An Army non-commissioned officer is suing the bank that holds the mortgage on his home, claiming the bank refuses to adhere to a federal law that limits interest rates lenders may charge service members. Staff Sgt. Raymond Wray filed the lawsuit in a U.S. district court in Columbia, S.C. He is stationed at nearby Fort Jackson, S.C. According to Wray’s complaint, he assumed a loan of $68,800 to buy a home in Boiling Springs, N.C., in 1997. In 2002, O’Fallon, Mo.-based CitiMortgage assumed the loan, which carried a 12.99-percent, 30-year fixed interest rate. Wray claims that CitiMortgage failed to comply with the federal law that entitles him to a lower interest rate. Wray sought a rate of 6 percent. The brief Wray’s attorney filed before the court last December states that CitiMortgage failed to lower his rate, by reclassifying the remainder of his loan as an "interest subsidy." As a result, Wray’s mortgage continued to carry the 12.99-percent rate. CitiMortgage ultimately agreed to rescind the subsidy classification in 2012. Wray contends that by paying at the higher rate for a decade, he acquired equity in his home at a considerably slower rate than he would have had the lower rate been applied. He is seeking a jury trial. If he prevails, Wray wants CitiMortgage to acknowledge the error, pay damages, and cover his costs for lawyers, accountants, and experts. Wray also wants CitiMortgage to search company records, determine if any other service members were paying mortgages with higher interest rates than the law allows, and recompense them similarly. The case is expected to go to trial later this year.
