Midland Mortgage - Who are they...REALLY!

Midland Mortgage is headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina and was founded in 1982 by Mary Beth Dawson-Gillis. Midland Mortgage makes mortgage loans in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia, and offers a wide range of mortgage loan products including commercial loans, new construction loans, home improvement loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, and other creative financing options.

Or, it is located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with no website and no customer service telephone number. Or, it is part of a real estate firm in Midland, Texas.

If you have a mortgage with Midland, it might be a good idea to take a look at your bill or your original contract and find out if in fact you know who and where Midland Mortgage is.

One case in point is Holden Lewis’s mother, Marjorie Hiersch, who needed to contact her mortgage holder, Midland Mortgage, about a rebate on her property taxes. Since her taxes were escrowed and sent in along with her mortgage payment, she needed them to collect the $800 refund and send it to her in the form of a check. That meant she had to contact Midland Mortgage.

Marjorie Hiersch spent several months being bounced back and forth between the customer service department at an 800 number for Midland Mortgage, and the customer service department of the tax office, and was asked to mail and fax copies of forms showing her tax refund and exemptions to both, but nothing happened. Then her escrowed amount on her mortgage payment increased. Her son called the 800 number for Midland and asked to speak with a supervisor, and was told that was not possible.

The problem was finally solved when Marjorie did an internet search and found a country club that listed the name, phone number, and extension a Midland Mortgage executive. She called it and things started to get done. The whole story, along with tips on how to get past 1-800 customer service firewalls, can be found at:

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/pf/20010404a.asp

Having logged quite a few years as a 1-800 financial customer service representative myself, I would add that it only feels like you get better treatment if you ask fro the rep’s name and extension and write it down. In reality, the reps are told never to escalate calls, to get rid of people in less than three minutes or face consequences, and most customer service reps are gone before well their first year is over.

That’s how stressful the job is, and the companies who do business this way know it and count on it. The company already has your money and/or your loan and/or your insurance policy. They want you to go away; that’s why they have that kind of “customer service” department.

So, what is Midland Mortgage? If you don’t know for sure, and you are shopping for a loan, maybe it’s time to call another lender. Find one with a local office staffed by human beings if you can. And good luck.