Just because I am a Christian, this does not mean that I have to let anyone, Christians or non, walk all over me. Non-Christians know that us Christians tend to be easy marks, So Christians are often taken advantage of.
At the same time, Christians are not to demand their rights. What is required is wisdom to know when we should fold em, when to hold em, when to walk away, and when to run.
This was an occasion when I needed to run away from this mortgage company, but also stand up for myself and my family.
This is a real story about my dealings with a mortgage company that I had contacted about possibly refinancing my home.
I got a solicitation in the mail from this company. The mailing said:
- No income verification
- Money back,
- Lower your monthly payment
- Skip a payment.
But I decided to go ahead and give it the benefit of the doubt and call em. I called and they set an appt for a loan officer to come to my house in a couple days.
I thought this was a bit pushy, that my home was going to be invaded by a stranger in a couple days, but I still tried to keep an open mind.
The day of the appt arrived. It was a very busy day. So when the loan officer called to verify the appt, I was going to tell him that this was not a good day and we would need to reschedule. After all, calling to verify an appt is the courteous and professional thing to do.
The loan officer never called.
He showed up at my door step a half hour late. I went ahead and let him in. I told him right off that If he had called to verify the appt, I would have told him that this was not a good day. He seemed to not understand the value of calling to verify appts. So I explained to him what the value was in calling to verify an appt. He did not seem to get it at all. Or maybe he was playing dumb. I am not sure what his problem was.
The courteous and professional thing to do is to call to verify appts. Especially when one is running late. Not doing this was an instant red flag in my mind. He continued to argue with me about this. He said; " Didn't you call and make the appt with us?"
(After thinking about this, I came to the conclusion that its probably their company policy to not call to verify appts. If their loan officers called to verify appts, this would give the customer the opportunity to say no. This is rule #1 in high pressure sales. Never give the customer the opportunity to say No.)
Being late and not calling to verify the appt.
Strike One!
I told him that I was not prepared for there appt because I was going to tell him, if he had called, that today was not a good day for me. He kept insisting that I should find the paperwork for the home loan.
I was also alone at the table with him. He asked if my wife would be joining me? I told him that she was busy, but she would try. He gave me a bull story that it was federal law that both parties had to be present for this.
(Even if this is a law, he could well do it with just me.) I dont think the mortgage police would break in and see that my wife was not here and arrest us. I think the more likely reason of why they insist that the wife be present is that they hope that since women tend to be more emotional, they will see all the money they could save. The woman will then put even more pressure on the man to make a rash decision and sign on their bottom line.)
Arguing with me.
Strike Two!
I told him that I would try to find my mortgage paperwork, but I could not guarantee him that I would be able to find this on short notice. Plus I also told him that because he was late, we didn't have much time. I had company and we had to go pick up my daughter from a play date at 4pm. It was now 3:30 and I was being forced to go find paperwork on my loan.
By the time I found my paperwork, it was 3:45. We had 15 minutes before we needed to be out the door. He started going through his flip chart. He had gone through a couple when I had to cut him off. I told him that I did not want to be rude, but we didn't have time for this. All I wanted to see was the numbers.
He seemed very put out at this.
He went through the numbers and was about to get to the bottom line. He pressured me to make a decision right then and there. I told him 3 or 4 times that I would have to work out the numbers myself, think on this and pray about it.
He did not like this at all.
Whenever a place tries to pressure you into making a quick decision, its because they are trying to hide something. They know that if they let you think on it, or work out the numbers yourself, you are going to find a problem and change your mind.
He said that he had to call his corporate office. (This was probably to intimidate me) He called and after a short time, handed the phone to me. This person identified himself as someone from corporate and started asking me questions like "What did I like about the loan." These sorts of questions are meant to get me thinking that this is a good thing and I needed to do it now. Another form of pressure.
It was now 4:00 and I needed to leave. I tried to tell the person on the phone this, but he would not divert from his script. So I had to tell him bluntly.
"I don't mean to be rude, but I don't have time for 20 questions". At this he stopped and told me to give the phone back to the loan officer.
The loan officer promptly gathered up all his stuff, along with the sheet he had wrote his numbers on and began to leave.
(It was like watching a 5 year old that was pouting because he did not get his way and so he took all his stuff and ran home to his mom.)
I guided him toward the door.
His last comment was: "If at some time you have an hour to 1 1/2 hours to spend on this, give us a call". Im sure that I must have made them mad that I didn't not let them go through their entire Routine.
Im convinced that this company is hiding something. For one thing, they are using a variable interest rate loan.
This is very dangerous.
Thousands of people had to file bankruptcy due to variable rate loans. Im convinced that this company is preying of Vets to peddle their bad loans.
These people are very slick and well trained to use the dark side. Meaning that they are know how to deal with objections, and get you to do what they want you to do.
My advice. Just look away and say no to this company.
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