Received check from "Mr. Copper" from an old loan (foreclosure - 6+ years old, FL)

[Jan0004]

Florida

I received, in separate mailings, what looks like a real check (over $2000) from Nationstar Mortgage LLC d/b/a Mr. Cooper and a mailing with a letterhead from "Mr. Cooper - 8950 Cypress Waters Blvd., Coppell TX 75019. The letter reads [with my comments in brackets as commentary]:

"Thank you for trusting us with your banking needs [I never banked with them]. During a review of your home mortgage loan, it was discovered that a letter provided to you while your loan was serviced by Seterus, Inc. contained some inaccurate information. We are sending you a check under separate cover. This payment is being made in accordance with the terms of an agreement entered into between Kyanite Services, Inc. -- of which Seterus Inc. was a subsidiary -- and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Please note that all parties shown on the check must endorse it. [It's only my name]...."

It continues with if you have any questions and their contact information (800 number) and website of www.MrCooper.com.

IS THIS REAL or a SCAM?!? Is it a devious way to get someone to "activate" / restart a loan that may have been bought out even though it foreclosed over 6 years ago (Florida foreclosure)? How and/or who can I call to find out if this is legitimate... as in a real settlement where I would just be accepting the check and no other hidden agendas? I could really use the money but not to the point where I am not alerted by a potential scam.

The mailing with the check and the check itself has NO stipulation or small print. The paper that connects to the perforated check does say "Nationwide Mortgage LLC d/b/a Mr. Cooper" with a loan # (which, from my recollection, was my Seterus Loan #), my name and a CURRENT date of 05/21/21. It's the current date that worries me... My loan has NOT been around since the foreclosure 6+ years ago and I have never had any correspondence or communication with them, Seterus. The paper also has a tax ID #. The check is from the same company name and from JPMorgan Chase Bank in Dallas TX. It has a check / audit #, paid to my name and with my current home address, signed by Nationwide Mortgage (looks computer signed). The back is normal with a watermark and Endorse Here top.

Also, I did a little research on Google and found this:
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/enforcement/actions/nationstar-mortgage-llc-dba-mr-cooper/
which contains the following judgement & order -- https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_nationstar-mortgage-llc-dba-mr-cooper_stipulated-final-judgment-and-order_2020-12.pdf

I truly appreciate your help in finding out if this is legitimate and is not a scam to get me to restart my foreclosed mortgage.

Thank you.

 

[LdiJ]

Florida

I received, in separate mailings, what looks like a real check (over $2000) from Nationstar Mortgage LLC d/b/a Mr. Cooper and a mailing with a letterhead from "Mr. Cooper - 8950 Cypress Waters Blvd., Coppell TX 75019. The letter reads [with my comments in brackets as commentary]:

"Thank you for trusting us with your banking needs [I never banked with them]. During a review of your home mortgage loan, it was discovered that a letter provided to you while your loan was serviced by Seterus, Inc. contained some inaccurate information. We are sending you a check under separate cover. This payment is being made in accordance with the terms of an agreement entered into between Kyanite Services, Inc. -- of which Seterus Inc. was a subsidiary -- and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Please note that all parties shown on the check must endorse it. [It's only my name]...."

It continues with if you have any questions and their contact information (800 number) and website of www.MrCooper.com.

IS THIS REAL or a SCAM?!? Is it a devious way to get someone to "activate" / restart a loan that may have been bought out even though it foreclosed over 6 years ago (Florida foreclosure)? How and/or who can I call to find out if this is legitimate... as in a real settlement where I would just be accepting the check and no other hidden agendas? I could really use the money but not to the point where I am not alerted by a potential scam.

The mailing with the check and the check itself has NO stipulation or small print. The paper that connects to the perforated check does say "Nationwide Mortgage LLC d/b/a Mr. Cooper" with a loan # (which, from my recollection, was my Seterus Loan #), my name and a CURRENT date of 05/21/21. It's the current date that worries me... My loan has NOT been around since the foreclosure 6+ years ago and I have never had any correspondence or communication with them, Seterus. The paper also has a tax ID #. The check is from the same company name and from JPMorgan Chase Bank in Dallas TX. It has a check / audit #, paid to my name and with my current home address, signed by Nationwide Mortgage (looks computer signed). The back is normal with a watermark and Endorse Here top.

Also, I did a little research on Google and found this:
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/enforcement/actions/nationstar-mortgage-llc-dba-mr-cooper/
which contains the following judgement & order -- https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_nationstar-mortgage-llc-dba-mr-cooper_stipulated-final-judgment-and-order_2020-12.pdf

I truly appreciate your help in finding out if this is legitimate and is not a scam to get me to restart my foreclosed mortgage.

Thank you.

After doing some googling myself. It looks pretty legit.

 

[adjusterjack]

It's quite possible that the check is your compensation based on the lawsuit. I confirmed that the lawsuit is real. I have a PACER account for searching federal court records.

If you aren't comfortable, take it to a Chase Bank branch so they can verify that the check is good. Even cash it there if you like.

I don't think it's a scam and I don't think you have to be concerned about your old foreclosure.

 

[Jan0004]

It's quite possible that the check is your compensation based on the lawsuit. I confirmed that the lawsuit is real. I have a PACER account for searching federal court records.

If you aren't comfortable, take it to a Chase Bank branch so they can verify that the check is good. Even cash it there if you like.

I don't think it's a scam and I don't think you have to be concerned about your old foreclosure.

Thank you, adjusterjack... great advice about visiting a local JP Morgan Chase bank branch. I will make copies of everything and visit a local branch.

I am concerned, especially since they dated the loan as 5/21/21 (it is NOT current/active, as far as I am concerned). Also, don't most of these settlements have a case no, civil judgement number, in the correspondence by the losing defendant? (which was another red flag for me) I've received judgements for much less for ATT&T settlements but they at least made it clear why it was being sent. I never signed-on or knew about this Civil Case until I got this check/correspondence and researched it.

Just to appease my paranoia (unfortunately collectors are very devious) have you known of a collector "re-activating" a closed foreclosed mortgage account by sending a check, with no legalese, to the former mortgage payee? Is this even a concern?

Thank you so much, once again.

 

[Jan0004]

After doing some googling myself. It looks pretty legit.

Thank you, LdiJ.

I am concerned, especially since they dated the loan as 5/21/21 (it is NOT current/active, as far as I am concerned). Also, don't most of these settlements have a case no, civil judgement number, in the correspondence by the losing defendant? (which was another red flag for me) I've received judgements for much less for ATT&T settlements but they at least made it clear why it was being sent. I never signed-on or knew about this Civil Case until I got this check/correspondence and researched it.

Just to appease my paranoia (unfortunately collectors are very devious) have you known of a collector "re-activating" a closed foreclosed mortgage account by sending a check, with no legalese, to the former mortgage payee? Is this even a concern?

Thank you so much, once again.

 

[adjusterjack]

Just to appease my paranoia (unfortunately collectors are very devious) have you known of a collector "re-activating" a closed foreclosed mortgage account by sending a check, with no legalese, to the former mortgage payee? Is this even a concern?

I've never heard of that being done. Besides, collection agencies don't like to spend money to get money. Like the Spanish Inquisition their weapon is fear. Fear and surprise. Surprise and fear. Their two weapons are surprise and fear and (you know the rest).

I think you can safely cash the check.

 

[LdiJ]

Thank you, LdiJ.

I am concerned, especially since they dated the loan as 5/21/21 (it is NOT current/active, as far as I am concerned). Also, don't most of these settlements have a case no, civil judgement number, in the correspondence by the losing defendant? (which was another red flag for me) I've received judgements for much less for ATT&T settlements but they at least made it clear why it was being sent. I never signed-on or knew about this Civil Case until I got this check/correspondence and researched it.

Just to appease my paranoia (unfortunately collectors are very devious) have you known of a collector "re-activating" a closed foreclosed mortgage account by sending a check, with no legalese, to the former mortgage payee? Is this even a concern?

Thank you so much, once again.

I agree with AJ. I have never heard of it being done and quite frankly it doesn't really sound logical.

 

[quincy]

If you cash the check, you might want to hold off on spending the money for awhile, until your bank (or Chase) verifies it.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Just to appease my paranoia (unfortunately collectors are very devious) have you known of a collector "re-activating" a closed foreclosed mortgage account by sending a check, with no legalese, to the former mortgage payee? Is this even a concern?

No. First of all, a foreclosure by itself does not extinguish your personal liability for the mortgage loan. So a creditor holding that loan would not need to send you anything to reactivate it. However, if the lender does not sue within the applicable statute of limitations (SOL) that will bar the creditor from successfully suing you later to collect on the debt. While in some states reaffirming the debt after the SOL expires might reopen it, reaffirmation means that you acknowledge the debt is still good and show an intent to pay it. This most often happens if you voluntarily make a payment on the debt. Cashing a check sent to you by the creditor does not act as reaffirmation of the debt, especially here were the creditor has sent you notice of why you are receiving the check. You'll want to keep that documentation.

You did have a loan with that company. The CFPB went after it for violations of federal law, and it reached a settlement of the matter with the CFPB. They had to search their records to find the affected borrowers and send out the agreed upon compensation. You got a check for $2000 with that explanation. That check is almost certainly legit, though I would wait a few weeks after depositing it to ensure it clears before spending it, which is a wise thing to do with most any non government check. It's certainly not something that is going to reactivate that loan.

There are two instances in which I'd worry about a check from a creditor. The first is where I know I'm not entitled to the check — that it was sent to me by mistake. In that case, the problem is that I'm not entitled to keep money that isn't mine and very likely the creditor will be seeking the return of that money. If I spend it and then don't have it to pay when the creditor asks for it, that then can be a significant problem. So I'd just return the check from the start to avoid that problem. The second is where I get a very small check (say $2) from a creditor that has a judgment against me. In that case, depositing that check in my bank account is a risk because that will then tell the creditor where I bank, and then I can expect the creditor to attach my funds in that account to collect. Few creditors do that because it's easy for a debtor to cash that check without depositing it in their account, thus defeating the whole purpose of that scheme.

 

[Jan0004]

If you cash the check, you might want to hold off on spending the money for awhile, until your bank (or Chase) verifies it.

Thanks, Quincy... But wouldn't "cashing the check" at the bank (JP Morgan Chase) mean that they verified it on the spot and the onus would be on them (Chase) for cashing the check?

 

[Jan0004]

No. First of all, a foreclosure by itself does not extinguish your personal liability for the mortgage loan. So a creditor holding that loan would not need to send you anything to reactivate it. However, if the lender does not sue within the applicable statute of limitations (SOL) that will bar the creditor from successfully suing you later to collect on the debt. While in some states reaffirming the debt after the SOL expires might reopen it, reaffirmation means that you acknowledge the debt is still good and show an intent to pay it. This most often happens if you voluntarily make a payment on the debt. Cashing a check sent to you by the creditor does not act as reaffirmation of the debt, especially here were the creditor has sent you notice of why you are receiving the check. You'll want to keep that documentation.

You did have a loan with that company. The CFPB went after it for violations of federal law, and it reached a settlement of the matter with the CFPB. They had to search their records to find the affected borrowers and send out the agreed upon compensation. You got a check for $2000 with that explanation. That check is almost certainly legit, though I would wait a few weeks after depositing it to ensure it clears before spending it, which is a wise thing to do with most any non government check. It's certainly not something that is going to reactivate that loan.

There are two instances in which I'd worry about a check from a creditor. The first is where I know I'm not entitled to the check — that it was sent to me by mistake. In that case, the problem is that I'm not entitled to keep money that isn't mine and very likely the creditor will be seeking the return of that money. If I spend it and then don't have it to pay when the creditor asks for it, that then can be a significant problem. So I'd just return the check from the start to avoid that problem. The second is where I get a very small check (say $2) from a creditor that has a judgment against me. In that case, depositing that check in my bank account is a risk because that will then tell the creditor where I bank, and then I can expect the creditor to attach my funds in that account to collect. Few creditors do that because it's easy for a debtor to cash that check without depositing it in their account, thus defeating the whole purpose of that scheme.

Thank your for your very thorough and informative answer. Yes, it is my understanding that the SOL for mortgages in Florida is 5 years; and it has been past 5 years since my foreclosure (6+ years plus longer if we considered the last payment/activity on the mortgage). But I also realize that I should always be vigilant that the lender or anyone that buys the loan does not try to sue me. I do have a question for you or anyone else regarding that possibility:

(1) It is my understanding that I must be served for any civil suit / claim that may come. Is this correct? I mean, how could any claim continue if the defendant was never aware of it? However, if I am wrong, then what should I do proactively? Should I search County/Court records periodically just to see if anything was filed? Do I search them in only the County the mortgage/home was or can they file in their headquarters (for example) in another city/state?

(2) God forbid, I hope they do not attempt to file a claim even though it is clearly past the SOL, but, if they do, what specific specialized Attorney should I look to hire? What specialty and is there a good website that reviews and rates attorneys in Florida and locally?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Thanks, Quincy... But wouldn't "cashing the check" at the bank (JP Morgan Chase) mean that they verified it on the spot and the onus would be on them (Chase) for cashing the check?

Not entirely. Under Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) § 4-208, which has been adopted in Florida as Florida statute § 674.2081 when you present an item to a bank for payment you make certain warranties to the bank about the item presented. Specifically, the statute says:

674.2081 Presentment warranties.—​

​

(1) If an unaccepted draft is presented to the drawee for payment or acceptance and the drawee pays or accepts the draft, the person obtaining payment or acceptance, at the time of presentment, and a previous transferor of the draft, at the time of transfer, warrant to the drawee who pays or accepts the draft in good faith that:​

​

(a) The warrantor is, or was, at the time the warrantor transferred the draft, a person entitled to enforce the draft or authorized to obtain payment or acceptance of the draft on behalf of a person entitled to enforce the draft;​

​

(b) The draft has not been altered; and​

​

(c) The warrantor has no knowledge that the signature of the purported drawer of the draft is unauthorized.​

Note that the drawee is the bank (Chase), the warrantor is you, and the drawer is the issuer of the check (Nationstar Mortgage). Under subsection (2), if any of those warranties is breached, the bank can come after you to recover what it paid and certain other damages. Under the UCC if the payor bank (which is again Chase here as it is the bank that has the account with the drawer) pays you in cash, that payment is considered final except for the warranties given above. So if you cash the check there and, say, it turns out the account was overdrawn, that's the bank's problem because final payment was made and that's not a situation covered by any of the presentment warranties. But if the check was a forgery (i.e. altered), that is covered by the warranty and the bank could come after you for the altered/forged check.

 

[quincy]

Thanks, Quincy... But wouldn't "cashing the check" at the bank (JP Morgan Chase) mean that they verified it on the spot and the onus would be on them (Chase) for cashing the check?

No. I believe Taxing Matters explained why that is the case.

That is why it can be important to hang onto all money from a cashed check until the bank giving you the cash has received payment from the check-issuer.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Thanks, Quincy... But wouldn't "cashing the check" at the bank (JP Morgan Chase) mean that they verified it on the spot and the onus would be on them (Chase) for cashing the check?

The short answer is no. That simply isn't how cashing checks works.

 

[Jan0004]

Not entirely. Under Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) § 4-208, which has been adopted in Florida as Florida statute § 674.2081 when you present an item to a bank for payment you make certain warranties to the bank about the item presented. Specifically, the statute says:

674.2081 Presentment warranties.—​

​

(1) If an unaccepted draft is presented to the drawee for payment or acceptance and the drawee pays or accepts the draft, the person obtaining payment or acceptance, at the time of presentment, and a previous transferor of the draft, at the time of transfer, warrant to the drawee who pays or accepts the draft in good faith that:​

​

(a) The warrantor is, or was, at the time the warrantor transferred the draft, a person entitled to enforce the draft or authorized to obtain payment or acceptance of the draft on behalf of a person entitled to enforce the draft;​

​

(b) The draft has not been altered; and​

​

(c) The warrantor has no knowledge that the signature of the purported drawer of the draft is unauthorized.​

Note that the drawee is the bank (Chase), the warrantor is you, and the drawer is the issuer of the check (Nationstar Mortgage). Under subsection (2), if any of those warranties is breached, the bank can come after you to recover what it paid and certain other damages. Under the UCC if the payor bank (which is again Chase here as it is the bank that has the account with the drawer) pays you in cash, that payment is considered final except for the warranties given above. So if you cash the check there and, say, it turns out the account was overdrawn, that's the bank's problem because final payment was made and that's not a situation covered by any of the presentment warranties. But if the check was a forgery (i.e. altered), that is covered by the warranty and the bank could come after you for the altered/forged check.

Wow, thank you SO MUCH for all that extremely valuable information... I never knew. This forum is GREAT -- such a high knowledge base.

So, besides the obvious making copies of all paperwork, checks, how long should I hold on to the cashed-in-check money until I can feel safe and not liable? 15 days, 30, more?

Also, the last time I cashed a check was like 7 years ago and I remember having my thumbprint taken and copy of Driver's License (I was not a member of that bank and neither of Chase, currently). Does ANY of this information go to the Issuer of the Check (Nationstar Mortgage)? Should this be a concern?

Thank you.