Graham says:

Our mortgage is with Countrywide. They keep sending us notices with bold type that say:
"YOUR MORTGAGE IS NEARING ITS NEXT ADJUSTMENT!"

Of course ... we have always had a fixed rate and they know that. There isn't anything that could possibly adjust.

They know we don’t have a variable rate. It has always been a fixed rate and never been refinanced. It strikes me as fear based tactics to get you to shoulder an expensive refi.

The text reads:
"As a valued Countrywide customer, you shouldn't have to worry about rising monthly payments."

Except ... It would never have crossed my mind to worry about my Fixed Rate Mortgage payments rising if I hadn't received this mailer from them.

Oh, but Graham, didn't you realize that "If you have available home equity, you may be able to access it to pay off bills or take care of unexpected expenses." Don't you know that your house isn't really a house? It's an ATM! Isn't that nifty? It must be true, too, because it says "official" up there at the top.

We thought Bank of America was going to try to clean up Countrywide's image, but apparently not.

Yep.

You guessed correctly.

[WallStreetFighter]

Get this emailed to your inbox weekly by signing up here.

I received a letter from Countrywide today that says:

"We are writing to inform you that we recently became aware that a Countrywide employee (now former) may have sold unauthorized personal information about you to a third party...

Based on a joint investigation conducted by Countrywide and law enforcement authorities, it was determined that the customer information involved in this incident included your name, address, Social Security number, mortgage loan number, and various other loan and application information."

It goes on to say they will give you 2 years of Triple Advantage credit report monitoring for free and they include a website address and activation code to start the credit monitoring service.

Just great. Luckily the only thing Russian hackers could buy with my credit is a bottle of cheap vodka.

We don't understand why temporary free credit monitoring is always the go-to remedy every time a company "loses" your personal data. The security breach could have huge and long-term financial consequences for you, and the company that enabled that breach should take responsibility for it.

Every company that deals in sensitive data should have identity theft counselors on staff—people who will walk you through a formalized plan for changing account numbers where possible, getting new account numbers if necessary, and setting up a systemized way to monitor financial activity on a weekly or monthly basis. (And they should pay for any fees you're charged in the process.)

Just saying "sorry, here's some free online monitoring" is inadequate—it's like a doctor leaving a clamp inside you after surgery, then giving you coupons for free checkups for a couple of years.

(Thanks to Frisco!)
(Photo: Getty)

From the P-I:

They allege in the complaint that the lender misrepresented the terms of ARMs (adjustable-rate mortgages), marketed risky complex loans by emphasizing low teaser rates while misrepresenting later steep monthly payments and routinely encouraged borrowers to refinance only months after an affiliated broker sold them a loan.

The plaintiffs in this case include June Taylor, a Renton resident, who refinanced a home loan with Countrywide in 2006. She didn't receive a good faith estimate or a truth-in-lending statement before she closed on the loan — both required by law, according to the complaint. In addition, her truth-in-lending statement listed her monthly payments, but failed to note that it represented only the minimum payment that Countrywide was willing to accept rather than the actual amount she owed. Thus, she ended up with a loan that actually grew over time, the suit alleges.

Oh June, who doesn't want a mortgage that grows over time? You're just not looking at the bright side of things. Like... um... never mind. Nobody wants a growing mortgage. Good luck with your lawsuit.

Homeowners sue Countrywide [P-I]
(Photo: So Cal Metro )

"I don't know the man, but I grew up watching him on TV," Trump told The Times. "When I was at the Wharton School of Business," Trump said, "I'd watch him every night. How could this happen?"

McMahon originally bought the home in 1990 for $2.6 million, and owed $4.8 million to Countrywide at the time that he defaulted. Earlier articles claimed that he was unable to sell the house because it was too close to property owned by Britney Spears and that the constant helicopters and paparazzi were scaring off buyers.

Donald Trump to buy Ed McMahon's house [LA Times]
(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Blumenthal, also known as the badass who sued Best Buy over their deceptive secret website, said this about our 2008 "Worst Company in America":

"Countrywide was at their side — as an insolvency enabler. Countrywide inflated homeowner incomes to qualify them for loans they couldn't pay back and misled consumers about loan terms.

"Countrywide stacked the deck and the deal against its customers: Our goal is to un-stack the deck — and undo the deals — restoring fairness and fiscal sense to mortgages. I will fight for restitution — money back to homeowners used and abused by Countrywide — as well as fines and forfeitures to the state. Our lawsuit seeks to invalidate loans that violate state law, allowing consumers to shed illegal, unreasonable fees and conditions that leave them at the precipice of foreclosure. We must vigorously fight predatory lending practices that trap consumers on a debt treadmill," Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal has released a list of ways in which Countrywide allegedly violated Connecticut lending laws. Here it is in all its shady glory:

Blumenthal alleges Countrywide violated state consumer protection and banking laws by:

• Encouraging consumers to take out loans the company knew or should have known they could not afford;
• Improperly inflating consumers' incomes to qualify them for loans they otherwise could not have received;
• Providing loans with different and more expensive terms than consumers were promised;
• Pressuring consumers into mortgages with temporary interest only payment options when the company knew or should have known they could not afford the higher payments that would come due later;
• Providing variable rate loans to consumers with the assurance they could refinance before interest rates reset, only to later refuse to do so;
• Sending at least one consumer rejected for a home equity loan at one Countrywide office to another company branch where the loan request was approved;
• Demanding Connecticut consumers facing foreclosure pay excessive and inaccurate legal fees in order to reinstate their loans;
• Promising to help homeowners "in financial difficulty to establish suitable payment plans," but instead demanding loan modifications and repayment plans that were unsustainable, unaffordable or unsuitable.

If you're interested, you can read the entire complaint here (PDF). Bank of America told the Wall Street Journal that they couldn't comment on pending litigation, which is just as well because we had a "taking it seriously" post yesterday and we wouldn't want to bore you or anything.

State Sues Countrywide For Allegedly Deceptive Loans And Loan Renegotiations, Unjustified Legal Fees [State of Connecticut]

Rebollo would then sell these "leads" to another man,Wahid Siddiqi, for $500 per batch. The FBI says that Mr. Rebollo admitted that he profited approximately $50,000 to $70,000 from selling the data, which included the Social Security numbers of as many as 2 million mortgage applicants.

The LA Times says:

Rebollo would copy information on about 20,000 customers at a time on Sunday nights by using a [Countrywide] computer that did not have the same security features that other machines in the office had, according to the affidavit by FBI Special Agent Richard P. Ryan.

At that rate, the U.S. attorney's office said, Rebollo would have compromised up to 2 million customer profiles for about 2.5 cents each — an astonishingly small amount considering the importance of the material. Mortgage leads are among the most expensive for sale because of the potential payoffs to intermediaries when loans are made.

To top it off, not only was this guy selling his customers SSNs, he wasn't even very good at it, said Beth Givens, director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse:

"This guy obviously didn't do his homework. He doesn't know the value of these on the black market," she said.

Countrywide insider stole mortgage applicants' data, FBI says [LA Times](Thanks, Alison!)
(Photo: So Cal Metro )

In reality, there is no statutory "upper limit" for when they have to pay you back by. Instead, the Federal Deposit Insurance Act states that the FDIC is required to pay insured depositors "as soon as possible." (see 12 USC 1821(f)) In practice, this usually means the next business day, or within a few days. Here is a relevant section from an FDIC brochure:

When can I expect to receive my money?
Federal law requires the FDIC to make payments of insured deposits "as soon as possible" upon the failure of an insured institution. While every bank failure is unique, there are standard policies and procedures that the FDIC follows in making deposit insurance payments. It is the FDIC's goal to make deposit insurance payments within two business day of the failure of the insured institution.

Note: Some deposits that require supplemental documentation from the depositors, such as accounts linked to a formal written trust agreement, funds placed by a fiduciary on behalf of an owner such as a deposit broker or deposits placed by an administrator of an employee benefit plan may take a little longer. The timing of the completion of the deposit insurance determination is based solely on the depositor providing the documentation needed by the FDIC to determine insurance coverage.

There's plenty of things to freak out about in life. The FDIC's ability to pay you promptly should your FDIC-insured bank kick the bucket is not one of them.

12 USC 1821(f)
When a Bank Fails - Facts for Depositors, Creditors, and Borrowers [FDIC]

(Photo: Ryan McFarland)

...6098 to 4826, a solid trouncing of Comcast, which had been favored to win by many commenters. After 67 rounds and five months of fierce battling, Countrywide climbed to the top of the poop pile and affirmed its well-deserved status as the absolute nadir of capitalism. It looks like in the end, we all decided that the destruction of a giant chunk of the American economy by greed and fraud was more reprehensible than an unsatisfactory internet experience.

The Lucky Golden Shit award will get shipped to Angelo "Golden Boy" Mozilo, former Countrywide CEO, who steered the ship of financial doom from its inception to the height of its unfettered raping of the American Dream, just as soon as we find a good mailing address for him. The receipt for the Lucky Golden Ship will get mailed to Bank of America CEO Kenneth D. Lewis, along with a certificate of completion.

Congratulations to our top 10 runners up

Comcast
Walmart
Bank of America
American Airlines
Capital One
Diebold
Exxon
United Health Care
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Microsoft

You're champions, all of you. Better luck next year.

It's been a long, difficult, and sometimes controversial road. In order to get to the final, Comcast defeated Menu Foods, The American Arbitration Association, Ticketmaster, Exxon, and Diebold. Countrywide took down Dish Network, Clear Channel, United Healthcare, Bank of America, and Walmart. Now, the choice is yours: Which company is the Worst Company in America?

Here's what a few of you had to say about these two companies:

Comcast:

"THANK GOD WE'RE A MONOPOLY!"

"Comcast is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad company."

"Comcast deserves not just worst company but most evil."

"Comcast, since I have no choice but to do business with Comcast, if I want cable."

"Considering Comcast actually rigged a public hearing with paid schmo's to prevent their opposition from being heard... COMCAST. "

Countrywide Home Loans:

"The evil they wrought on the economy will be felt for years to come."

"Countrywide aggressively sought to cause evil..."

"Not only did Countrywide wreck the mortgage industry, they wrecked securities and investments market, thereby forcing investors to the commodities market and driving gas up to $4+ a gallon, thereby driving the costs of food and other products through the roof."

"Countrywide has destroyed the housing market...well...country-wide."

"Countrywide lent me 7750K on an undocumented, no income, no asset loan, while WalMart demanded an ID for a credit card purchase of $13.71, then wanted the receipt on the way out."

This is a post in our Worst Company In America 2008 series. The companies nominated for this honor were chosen by you, the readers. Keep track of all the goings on at consumerist.com/tag/worst-company-in-america.

Time to get serious, folks. In this round we'll take a look at the 5 most popular Consumerist stories for each company*:

Countrywide

Countrywide Invents Evidence In Foreclosure Hearing 38,583 views

Countrywide CEO Accidentally Emails Homeowner, Calls His Plea For Help "Disgusting" 19,631 views

Congress To Subprime CEOs: How Come You Got Paid Millions To Wreck The Economy? Hm? 9,306 views

Countrywide Home Loans Has Over 15,000 Repossessed Properties For Sale 8,895 views

Countrywide Is About To Foreclose On Ed McMahon 7,542 views

Wal-Mart:

Walmart "Junior" Panties Suggest That Your Genitals Are Better Than Credit Cards134,786 views

Walmart Nazi Tshirt Watch: Week 62 111,664 views

Detained And Harassed At Walmart For Not Showing A Receipt101,075 views

Walmart Tries To Steal Shopper's Baby 91,364 views

Woman Receives Severe Chemical Burns From Flip Flops, Walmart Tells Her To Complain To Manufacturer 80,547 views

This is a post in our Worst Company In America 2008 series. The companies nominated for this honor were chosen by you, the readers. Keep track of all the goings on at consumerist.com/tag/worst-company-in-america.

( polls)

"There is technically a deep pocket. They've acquired them, they assume their liabilities," Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum told journalists on a conference call.

[Reuters]

Inflating Home Appraisals: Buyers could borrow enough to cover closing costs, but ended up owing more than the house is worth.

Flipping Loans: Moving unqualified buyers to loans that don't require documentation, knowing they couldn't afford it

Coaching: Brokers told buyers to overstate or even double their stated income in order to qualify for loans.

Watch the clip, inside...

[via Today Show]

Here's what a few of you had to say about these two companies:

Bank of America:

"Bank of America tellers gave away $12,000 of my money to a woman with missing teeth and a fake driver's license in my name. On SEVEN occasions. In places I never go."

"My girlfriend had a credit card with a bank that was bought out by BOA. Her monthly payments went from $20 a month to $170 despite the fact that she never missed a payment and always paid more then the minimum."

"BoA is not just "a" bank, they're a bank with some of the least customer-friendly policies in America. Re-opening closed accounts then charging $35 for it? That's not a courtesy, that's fraud."

"Can u say overdraft? Lets take billions from the poor every year and feel good about it!"

Countrywide:

"Countrywide, because before the subprime crisis I could finance my education, and now I'm posting as a dropout."

"Countrywide is ultimately what caused the dollar to be worthless. So them, and people like them, wrecked our economy."

"Countrywide is the subprime mortgage business. Sure, blame is spread widely, but no one company/person/sector so aggressively made it part of their business plan."

This is a post in our Worst Company In America 2008 series. The companies nominated for this honor were chosen by you, the readers. Keep track of all the goings on at consumerist.com/tag/worst-company-in-america.

"Despite widespread and often unfounded headlines of the past year, Countrywide has made a positive impact on the country," he said

He went on to say that Countrywide made over 22 million loans and had saved 143,000 people from foreclosure by restructuring their troubled mortgages.

"I'm very proud of our accomplishments," Mozilo said. "We've made the dream of home ownership available to everyone regardless of ethnicity. We've helped millions of people in good times and bad."

Not every shareholder got to speak at the meeting, including Scott Adams, "a regional coordinator with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees's pension fund, came prepared with a speech he did not get to read."

Adams scoffed at Mozilo's claim that Countrywide's efforts had kept 143,000 troubled borrowers in their homes. "He said they made 22 million loans; 143,000 is not a whole lot," he said.

At Countrywide's End, an Emotional CEO [BusinessWeek]
(AP Photo/Ric Francis, file)

The Illinois lawsuit alleges Countrywide "caused significant harm to the public, the market, and scores of Illinois borrowers and homeowners," and seeks damages for residents affected by foreclosure. Attorney General Jerry Brown of California accuses Countrywide of deceptively marketing risky mortgages to consumers and plotting to "mass produce loans for sale on the secondary market." The California lawsuit also seeks restitution for affected borrowers. Both lawsuits also named Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo as a defendant.
Illinois to Sue Countrywide Over Lending Practices [CNN]
Calif AG Sues Countrywide Over Alleged Loan Scheme [NYT]

What do you know, a lot of these companies that gave sweet severance packages to their CEOs were also nominated for Worst Company in America, with two of them reaching the Elite Eight. The first one, Exxon, sent its CEO Lee Raymond off with a $351 million package; the money should come in handy for when he wants to offer additional awards to scientists who come up with evidence that global warming is a myth.

Angelo Mozilo of Countrywide Mortgage (also an Elite Eight member) has appeared on Consumerist recently, as a result of investigation of the "Friends of Angelo" program that gave sweetheart rates to influential borrowers, including members of Congress. Oh also, he was part of that whole subprime mortgage meltdown. Guess that's why he only got $23.8 million when he stepped down.

Last but not least, 2006's Worst Company in America and 2007's runner-up, Halliburton, gave a $34 million package and 430,000 shares of stock to its outgoing CEO, Dick Cheney. Unlike Countrywide, Halliburton is doing pretty well for itself right about now.

15 of the Most Astonishing Retirements, Bonuses, and Cash-Outs in Corporate America [HR World]
(Photo: Getty) (Thanks to Paul!)

Here's what some of you had to say about these two companies:

Countrywide:

"What a bunch of scammy scumbags."

"It's it's not Countrywide by a landslide, I'll be shocked."

"Countrywide is officially my pick to win this whole competition. "

United Health Care

"I HATE United Health Care. I took my three children in to have their teeth cleaned. Untied DENIED the clam becasue it had been less than six month since the last cleaning. Turns out it had been five months and 29 days since their last cleaning. Had I waited one more day United would have paid the claim. When I complained I was told by several reps that I was SOL. JERKS!!!"

"Cuomo's investigation also found a clear example of the scheme: United insurers knew most simple doctor visits cost $200, but claimed to their members the typical rate was only $77. The insurers then applied the contractual reimbursement rate of 80%, covering only $62 for a $200 bill, and leaving the patient to cover the $138 balance."

This is a post in our Worst Company In America 2008 series. The companies nominated for this honor were chosen by you, the readers. Keep track of all the goings on at consumerist.com/tag/worst-company-in-america.

From ABC:

Friends of Countrywide Financial CEO Angelo Mozilo and other high-profile individuals had their home loans handled by the company's VIP desk, where a team of loan officers would work out favorable terms in conjunction with Mozilo, according to two former Countrywide executives.

Celebrities get their loans from somewhere," said one former executive who likened the favorable loans to employee discounts. "That desk handled loans for people who were referred by executives. The way that it would customarily work is he [Angelo] might call in, 'What can we do? What are we charging on this or that?' and then tell [his friend] 'I'll get you that at X. Don't worry. I'll get you the loan."

Some of the beneficiaries didn't even know that they were receiving special benefits; others may have been aware that they were receiving some kind of discount, according to the former executives. Internally, those whom Mozilo favored for special treatment were referred to as "Friends of Angelo." The executives say that he was in frequent contact with the company's VIP desk.

Alleged "Friends of Angelo" include Senators Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad, and James Johnson (formerly the head of Fannie Mae and who has just resigned from Senator Barack Obama's vice presidential search committee). As usual, everyone denies everything.

The VIP Treatment: Countrywide CEO Offers Better Rates for Prominent Few [ABC]

BOA Receives OK To Purchase Countrywide [NBC5]
(Photo: meghannmarco )

"When we were trying to sell the house one time, there were about 100 paparazzi there," Davis, the real estate agent who holds the listing, told the AP.

McMahon's spokesperson says that Ed's been unable to work since breaking his neck 18 months ago.

"There are plenty of people affected by the weak economy, bad housing market or bad health," Bragman told the AP.

He also said that McMahon and his wife are negotiating with Countrywide, but it's unclear whether or not they will be able to stay in the home.

Countrywide declined to comment. Um, does anyone want to show up at Ed McMahon's door with a giant check? Save Ed!

Ed McMahon fighting foreclosure on his Beverly Hills home [AP]
(AP Photo/Matt Sayles, FILE)

United Health Care:

"United Health Care failed to notify me that I was no longer eligible for insurance under my father's plan. The assholes told him they were sending out a notification "packet" to me. I'm pretty sure I would have noticed that. Now I have to scramble for the lesser evil of BC/BS from my employer, if I'm eligible for that at all. Their last open enrollment period was in January. My UHC insurance expired in... December. Screw you, UHC!"

"United Health Care is probably the worst of the worst out of the big health insurers (who constitute possibly the worst industry in America). They should easily be in the final four. Their CEO received $1.1 BILLION in stock options as compensation (yes, "billion" with a 'b'). Read about it here. This, while they were claiming they needed to retroactively cancel people's coverage and routinely screw providers on payment. It's clear where the "savings" from those shady practices were going."

"I had to vote for UHG. They are the sort of company that gives capitalism a bad name, and Bill McGuire is the poster boy for it all.

He's actually not worth $1.1billion anymore. He had to give back several hundred million dollars to clear up that little stock option backdating problem he ran into.

UHG's new CEO, Stephen Helmsley, really isn't much different. Just that he's sitting on $600million+ instead of $800million.

The latest UHG scandal involves their Ingenix subsidiary. They compile health care cost information used to determine 'reasonable and customary' charges. It's alleged that Ingenix has manipulated data in order to lower payments to doctors and hospitals which, of course, greatly helps the part of UHG that is paying claims."

"They have been systematically screwing healthcare providers out of reimbursement, while also pulling shady practices on policy-holders. We aren't talking about just stingy stuff, but things that are essentially outright fraud in my opinion. I'm not talking about UHC specifically here, but a lot of problems that are common in the health insurance industry. UHC is just a particularly egregious offender and one whose executives are making a killing, quite literally.

And obviously you aren't familiar with the background on retroactive policy cancellations (something that isn't limited to UHC)...this isn't due to the customer letting their coverage "lapse" or not understanding the terms of the policy. It's things like someone getting cancer and your insurer unilaterally deciding they are going to retroactively cancel ALL your coverage because you failed to disclose that you occasionally suffered from seasonal allergies. It specifically targets people that have expensive covered conditions. That isn't an attempt to prevent fraud by patients...that's an attempt to weasel out of responsibility for paying.

There is a laundry list of nasty practices by health insurers that I could go into. These things are just getting more prevalent because of the rising cost of healthcare. It's becoming pretty much a high-stakes gamble whether or not your insurer will actually pay any given medical bill. They are bordering on massive organized criminal organizations. "

"I HATE United Health Care. I took my three children in to have their teeth cleaned. Untied DENIED the clam becasue it had been less than six month since the last cleaning. Turns out it had been five months and 29 days since their last cleaning. Had I waited one more day United would have paid the claim. When I complained I was told by several reps that I was SOL. JERKS!!!"

"Read this

(The above link is about a case involving WellPoint, where they cancelled a woman's coverage after she got breast cancer because of undisclosed minor preexisting conditions that were totally unrelated to the cancer). I agree that insurers should have some remedy if the pre-existing condition that was not disclosed is directly relevant to a condition for which a claim is being made. But what they are doing is basically auditing accounts of people who get diseases that will cost a lot of money, and trying to find ANY pretext to cancel their policy (by comparing their medical records to what the patient put on the disclosure form). The link above says that during a lawsuit employees testified that it was policy to do this to people who made expensive claims, and that it didn't matter whether it was a willful non-disclosure or not.

If the insurers are so concerned about catching fraud, why don't they just perform the records audit themselves before issuing insurance and collecting any premiums? It seems to me that they want to just collect premiums from people who pay on the grounds that they will be covered, and then not pay out when something actually does happen. I'm glad insurers are getting sued (and laws are being changed) over this practice. "

"For a concrete example of UHG's most recent problems, try this:

Cuomo Announces Industry-Wide Investigation Into Health Ins...

The gist of the complaint:

Under the United insurers' health plans, members pay a higher premium for the right to use out-of-network doctors. In exchange, the insurers promise to cover up to 80% of either the doctor's full bill or of the "reasonable and customary" rate depending upon which is cheaper.

The Attorney General's investigation found that by distorting the "reasonable and customary" rate, the United insurers were able to keep their reimbursements artificially low and force patients to absorb a higher share of the costs.

Cuomo's investigation also found a clear example of the scheme: United insurers knew most simple doctor visits cost $200, but claimed to their members the typical rate was only $77. The insurers then applied the contractual reimbursement rate of 80%, covering only $62 for a $200 bill, and leaving the patient to cover the $138 balance."

"UHC specifically is notorious mainly for their obscene executive compensation and for their practices involving their dealings with healthcare providers (though I wouldn't be surprised at all if they are playing the retroactive cancellation games too)."

"United Healthcare denied my mother breast reduction surgery for the last 5 years because they said it was cosmetic. Did I mention she's 5 feet 3 inches and a 34J? And has 15 years of doctor's records about neck and back troubles including muscles randomly tearing?

My parents (who are not rich by any means) finally had to break down and pay the $8,000 out of pocket as my mother needed the surgery.

UHC deserves nothing less than the 7th circle of hell. "

"they cover men's breast reduction surgery... but not women's!"

Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company:

"a company that abuses animals and messes with the food supply"

"the callous disregard for the animals' well-being is just gross neglect"

"poisoning the food supply"

"poisoning the lunches of unsuspecting children. The kids had no idea what they were getting."

"Here is nothing that enrages me more than cruelty to animals, especially those that are harmelss to begin with and have falled sick through mistreatment and neglect. What those workers did to those creatures is evil personified."

STILL OPEN FOR VOTING: Countrywide vs Clear Channel, Blue Cross Blue Shield vs Sprint, Bank of America vs Monster Cable, US Air vs Microsoft, Time Warner Cable vs American Airlines, Time Warner Cable vs American Airlines, Home Depot vs Wellpoint, Wal-Mart vs Citibank, Capital One vs ATT, Sallie Mae vs eBay/Paypal, TransUnion vs Diebold, Best Buy vs CompUSA, DeBeers vs Verizon, Exxon vs United Airlines, Sony vs Ticketmaster, Comcast vs The American Arbitration Association

Countrywide:

"Countrywide gets my tick for destroying a lot of lives and homes. As far as i'm concerned, they and Citi should burn in a special place in hell made just for them for taking advantage of the deregulation to go hog wild on the mortgage market like that."

"Countrywide's involvement in the mortgage meltdown cannot be overlooked though we have been with them for a while and never had an issue. Guess there is something to be said for not being a sub-prime borrower trying to live beyond their means though. 30-year fixed and not overextended...not that hard."

"What a bunch of scammy scumbags."

"My only complaints with Countrywide are their unavailability on weekend and their lack of detail on their web site. Sure would be nice to find out things about my HELOC — like due dates."

"Countrywide is such a huge lender that it has obtained bad loans from second rate mortgage companies that had no business being in the business to begin with."

Clear Channel:

"wrecked FM radio"

"Homogenizing radio sucks!"

"Clear Channel is so vile. Every radio station that I've enjoyed before it was bought up by them has gone to right to hell — in terms of crappy music and the ads ads ads ads ads. If it weren't for WEQX, I'd suck it up and subscribe to satellite."

"As for Clear Channel, gosh, there are so many ways you can hate them even aside from what they've done to FM radio. You can hate them for perpetuating the visual blight of billboards across the landscape. You can also hate them for their efforts to dominate the live music venue booking business. They're not quite as unavoidable as Ticketmaster but they're obnoxious enough."

"CC not only wrecked what you hear on the radio, it wrecked it for those of us who work in it. They are the devil. Jocks for that company do a shift live in their home city and then voice track shows that run in smaller markets since CC is to cheap to hire talent. Bastards."

"They win this hands down just for turning FM radio into a wasteland of screaming, obnoxious car dealer ads, annoying DJs, and homogenized music. They are pretty much single-handedly responsible for the fact that I no longer listen to any radio except NPR (they bought out and destroyed the decent local radio I listened to before)."

"Clear Channel ruined radio, making portable music players move to the forefront for personal music. They grew too fast and look at them now, barely scraping by in the face of declining ad bucks and booming satellite radio. They so rightly deserve to fry."

"They've changed the formats of 3 radio stations I used to listen to down here in Atlanta in the 7 years I've been here."

"Clear Channel has contributed majorly to the uglification of the landscape with their garish and innumerable billboards. Even worse, they're the ones behind those #$@%ing video billboards. A pox on their thrice-damned house!

And that's on top of the generic radio they pump out 24/7 across the country. Clear Channel must die! "

"I have XM in the Scion, so I never have to listen to Clear Channel's crap any more."

"clearchannel" is a result of media deregulation back in the mid 80's. they own ALOT of stuff.

i love the list of 'objectionable' songs they told their stations to refrain from playing after 9/11

[en.wikipedia.org]

clearchannel killed broadcast radio.. RIP"

"Clear Channel just DESTROYED the Atlanta radio market by wiping out every single station that had been here for 30+ years and filling the air with generic crap."

"Clear Channel is the worst thing that can happen to any media outlet. They have ruined so many radio and TV stations. Their lips mutter "in the interest of the community" but we all know that's a big pile of BS."

"Clear Channel destroyed the radio."

"Clear Channel should make a ad channel that's interrupted by actual shows at every 15 and 45 of the hour."

STILL OPEN FOR VOTING: Blue Cross Blue Shield vs Sprint, Bank of America vs Monster Cable, US Air vs Microsoft, Time Warner Cable vs American Airlines, Time Warner Cable vs American Airlines, Home Depot vs Wellpoint, Wal-Mart vs Citibank, Capital One vs ATT, Sallie Mae vs eBay/Paypal, TransUnion vs Diebold, Best Buy vs CompUSA, DeBeers vs Verizon, Exxon vs United Airlines, Sony vs Ticketmaster, Comcast vs The American Arbitration Association

Mozilo, whose inbox has been flooded with EECBs (executive email carpet bombs) from borrowers, apparently meant to hit forward, but instead replied to Daniel Bailey, a homeowner who is trying to stay in his home of 16 years. Bailey signed an adjustable rate mortgage and was told at the time that he could refinance after one year, before the payments became unaffordable.

From the LA Times:

Much of the language in Bailey's message to Countrywide was borrowed from a form letter available at the website LoanSafe.org, a coaching service for troubled borrowers. Bailey, who says he operates a photo studio, posted his e-mailed exchange with the lender on a LoanSafe forum.

His original e-mail was sent to 20 Countrywide addresses, including Mozilo's. Such mass e-mails have overwhelmed e-mail boxes at Countrywide, disrupting its operations and prompting Mozilo's heated response, the company said.

"This is unbelievable," Mozilo said in his e-mail. "Most of these letters now have the same wording. Obviously they are being counseled by some other person or by the Internet. Disgusting."

Countrywide has issued a statement about the email:

"Countrywide and Mr. Mozilo regret any misunderstanding caused by his inadvertent response to an e-mail by Mr. Bailey. Countrywide is actively working to help borrowers, like Mr. Bailey, keep their homes."

Countrywide Financial Chairman Angelo Mozilo's e-mail sets off a furor [LA Times] (Thanks, Kevin!)
(AP Photos/Susan Walsh)

"It was really every sleazy move in the book," says NPR's tipster, an economic analyst turned stay-at-home Mom who has owned several homes in the past and who is married to a mathematician.

NPR's tipster says that when she told the Countrywide loan officer that her income was low because she was a stay at home mom, he told her that she could lie about husband's income because he had "manager" in his job title.

"He said he could change it and if it was a manager then the underwriters wouldn't be as questioning. And I said but our taxes don't reflect it and his boss will not verify that that is indeed his income, and basically he said: 'Don't worry about it. I'll deal with it.'" She also says that the loan officer asked her to create an entirely fraudulent document claiming that she made $60,000 a year when in fact she was not working.

"I told him that I was extremely uncomfortable doing it, and I didn't want to," she said.

Countrywide says it is looking into the incident.

Woman: Countrywide Proposed Fibbing to Get Loan [NPR] (Thanks, Tmoney02!)

Here's what our readers said when they nominated these two companies:

Countrywide:
"For creating moral hazard and helping to destroy our economy."
"Poster Child of the subprime meltdown"
"Best Buy has problems, but they're not scamming people out of their homes. ..The only competition to Countrywide is Blackwater"
"The symbolic damage they've done to this country alone oughta be enough."
"for enabling the credit crisis."
"Because 12% of your loans being subprime can cause 120% of your troubles (and nearly wreck the American economy in the process)"
"Who else has been so completely destructive to the entire economy"
"for causing this shitty market by preying on the uninformed."
"what housing bubble?"

Dish Network
"No one has nominated Dish Network yet?"

This is a post in our Worst Company In America 2008 series. The companies nominated for this honor were chosen by you, the readers. Keep track of all the goings on at consumerist.com/tag/worst-company-in-america/

STILL OPEN FOR VOTING:
Sprint vs Hewlett Packard
Blue Cross Blue Shield vs CNN
Gamestop vs Monster Cable
Bank Of America vs Toys R' Us
Toshiba vs Microsoft
US Airways vs Washington Mutual
American Airlines vs Blockbuster
Time Warner Cable vs Radioshack
Wellpoint vs Charter Cable
Dell vs Home Depot
Sears vs Citibank
Wal-Mart vs TJMaxx
Mattel vs ATT
Capital One vs Video Professor
eBay/Paypal vs COX
Apple vs SallieMae
Diebold Vs Pfizer
MTV vs TransUnion
CompUSA vs DirecTV
Target vs Best Buy
Allstate vs Verizon
DeBeers vs 1800 flowers
Starbucks vs United Airlines
Exxon vs Crocs
Google Vs Sony
Ticketmaster vs Wachovia
Facebook vs The American Arbitration Association
Comcast vs Menu Foods

(Photo: Ric Francis/AP)

Judge Thomas P. Agresti of the Federal Bankruptcy Court in Pittsburgh on Tuesday approved an inquiry into "the impact of Countrywide's bankruptcy procedures on the integrity of the bankruptcy process" by the Office of the United States Trustee, a Justice Department arm that polices bankruptcy filings.

Judge Agresti dismissed Countrywide's protests that authorizing an investigation by the trustee's office could have "staggering implications" for other big mortgage lenders by starting an investigatory "free for all."

He said an investigation was warranted because the trustee's office had demonstrated "a common thread of potential wrongdoing" in several bankruptcy filings involving Countrywide.

The trustee's office has asserted that it needed to look into accusations that Countrywide had chronically mishandled mortgage payments, pumped up bills with improper fees and charges and ignored court orders while pursuing troubled consumers.

Court Approves Review of Countrywide Practices [NYT]
(Photo:meghannmarco)

This week, things are are looking up. Hager, a Jersey City, N.J., resident, went on one interview for a fraud investigator job at a mortgage insurance company and another for a position underwriting employee dishonesty insurance. Executives at the latter told him they'd make a decision within 10 days.

He doesn't know what next week will bring.

"It's always flowed for me," said Hager, 29, who discovered his love of math and finance in high school in Proctorville, Ohio, about three hours southeast of Columbus. "I've always had a job and every time I changed jobs, it was for advancement. Now, it's like 'What do I do with myself because I can't wait for that next step.' "

Hager has joined nearly 125,000 others on Wall Street and at mortgage firms and other financial companies who received pink slips since the start of 2007. It seems that nearly every week another financial firm lets go of thousands of workers at all levels. With the market flooded, it's hard for the unemployed to land a job, experts said.

10 resumes a day, no takers [CNNMoney] (Thanks, Matthew!)

Countrywide is one of 14 companies being investigated over the past year by the FBI as it looks into how financial institutions packaged mortgages into securities.

The Times says it's unclear what sort of charges might be filed, but that as part of the larger investigation against the group of companies the FBI "is looking into possible accounting fraud, insider trading or other violations in connection with loans made to borrowers with weak, or subprime, credit."

"Countrywide Said to Be Subject of Federal Criminal Inquiry" [New York Times]
(Photo: Getty)

From ABC News:

"There seem to be two different economic realities operating in our country today. And the rules of compensation in one world are completely different from those in the other," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. "Most Americans live in a world where economic security is precarious and there are real economic consequences for failure. But our nation's top executives seem to live by a different set of rules."

In 1980, chief executives in the United States were paid 40 times what the average worker made. They now make 600 times the average worker's salary, Waxman said.

"I think there's merit to pay for performance," Waxman said. "But it seems like CEOs hit the lottery even when their companies collapse."

Instead, the CEOs talked about tough economic conditions and about how they helped many Americans who might not otherwise have been able to afford homes.

Mozilo just can't seem to figure out why people are always blaming the poor adjustable rate mortgages:

"Much blame has been leveled lately at the variety of products, such as adjustable rate mortgages," Mozilo said. "Before the onset of the current housing crisis, these products were widely offered by industry because they made homes more affordable for more people and helped homeowners consolidate other, more expensive debt.

"In fact," he continued, "adjustable rate mortgages had been popular with both borrowers and lenders for many years. From my perspective, then, the issue is not so much the products, but the housing market."

"Whatever I have achieved in life has been the result of the unique combination of luck, hard work and opportunity that can only exist in this country."

Subprime CEOs Explain Why They Made Millions While Americans Lost Homes [ABC News] (Thanks, Natalia!)

PREVIOUSLY:Interview With An Anonymous Hedge Fund Manager
BREAKING: Bank Of America Buys Countrywide, CEO Gets Up To $115 Million Parachute
Citibank CEO Resigns, Additional $11 Billion In Subprime Damage Predicted
Merrill Lynch CEO Forced To Resign After Disastrous Third Quarter?
Merrill Lynch: We Just Lost $9.8 Billion

Initially, the lenders gave the impression that the majority of these loans were being given out to sophisticated investors who couldn't document their $500,000 income and had better places to put their money to work. Clearly this wasn't the case as we are seeing that 71% of the people are electing for the lowest of the low payments. Of course when the market in California was ripping it up by seeing 20%+ appreciation each year, making the minimum payment made sense because you were going to sell in 1 to 2 years and pocket the change. Heck, it was cheaper than renting!

These risky (insane!) mortgages are illegal in many states, but that didn't stop Countrywide from issuing a whole bunch of them anywhere where they could get away with it. BusinessWeek explains in an article from September 11, 2006:

The bill is coming due. Many of the option ARMs taken out in 2004 and 2005 are resetting at much higher payment schedules — often to the astonishment of people who thought the low installments were fixed for at least five years. And because home prices have leveled off, borrowers can't count on rising equity to bail them out. What's more, steep penalties prevent them from refinancing. The most diligent home buyers asked enough questions to know that option ARMs can be fraught with risk. But others, caught up in real estate mania, ignored or failed to appreciate the risk.

There was plenty more going on behind the scenes they didn't know about, either: that their broker was paid more to sell option ARMs than other mortgages; that their lender is allowed to claim the full monthly payment as revenue on its books even when borrowers choose to pay much less; that the loan's interest rates and up-front fees might not have been set by their bank but rather by a hedge fund; and that they'll soon be confronted with the choice of coughing up higher payments or coughing up their home. The option ARM is "like the neutron bomb," says George McCarthy, a housing economist at New York's Ford Foundation. "It's going to kill all the people but leave the houses standing."

Now it looks like these mortgages may have ballooned out of control.

As of the end of December, Countrywide had nearly $29 billion in pay-option loans, with about $26 billion of the total having grown beyond their original loan amount, the company said in a filing late Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"Our borrowers' ability to defer portions of the interest accruing on their loans may expose us to increased credit risk," the company said. It added that its risk could be greater because the amount of deferred interest on pay-option loans was on the upswing.

As of the end of December, 71 percent of borrowers with pay-option loans were electing to make less than full interest payments.

Countrywide sees pay-option loan risk [BusinessWeek]
(Photo:Meghann Marco)

Cancellation date.—The term ``cancellation date'' means...the date on which the principal balance of the mortgage...is first scheduled to reach 80 percent of the original value of the property securing the loan.