LICKING, Mo. -- As homeowners fall behind on payments, foreclosures have hit an all time high. But a family from Licking paid all of their bills in full and on time, and still was almost being forced out of their home. In one of two similar situations that we’ve heard about recently, the Arney family’s mortgage company tried to force them out of their home for missing a payment that they say they made months ago.

  Dove Arney and her husband, Robert, live a modest life but are proud of it.

  “I've done everything possible to get this home.  It's not much but it's our home and we've worked hard to get it,” she said.

  The thought of losing it made her sick; she's been in and out of the hospital ever since her mortgage holder, Wells Fargo, began the process of foreclosing on the Arneys’ home.

  “We worry constantly that someone's gong to come here and take our home away from us,” said Arney.

  It all started in 2003, when Dove says her former mortgage company, Washington Mutual, was supposed to automatically withdraw $545 from her checking account each month.

  “We noticed they were taking out double and sometimes triple the amount out of our bank account,” she said.

  Her bank account records show they withdrew anywhere from $427 to $1,073 in some months.  As a result, several payments to Washington Mutual bounced and the Arneys fell behind on their payments.

  Then came the lost payment.

  “They lost a payment in December of 2005,” said Arney.

  Fed up with automatic withdrawals, Arney sent a money order.  According to a receipt from the post office, it was delivered on Dec. 5 and signed for by E. Stewart. 

  “They signed for every single one of them!” she said.

  So Arney was shocked when the letters began to arrive, telling her she never paid.

  “We sent them payment.  We have proof we sent it.  We have proof they signed for payment.  What they do with the payment after they signed, that's on them,” she said.

  But her proof didn't seem to help when Washington Mutual sold her mortgage to Wells Fargo and Wells Fargo began foreclosure proceedings.

  “Dear borrower, our records indicate your loan is in default,” the letter began.

  Despite the threat of foreclosure, Arney continued sending her payments every month but Wells Fargo sent each one back because they didn't represent the total amount due on her account.

  As foreclosure loomed and the Arneys fell further and further behind, she finally decided to get an attorney.  That got results. 

   Last month, the Arneys got a letter from an attorney for Wells Fargo.  It says the lender will credit the Arneys’ account for the missing payment and waive all late charges, attorney fees and property inspections. 

  Arney says it's hard to feel like a winner.  After wasting years trying to resolve it and shelling out more than $3,000 in attorney's fees, she says life will never be the same.

   “We've lost almost everything because of this,” she said.

  A spokeswoman for Wells Fargo says she can't comment on the Arneys specifically.

   “Due to customer confidentiality and other privacy considerations, Wells Fargo cannot share specific customer loan information with anyone other than the customer.  We do take customer issues seriously and will investigate any issues raised.  Wells Fargo works early, often and throughout the default and foreclosure process to attempt to find workable solutions for our customers,” she said.

  Washington Mutual says it asked the Arneys to provide proof of the money order but did not receive it. Here’s the full text of a statement from that company.

   “We have a process in place for automatic mortgage payments - the customer identifies the mortgage amount and date when the payment is to be made.”

   (The Arneys say they only approved withdrawals in the amount of $545, but Washington Mutual instead withdrew various amounts ranging from $427 to $1,073.)

  “As for the money order in question, we asked for proof of payment and the Arneys did not provide it.  (With money orders, there is a receipt/ stub that the customer should retain in addition to the money order that they send to the payee.  So, even if the money order was not cashed, they should have proof of the money order.) 

   “If the money order was not cashed, then they would be able to put a stop payment on the money order and resubmit a payment.  We offered to take the payment over the phone and waive the fee for doing so. 

  “It is reasonable for a lender in a case like this to ask for documentation of a payment.  While infrequent, it is possible for mistakes to happen, and if a check was not cashed it is reasonable to ask for a new payment.”

   (Dove Arney says she faxed proof of payment on two occasions, to no avail.  She says she did not want to make a payment over the phone because of the previously mentioned problems with Washington Mutual allegedly taking out more from her account that the approved amount.)

  As far as the other family who had a similar experience, they did not get an attorney.  The foreclosure did go through and the homeowner had to move out last week.