I know, I know: you are all just on the edge of your seats trying to figure out how it happened that the nation’s beloved Bank of America could possibly have tanked so horribly in J.D. Power and Associates’ borrower satisfaction survey released last week. However, tank is exactly what BofA did. On a satisfaction scale of 1000, BofA received a 676 – a full 150 points below Quicken Loans, which topped the list of lender scores. But the survey did not just delve into individual lenders’ issues; it also tackled the issues that are creating a negative feeling about the entire lending industry and shed some light on the recent “negative impact in overall satisfaction” in the lending experience[1].
For starters, approval time has increased by a week since last year; bringing the time it takes a lender to approve a loan to nearly a month. This makes the entire origination process nearly two months if you start the process today. Correspondingly, overall customer satisfaction with the industry has declined by five points, despite RESPA guidelines that “appear to have streamlined and shortened the time from approval to closing,” according to David Lo, who is the director of financial services at J.D. Power. Essentially, efforts to get people into houses once they are approved have not actually been streamlined; the delay has just been shifted so that it takes longer to tell you that you have been approved.
Other ‘surprising’ results of the survey include:
- Customers like “proactive updates” so that they know the status of their loan;
- Borrowers enjoy receiving “welcome acknowledgements” of their loan applications; and
- People like closing on time.
If the lenders really needed this survey, then it’s no wonder they look like the bad guys right now.
Your comments and questions are welcomed below! And be sure to click the “Like” button below if you found this article enjoyable/informative. Thank you!
[1]http://www.dsnews.com/articles/jd-power-and-associates-survey-shows-borrower-satisfaction-declining-2010-11-18
Before even opening your article, I knew the answer (at least from my perspective) was BOA, by far! They have the absolute WORST customer service (if you can call it that) for EVERY aspect of their business, not just lending. In all of their dealings they act as if the customer is just a nuisance of a distraction. They are the only bank I will be very happy to see shut down and be taken over because of their total arrogance!
BOA’s abysmal CUSTOMER (dis)satisfaction extends to other areas as well.
Try to get a short sale approved.
Enjoy TONS of solicitations, pitching you by email, mail & phone for additional BOA products and services.
Better read every piece of mail from BOA masked as junk mail – chances are, BOA has discovered some way to pick more nickels, dimes & dollars from your pocket…through new fees, late charges, etc.
Problem is, I don’t see a big difference among the banks – and I (have to) deal with nearly all of them. In the same disgusting thought, I instantly think of SunTrust – another bank I abhor!
Bigger question is not which bank – instead, question is, “How can WE the people get BOA’s attention?” (note: it’s not as simple as taking your business elsewhere, as the grass is NOT greener on the other side).
Mike
Miracle of miracles! I just received final permanent modification for a client from BofA! After ONLY 13 months. Has anyone else had files transferred to “the office of the president” at BofA – I think that is just a fancy name for their department to handle certain files. This one was transferred there.
It’s just a question which bank is “less bad”. Until the banks aren’t allowed to buy “safe” 3% gov’t debt with the near-zero percent money they can borrow, they will never have incentive to make scary risky 4.5% loans to “We(e) the People”. Until that happens, customer service will continue to suck, because we don’t matter. KILL THE FED!!
I have been doing business with BOA for years and everytime I have an issue it gets resolved in a timely manor. Even when I had a previous owner on a property tie it up with a blanket loan and the closer screwed up.
Add me to the list of dissatisfied Customers. 9 months to resolve a problem with my Mortgage Automation which could not simply be fixed with a new Credit Card number linked to my Checking Account (unlike every other debitor). And BOA incompetent integration of CountryWide Home Mortgages made matters worse!
HOW COULD ANYONE SCORE LOWER THAN WELLS FARGO ????
Large lending institutions totally lack customer service and a personal relationship with the home owner. If you need to phone any of them, you will talk to different employees every time and receive different answers from each employee. In otherwards, your head will be swimming as to what is the correct answer. Even if you ask for the same employee again having developed a little trust, no one will know who the employee is when you provide name and employee number. The result of this is the customer never receives a clarification of an answer.
Lending institutions could protect their bottom line by accepting interest payments from struggling home owners which would, at the very least, provide operating income for the institution. The principal of the loan would remain unchanged under these circumstances and all parties (lender and owner) would need to agree to this type of relief. Lender could tenatively set a period of time when normal continuation of mortgage payments should resume.