If your primary residence was foreclosed between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2010 you could be getting a letter from The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in the next two months. The first batch of letters were mailed November 1st to home owners who may have incurred “financial injury or harm” as a result of the cavalier way many banks handled foreclosures during that period, including robo-signing. If you receive a letter notifying you of your right to an independent review and believe you have a claim you must request a review no later than April 30, 2012.
The review process will not be a quick one. More than 4 million letters are expected to be mailed by December 31 of this year and while not all of those people will request a review many of them will. The OCC says that “reviews could take several months” but consumers requesting a review should be prepared for the process to take longer. One thing that could help the review process move relatively quickly is that borrowers will not be interviewed. The only way borrowers will be able to state their cases is by submitting documentation with their request.
Once the review is complete borrowers will receive a letter notifying them of the findings and information about possible compensation or other remedy. Not every finding will result in compensation or other remedy and the findings of the Independent Foreclosure Review are final. That means if you don’t like the findings you can’t appeal within the program but you may be able to pursue other avenues of recourse.
If you have questions about the process and whether or not you can expect to receive a letter from the OCC there is a comprehensive list of FAQ’s on their website. That page also has a list of the 14 mortgage servicers and their affiliates that are eligible for review in this program.
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