In Plain English

A bit about me BEFORE this Comedy of Errors / Nightmare from Hell

I am a computer professional. Make a good living and have had some great jobs. Along the way I put in 15 years of Army Service. Before my current local computer programming job I started in late 2018, I previously did 5 years for Pennsylvania programming in the Department of Human Services in Harrisburg. 90 minute drive there and 90 minute drive back every day. Liked my job and my co-workers, but wanted something a bit closer and I ended up 'in-between' jobs for a bit after a brief stint at Penn State. Both jobs had me building my 401K at SERS (The State Employees' Retirement System).

In Early 2018 (SERS)

So, I was between jobs and out of cash. Luckily I could pull a year of mortgage payments out of MY 401K, not that I wanted to take such a big hit on penalty and fees, but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. So, I went to SERS and filled out the form to withdraw MY 401K money, and to my surprise, they quoted TEN WEEKS for me to get MY MONEY! Wasn't expecting that as civilian 401k companies at that time were averaging 10-15 days to withdraw your own money, but as soon as I get it, I can come current on my mortgage and all will be good.

Except... I went in at ten weeks to ask why I had not yet received MY 401k money.

ME: Hi. I have not yet received my 401K money.
SERS EMPLOYEE: Mr. Timney, we are so sorry. There was a mixup/delay and it will be a few more weeks.

THIRTEEN WEEKS total it took.

Mid 2018 (Specialized Loan Servicing, LLC, a mortgage company known for its fraudulent business practices)

So the very next day after receiving the money, I called (Call #1) SLS, to pay.

ME: Hi. I believe I'm about $6k behind on my mortgage and I'd like to pay and come current.
SLS-DENNIS: Yes, it is $6k, but I cannot take your payment, as your account went into foreclosure in the past two weeks and we have to add a few fees/costs.
ME: So, can you tell me how much I owe?
SLS-DENNIS: No sir. We have a special department who will send you an official Reinstatement Quote that will tell you your past due amount and what the additional fees are that you must pay to reinstate.
ME: How do I get one?
SLS-DENNIS: I will put in for one for you.

About a month later I called again (Call #2).

ME: Hi. Do you see where I spoke with Dennis and can you go over the notes we made?
SLS-HEATHER: Yes, I see you requested a Reinstatement Quote and Dennis put in for one, but for some reason it had not yet been processed.
ME: Do you think you could you see that it gets processed and sent out?
SLS-HEATHER: Yes, but call back soon to check on it.

A week later I called again (Call #3).

ME: Hi. Do you see where I spoke with Heather and Dennis and can you go over the notes we made, I haven't received my Reinstatement Quote.
SLS-ANITA: Did you send in a written request? (OMG!!!!!!!)
ME: No, I spoke with...
SLS-ANITA: It doesn't matter who you spoke with, if you didn't fill out a written request, you won't receive one.
ME: (Through clenched teeth) Can you please tell me where to send the written request?

So, the next day I sent a written request as requested. About 11 days later I received it. But my, oh my.... I was expecting it to be about $8k. Nope. $24k was listed as the amount to Reinstate. Wow.... And to top it off, they filed a foreclosure complaint in court for these amounts they would not take from me saying that I was delinquent, REGARDLESS of the reason.

When I called again (Call #4)

ME: Hi. Do you see where I spoke with Heather, Dennis and Anita, and can you go over the notes we made?
SLS-SHAWNA: (After reviewing the calls and then the Reinstatement Quote) Oh, Mr. Timney, this is wrong. Whomever generated the quote entered JUNE 2019 instead of JUNE 2018 as the end date of mortgage payments to include and so it included an entire year's worth of mortgage payments that weren't yet due and shouldn't have been on the Reinstatement Quote.
ME: Can you fix it so I can pay current?
SLS-SHAWNA: No, but my supervisor can, but they are on vacation. But we will call you next Tuesday at 1pm to fix this.

Well as you can imagine, no call came, so I had to call. A lawyer. I needed to defend this fraudulent and frivolous lawsuit in court over a typo they made and refused to fix. To allow me to PAY MY BILL. Let that set in a bit...