Large companies like CitiMortgage suffer from hubris: we're big, so we can demand what we want, damn the facts. They don't realize that screwing an innocent victim will have repercussions, like this news story. Penny wise and pound foolish. Hubris does that.

Reminds me of a time when a CC company said they didn't receive my payment. The day they received my second payment they deposited both checks and charged me a late fee and interest even though now they owed me money on the account. I finally quit using the card and let them hound me for the late fee's and penalties. Went on for years and was a blemish on my credit report, but I refuse to give in to them.

What happened to the local friendly hometown bank? When were these megabanks given such power that they operate with impunity? If you don't dot the i's and cross the t's to their satsfaction you're in for the fight of your life. Doesn't matter if you're in the right. They're going to stick it to you because they can.

WIsh the startrib had quoted this froom the original article: --- "Nick Slade, a Minneapolis attorney, said it appears that after she filed for bankruptcy, CitiMortgage shifted her payments to a different department, which would explain why her checks were recorded by the company weeks after she sent them. "Even though she thought she was making a full month's payment, the late fees were paid first [by CitiMortgage] and she became further and further in arrears," he said. "The whole thing just started snowballing. ... It really shows how broken the mortgage system is."

"Her Bremer Bank loan officer, Stephan O'Connor, said she should not have to pay them, because she was not at fault." --- Good for Mr. O'Connor. Bremer bank is a good bank. It is the only bank run by a foundation. If you have your account at Citi or Bank of America you should move your account to a credit union or Bremer.

Even the Minnesota Attorney General's office got the run around from Citi. Pity the poor person who has to deal with Citi. From the original article: "We have dealt with nine different staffers at CitiMortgage and the right hand doesn't seem to know what the left hand is doing," said Ben Wogsland, an attorney general's spokesman.

I doubt Citi really has the title. It was probably recorded in a spreadsheet at MERS and then the title was trashed. It would be great if an attorney could take this on and prove that Citi does not have title. Justice would then truly be served.