Major servicers are in various stages of setting up their systems and training personnel to provide struggling homeowners with a “single point of contact” (SPOC) that they can rely on as they go through the loan modification process, according to a new report by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).In April 2011, OCC directed 12 major mortgage servicers to clean up their shops after receiving numerous complaints from borrowers and congressmen about slow processing times, lost paper work and the difficulty of reaching anyone at the servicing company who could answer their questions.
So far, OCC officials seem to be satisfied with the progress the servicers are making.
“It continues to move in the right direction and we continue to push,” said OCC mortgage expert Bruce Krueger. “For the most part, the customer experience should be much better than it has been in the past,” he told NMN.
Krueger noted that setting up a SPOC is a “huge undertaking.” In addition to installing new computer and communication systems, the servicers have to make sure they have the right people in place who are knowledgeable about the borrower’s situation and the various options available to them.
OCC wants to make sure implementation is done right so they are willing to give the servicers another three to six months to complete the process.
“By the end of 2012, the single point of contact should be baked in pretty well,” the mortgage expert said.
