Home > BOYCOTT OF COUNTRYWIDE - ANNOUNCEMENT AND FIRST ACTIONS

BOYCOTT OF COUNTRYWIDE - ANNOUNCEMENT AND FIRST ACTIONS

by Open-Publishing - Friday 12 October 2007
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Demos-Actions Trade-Exchange Rates USA

BOYCOTT OF COUNTRYWIDE - ANNOUNCEMENT AND FIRST ACTIONS

(Jamaica Plain, MA) - On Thursday October 11th at 12:00 p.m. at NACA’s headquarters (3593 Washington Street, J.P, MA), a nationwide boycott of Countrywide Financial Corporation will begin. The boycott of the nation’s leading mortgage lender is being led nationally by the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (“NACA”) and locally by the Massachusetts Alliance to Stop Predatory Lenders. NACA is working with other local organizations to take the boycott nationwide.

Thousands of working families are losing their homes to foreclosure because Countrywide has put them in unaffordable mortgages and now refuses to restructure loans to what homeowners can afford. Since Countrywide has become the leader in these predatory practices, NACA has teamed up with the Massachusetts Alliance to kick-off the campaign to get Countrywide to change its practices or be shut down. “Countrywide is the number one example of the abuses in the subprime industry.” states NACA CEO Bruce Marks. “This boycott includes actions at many of Countrywide’s over one thousand offices nationwide. Angry and frustrated Countrywide borrowers will now be able to take action against them. People thinking about obtaining a Countrywide mortgage or a Certificate of Deposit will be discouraged from funding their predatory activities. By changing or defeating Countrywide, other lenders and servicers will follow.”

Martin Dolloff from Raynham Mass, a Countrywide borrower states “Although we knew the interest rate was not fixed, we were told we could refinance to a fixed within 6-12 months. When we contacted them to do so, they were unwilling to help us.” Boston City Counselor Chuck Turner, spokesperson for the Mass Alliance to Stop Predatory lenders, states, “There are hundreds of thousands of homeowners like Martin with unaffordable mortgages that need to be restructured. It is unconscionable that Countrywide would create a crisis yet but unwilling to resolve it.”

One of America’s chief banking regulators agrees that a standard needs to be in place to help these homeowners before a financial and moral disaster strikes once interest rates reset. FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair has called for a freeze on interest rates on subprime adjustable-rate mortgages (ARM’s) for many homeowners. “Keep it at the starter rate. Convert it into a fixed rate. Make it permanent. And get on with it.” So far, Countrywide isn’t listening. That’s why NACA and the Massachusetts Alliance Against Predatory Lenders are leading the way to boycott Countrywide. People should not choose Countrywide as their mortgage lender or as a place where they invest their money.

Countrywide borrowers along with other homeowners at risk of foreclosure and supporters will meet at NACA’s National Office at 3593 Washington Street, Jamaica Plain, MA on Thursday October 11, 2007, for a noon Press Conference before fanning out to various Countrywide branches to confront Countrywide.

About the Massachusetts Alliance Against Predatory Lenders:
This coalition of taking on the fight to stop Countrywide and other predatory lenders from preying on Massachusetts homeowners. The lead organizations are NACA, City Life, Green Rainbow, and Office of Chuck Turner.

About The Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America – www.naca.com:
NACA, a national non-profit community advocacy and homeownership organization established in 1988, has been the lead organization in the fight to identify, expose, and oppose predatory lending and exploitive lending practices. NACA first exposed Fleet Bank’s lending abuses in 1991, followed by numerous other campaigns against companies that victimize low- and moderate-income people pursuing the dream of homeownership.

NACA provides one mortgage which is the best in the country requiring on downpayment, no closing costs, no points, no fees, no perfect credit at a below interest rate currently 5.625% 30 year fixed. NACA has $10 Billion committed to this mortgage with more than 30 offices across the country providing working people and an unmatched program and national model for doing mortgage lending the right way. NACA’s program and advocacy have been featured in the national and local media nationwide. In April 2007, in response to the subprime lending crisis, NACA committed One Billion dollars to refinance homeowners out of their unaffordable loans, constituting the largest commitment to homeowners to date.

NACA has recently done numerous interviews with media throughout the world in addressing the subprime crisis in the United States and its world-wide impact. Bruce Marks, NACA’s CEO, was recently in London on the show Global Players on CNBC which is a monthly show with a world-wide audience of over 300 million viewers.

https://www.naca.com/press/pressRelease20071011.jsp

Forum posts

  • Where was the boycott and predatory talk when Countrywide gave these poor slobs the money that they now can’t pay back? It is not Countrywide’s fault. After the 1929 depression, people either had the cash or went without. Every few years, people find out that there is no such thing as a “Free Lunch”. The truth is that the vast majority of the Countrywide mortgages are being paid on time and the customers are happy with the services provided by Countrywide. Hello people, you signed the papers!

    • Sure, I have to agree on this one, it’s not the saintly fine upstanding citizen bankers fault that they have to type contracts with 32 pages of legalese using microscopic print that fits on the head of a pin. They are really just concerned about our thinning forests and are doing their best to conserve paper. It is the Borrowers responsibility to ALWAYS come prepared with their panel of lawyers in tow and huge magnifying glasses for everyone and sleeping bags to stay as long as it takes until they understand EVERY word on the documents they are signing. Geeez, what were these people thinking???

    • You make it sound so difficult. "Oh, the Poor Borrower!" The vast majority of borrowers do not have a problem with the paper work. But, on the other hand, I guess they always intended to pay too!

    • Nope, I’m not really disagreeing at all. I really meant it when I said Buyer BEWARE. Many buyers (but not all )are very naive when it comes to signing contracts. Most buyers I would imagine DON’T want to lose their homes and stop paying, especially if they have any equity in them, but of course too, some will simply try and walk away when they make a "bad deal" and they end up losing money. I’m simply suggesting banks more often than not come out on the winning end of things and buyers should never assume as you say there is any "free lunch", often it seems in some contracts buyers ARE the Free Lunch. Sometimes, those who try and "flip" multiple homes for the sake of a buck may get burned and perhaps rightfully so. I don’t deny that. I simply again say people need to read "the fine print" (there’s a real reason there’s such a thing as fine print, and often it has little to do with saving paper) and never assume when you’re down and out that those who make their living off of your ’misfortune’ won’t suck the life out of you when you are down and least need it. It’s Social Darwinism at it’s *finest*.

    • People get suckered into a lot of things. The next scam will be non paymernt of credit cards. It seems like it is free when you are purchasing an item on a credit card. Wow, so easy. Usually for some crap that you could easliy do with out or a meal that you were to lazy to cook yourself. For the most part, a credit card purchase is relatively small and if one gets their spending under control, they can pay it off in a short amount of time.

      Mortgages, however consume your life’s work. That is all one has to offer, "The industry of one’s self", a lifetime of work that must be put forward to paying the "Mortgage". Start when you are young and if you are lucky, pay it off by the time you are old. Everybody, the builder, materials manufacturer, appraiser, sales agent walk away winners and you are left with the bill. This all happens because the poor slob got "Goggle Eyed" and thought they could live like the rich people on TV do. It is no different now than it has ever been, the numbers are just larger and people are more careless.

    • I did notice on one of the applications I get mailed by Chase cards there is a very small footnote next to the BIG PRINT 8.99% "fixed" rate that says "We reserve the right to change the account terms (including APRs) at any time for any reason..."!!! and I’m thinking Gee that’s the kind of flexable contract I might like to write as a customer, don’t feel like making several months payments, no problem, skip them, need a little more cash this years end, just lower the interest rate to ZERO until you feel up to paying more. I do have to wonder how many poor overly trusting fools fall into "fine print" traps believing they will not be taken advantage of should any number of conditions change.

      I have too personally witnessed what I feel is charge card companies not crediting pmts in a timely manner and holding them for processing until they fall ONE DAY LATE even though I mailed them many days before so that they can price gouge with either exorbatant penalties or raising rates or BOTH. How can one prove that though, it’s hard. And when you try and call you get put on hold forever it seems , get switched around from rep to rep, get disconnected often and when you do get through it’s to someone you can barely hear speaking what sounds like a foreign language. Ever heard the term "fogging"?

      I have also seen where card companies try to use ANYTHING available to raise rates such as saying one is late on an unrelated pmt such as a utility pmt and try to use that as an excuse to go back on the "teaser" rate they used to lure and hook customers with. Very slimy IMO.

      Buyers simply need to BEWARE of the many "loan shark" companies swimming around out there among the better fish. They will hook you and reel you in and eat you if one is not careful. Thankfully there is enough of a "free market" left out there that one can still switch to a more fair company if they should find themself one day one the end of someones line. And with the internet we will be only TOO happy to tell EVERYONE we know just which bastard it was that tried to eat us.