii) the name and telephone number of an individual employed by, or the office or department of, the servicer who can provide assistance to the borrower ‘The Dodd Frank amendment subsequent reduced this time from answering the QWR to 30 days. Vericrest further failed to respond to the qualified written request or provide any of the information sought in the request. Among the information that was not included was the identity of the note owner. Prior to July 22, 2010, Pursuant to 12 U.S.C. §2605(f), Whoever fails to comply with any provision of RESPA shall be liable to the borrower for any amount equal to the sum of (@) any actual damages to the borrower and (b) any additional damages that the court may allow, in the case of a pattern or practice of noncompliance with the requirements of this section in the amount not to exceed $1,000.00. ‘The Dodd Frank Amendment increased the amount of statutory damages on RESPA. violation occurring after July 22, 2010 from $1,000 to $2,000.00. The Plaintiff was damaged by the Defendant's failure to comply with RESPA. WHEREFORE, the Plaintiff, J » demands judgment for damages together with interest, costs and attorney’s fees pursuant to Florida Statutes, §§559.77, RESPA 12 U.S.C. §2605, and TILA, and the FDCPA legal assistants’ fees pursuant to §57.104 Florida Statutes, and costs pursuant to §92.231, Florida Statutes and §57-041, Florida Statutes, and any and all further relief as this Court deems just and proper, and further demands a trial by jury on all issues.