In June, the nonprofit housing group ESOP organized protests at Chase Manhattan bank branches around Ohio. Homeowners said Chase wasn't following through on promises to work out late mortgage payments and modify troubled loans. They accused the lender of giving them the runaround, while taking bailout money from taxpayers.
At a a meeting last week with Chase, ESOP member Jim Ross says the nonprofit made some headway. ESOP says Chase will let them know in three business days if it has received all the documents needed to just process a request for help on a loan. And within thirty days of getting that paperwork, Ross says, Chase will notify ESOP whether a borrower can qualify for help.
Jim Ross: These are improvements that are badly needed, sorely needed.
Ross should know. He spent weeks trying to get help from Chase over the phone before going to ESOP. Ross is concerned because company representatives would not sign any paperwork formalizing Chase's deal with the nonprofit.
Jim Ross: I have a wait and see approach to see if they are actually going to follow through.
And when contacted, a spokesman for JP Morgan Chase wouldn't confirm the state-wide agreement saying that he couldn't discuss any specifics of the meeting with ESOP except to say that it happened.
ESOP has written agreements with several other financial institutions to help them get results for borrowers.