I had a checking account "tied" to a money market account for over five years with Flagstar. I was told I had to open a checking acct in order to get a higher interest rate on my money market acct. I realize this is actually a fairly common practice with banks, though. I was told that as long as I had activity in the checking account at least every 6 months, I would avoid maintenance fees. Well, last month, I noticed a $10 maintenance fee on my checking acct statement. I only had $41 in the account to begin with! They told me that they had changed the rules and that you had to keep at least $1000 in a checking acct or else face a $10 monthly maintenance fee. They said I was notified but I never was either by mail or in my statements. I asked to have the $10 credited back to my account since let's just say I'm a very good customer with my money market acct balance. The teller stated that she could not do that. I asked to speak with the manager, but, of course, she wasn't there. Therefore, the teller advised me to close out the account because it was no longer needed in order to receive the highest rate on my money market acct, so I closed it to avoid future maintenance fees on a useless account to me. I called Corporate customer service a couple of days later and was told that the branch would have to handle the matter. After I complained louder, he got in touch with the branch manager and put her on the phone. I explained the situation to her, and she said that she had to research the issue and get back with me. She called me back an hour later and said, "I'm sorry but I cannot do anything for you." Stay away from this bank. I probably have more in Flagstar Bank than probably 99 percent of personal customers, and they still don't care about pleasing me.

Received a letter from Flagstar Bank alerting me that one of their vendors had his/her laptop stolen and the laptop contained my (and other customers) social security number.

The letter also offered me one year of 'free' credit report monitoring to help me watch out for identity theft.

I went to a Flagstar branch to inquire as to why a 'vendor' would have my SS number especially on a laptop or how they could have gotten it.
Flagstar has refused to answer my question or even tell me who the 'vendor' is.

I tried to sign up for the 'free' year of credit monitoring but the company would not activate the service unless i provided them with 'my' credit card number even after I gave them the pass code that Flagstar gave to me.

Sounds awful fishy to me so am in the process of closing all of my accounts with this back. And would advise anyone to find a different bank.

The fact that their stock prices are in the $0.75 range should be enough warning to all anyway...

I have retained the original letter from Flagstar for proof of all of the above if needed.

Flagstar Bank forcde insurance on not just one but two of my proerties. They do not call the insurance companies and request to be mailed renewals or changes. You the home owner
must get them and on time or they send you a letter. Then you send them the information three or four times and then they dont tell you there are two insurance deparments at Flagstar. one handles General liability and the other flood and hazard. They also dont tell you during your loan that they require specific personal insurance policies after they issue you the loan. Then in my case they said they only recieved part of the policy due to fax problems on there end and instead of calling me to refax, they force issued policies on my properties for some three times the going rate. Then sent me a letter that states my escrow account is now in the rear and i need to send them money. I have refinanced one of my properties and i am in the works on the other. will never use Flagstar again and have filled complaints with MD state board of Mortgage Finance.

Hi, I have contacted Freddie Mac and would like to know about how long the Hope for Homeowners loan modification process should take.
In Feb. 2009 before I was in default, (out of work Cal. teacher, husband is working), I contacted my Freddie Mac loan servicer Flag Star bank and told them I needed some assistance. They sent me out the wrong paper work.
I then contacted the Hope for Homeowners Housing Education Program a non-profit agency called Consumer Credit Counseling of San Francisco; they work in partnership with the Home Preservation Foundation;and they submitted my package on 4/16/2009 to Flag Star bank.
We still waited for Flag Star to send us out the correct paper work. Anyway at the end of April the first part of May 2009 we submitted all required documentation to Flag Star.
June they called and asked for the same documentation and we complied.
July they called and asked for the same documentation and we complied,
Aug. they called again requesting yet again the same documentation.
All the time never processing our request and it was not until they told us it would be another 90 days to get to our package that it had just been submitted to them by us in July! that we called Freddie Mac.
Here is a time line:
1. Called Flag Star in Feb. asking for Hope for Homeowners loan modification package as we were looking at problems keeping our home.
2. Flag star sends out wrong paper work.
3. Contact the Help program Hope for Home owners and paper work was submitted in April.
4. Flag star sends out right form.
5 Late April, early like 1st week of May we send in completed package.
6.May Flag Star request same documentation we comply again. (We have US mail green cards from where they signed for our packages).
7. June Flag Star requests same documentation and we comply again.
8. Late June early July another Consumer credit outfit calls us on behalf of Freddie Mac. They too submit package to lender again for loan modification under Hope for homeowners program.
9. By this time I have been in contact with Flag Star on monthly basis. They keep saying we should get a phone call any day.
10. July Flag Star requests same documentation again and says our package is a new package so it will be about 60 -90 days before they can get to it as it is first come first serviced.
11. Aug. 2009 We contact Freddie Mac directly. They will look into it.
12. Flag star calls us back same day we contacted Freddie Mac. All of a sudden our paper work is on someones desk.
13. Aug. Flag Star calls us and asks for... you got it the same documentation. We send that in again. We are now over 2 months behind in our loan.
14. Sept. 1st 2009 a Flag Star employee is in contact with us and says another 60 - 90 days to process our "New Package" as we just got them the documents, and it is on a first come first served basis. That she process in order received, this I understand okay; but How many dated from April, May are still awaiting being processed I wonder.
How can this be a new package?
They have had our information since April and early May.
Just what have they been doing sitting on our paperwork? Taking no action to help us? Has Flag Star intentionally done this? If so why.

Our other concern is that the moratorium on Foreclosure is running out in California this month, Sept., and that a 30 to 60 day loan modification process has already taken 5 months and now we are looking at another 2 to 3 more months making it in the 8 to 9 months range. Again is Flag Star intentionally doing this?
Why have they waited or are waiting so long to process our package? Could it be they don't want to work with us or with the Hope for home owners program? We have a lot of questions and are quite frankly, tired and frustrated with the way they have treated us. We have continuously asked them to keep us updated, and they have not done anything except ask for the same documentations that have been mailed, faxed and e-mailed to them.

Several red flags leave us with doubt and frustration with Flag Star. One is the landslide of complaints filed on consumer Internet sites from people just like us trying to get them to do the Hope for homeowners loan modification. Including past class action law suits against Flag Star and racial bias against Caucasian people that were charged more for their loans than other ethnic groups. The seemingly endless length of time they drag this process out. The endless asking for the same documents. The rudeness of their employees and the lack or answers with a big run a round.

Is this a common banking procedure to drag out this process? Given the thousands of people like us we can understand maybe 120 days, but this is getting unreal.
According to other lending institutions 90 days is more than enough time to process a loan modification.
Is Freddie Mac receiving many complaints about Flag Star servicing?
What is being done?
When can we expect our loan modification to come through?
Can anyone help us find answers to our questions?

I was propositioned in a Walmart to open a checking account. The clerk was flirting with me while the other male teller ogled me.
Anyway, I ended up opening a checking account. They had a great promotion. I mentioned that I was buying a house. I was referred for a loan and was also encouraged to open a CD. It was only after everything turned into a disaster that I learned the tellers get a commission for the amount of business that is done. What a disaster!
The branch is closing so i can't do my business there anymore.
I was approved for the loan buthe underwriter dragged her feet and money was not appropriately transferred on the closing date as the mortgage lender told me - - - so we had to have a second closing to resign papers.
Finally, the CD has grace periods where you can withdraw with no penalty but everyone keeps giving me a date that is diffeerent so I don't know when i can officially close out.