Consumer complaint received 2021-02-23
Company: SELECT PORTFOLIO SERVICING, INC.
State: CA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
Since XXXX, homeowners enjoyed a positive, professional mortgage relationship with XXXX  and, for 17 years, never were late in remitting XXXXXXXX  monthly mortgage payments. 

In XXXX, the year before COVID-19 came to California, our XXXX XXXX XXXX Interest Statement / Form 1098 noted that mortgage interest paid in XXXX totaled {$11000.00}. By contrast in XXXX, the same XXXX  Form 1098 / Mortgage Interest Statement -- as a result of XXXX-offered " COVID-19 Assistance '' -- totaled {$3600.00}. This same XXXX XXXX XXXX Interest Form 1098 also read : " COVID-19 Assistance : Delayed Payments. ( Delayed payments under COVID-19 Assistance may impact the amount of mortgage interest shown on your IRS Form 1098. ) '' As XXXX homeowners, we were in XXXX -- and still in XXXX continue to be -- negatively impacted by unexpected financial losses caused by COVID-19. Like fellow Americans across our country in XXXX, and still now in XXXX, we joined many other U.S. homeowners -- over 10 million -- who experienced serious COVID financial hardship. However, for the first time since XXXX, last year we were unable to pay all 2020 monthly CHASE mortgage payments. 

Our last " XXXXconfirmed-as-received '' mortgage payment was for XX/XX/XXXX, after which XXXX opted to move our mortgage to SPS. As longtime XXXX clients, we had no say in the XXXX decision and understood only that SPS would replace XXXX as our new XXXX mortgage servicer. 

One year of COVID-caused loss of income coupled with serious XXXX XXXX requiring costly hospitalizations caused unprecedented hardship in XXXX. Homeowners also never received the XXXXpromised second federal stimulus and hope that a new XXXX federal stimulus soon will be issued. As responsible homeowners and in spite of XXXX unexpected hardships, in XXXX, we timely paid all property taxes and also paid off a second mortgage for total of {$130000.00} out-of-pocket. 

This past Saturday, XX/XX/XXXX, an unexpected, dishonest, predatory-style-lender notice was left at our front door ( photo attached ). This SPS door notice -- inadvertently found by our prospective buyer -- cast needless, untrue negative aspersions on homeowners by falsely stating : " SPS, your mortgage servicer is unable to contact you. '' In fact, only the reverse is true as documented in the attached 32 pages of 40+ emails that represent only some of the emails that homeowners have sent to SPS over the past five months. All homeowner emails sent to SPS were immediately " acknowledged as received '' by SPS per SPS emailed notifications acknowledging SPS receipt of homeowner emails. SPS " acknowledged as received '' emails stated : " Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc. ( SPS ) has received your email. If your email requires a response, SPS will review your request and will respond. '' In fact, SPS never once responded to any of our over 40 emails and failed to respond with SPS written replies to homeowner 's five months of XXXX emailed questions. 

In addition to emailing SPS, we have telephoned SPS. Notes from a XX/XX/XXXX call that we placed to SPS beginning at XXXX and lasting 47 minutes -- SPS can confirm since SPS claims that all calls are " recorded '' --, document that SPS telephone representative XXXX ( No SPS ID ) : 1. Could not verify if our mortgage was " federally-backed ; '' 2. Could not confirm if/how SPS accounted for our XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX payment ; 3. Could not discuss SPS loan resolution options previously shared by SPS, such as : a ) forbearance extension for homeowners still experiencing COVID financial hardship, b ) payment deferral ( adding non-interest bearing paused payments to end of mortgage maturity, due when loan is paid off ) and c ) term extension. 

However, during the same XX/XX/XXXX phone conversation, SPS telephone representative XXXX VERBALLY was able to request that we begin to pay to SPS in XX/XX/XXXX a monthly mortgage payment of {$1300.00} -- substantially higher than our XXXX XXXX monthly mortgage of {$1300.00}. 

In fact, we have since paid two separate 2021 monthly mortgage payments to SPS -- one for XXXX and another for XX/XX/XXXX --, each in the amount of {$1300.00} -- the monthly amount that SPS phone rep XXXX VERBALLY stated was required during our XX/XX/XXXX phone call to SPS. Both of these XXXX mortgage payments also have been confirmed as delivered to SPS by our bank. 

Since making these two separate XXXX mortgage payments -- each in the amount of {$1300.00} --, we reviewed USPS-earlier-delivered written correspondence received from SPS stating in writing that our required monthly mortgage payment is only {$1300.00} -- a lower amount than what was quoted verbally by SPS/XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and the same monthly mortgage that we paid to XXXX in XXXX. 

This serious discrepancy was brought to the attention of SPS in our most recent email to SPS dated XX/XX/XXXX ( Attached 32 pages of 40 different XXXX homeowner emails sent to SPS -- all auto-confirmed as received by SPS but none receiving SPS written email replies. ) Scrolling through five months of 40 attached emails, the following homeowner concerns repeatedly were noted but always ignored by SPS : Early-stated preference for written email communications ( XX/XX/XXXX XXXX, SPS use of inaccurate zip code ( XX/XX/XXXX ), Repeated difficulty reaching SPS Relationship Manager, Repeated requests : SPS accounting / XXXX XX/XX/XXXX mortgage payment, Homeowner telephone number not recognized by SPS, Homeowner SS # not recognized by SPS, Homeowner difficulty logging into SPS website, Homeowner repeated requests / SPS Loan Resolution Options ( XX/XX/XXXX XXXX, SPS misleading phone info / XXXX XX/XX/XXXX mortgage payment ( XX/XX/XXXX XXXX, SPS-offered payment deferral email ignored by SPS XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, SPS offered COVID-19 Assistance/loan resolution options ( modification, forbearance extension, payment deferral, term extension ) Homeowner emails ignored by SPS XXXX XXXX ), Homeowner emails requesting outstanding principal balance last ignored by SPS XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX, Homeowner repeated login instruction request last ignored by SPS XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX. 

As stated in homeowner XX/XX/XXXX email to SPS, homeowners do not feel comfortable with unreliable SPS verbal communications and prefer to receive SPS written replies to homeowner written email inquiries. 

We are responsible homeowners who never had any problem with our XXXX XXXX XXXX relationship and believe that SPS, based in XXXX XXXX XXXX, is treating us unfairly due to our COVID financial hardship -- a financial hardship being experienced by millions of U.S. homeowners across our Nation. 

We plan to sell our California home this year and will use a respected real estate attorney to manage the escrow and sale. Our attorney will pay off any remaining SPS principal balance at close of escrow. For this reason, we again request SPS to email us written confirmation of our current outstanding mortgage principal balance. 

In the meantime, we also again respectfully request SPS to email us written confirmation of our " required '' monthly mortgage payment since our XX/XX/XXXX mortgage will be due in less than one week. We are not clear if the mortgage should be the SPS written ( {$1300.00} ) or the SPS verbal-by-phone ( {$1300.00} ). 

Homeowners repeatedly emailed SPS regarding SPS-offered COVID-19 Assistance/loan resolution options ( modification, forbearance extension, payment deferral, term extension ). Homeowner email dated XX/XX/XXXX -- copied and pasted in attached HOMEOWNER EMAILS SENT TO SPS -- documents just one of the repeated efforts made by Homeowner to understand COVID-19 Assistance programs offered by SPS. On XX/XX/XXXX, Homeowner emailed SPS stating in writing homeowner early preference for SPS-offered Payment Deferral as described by SPS : " A payment deferral is designed to bring your account current by adding the past due payments to the end of your loan as a non-interest bearing balloon that is due at maturity or payoff of the loan. '' RESOLUTION : Because homeowner plans to sell home in XXXX, homeowner prefers COVID-19 Assistance to be in the form of SPS forbearance extension, payment deferral or term extension. A respected real estate attorney will manage sale and escrow for homeowner, and, upon close of escrow, the attorney will payoff homeowner 's remaining SPS mortgage principle balance. 

As noted above, we respectfully request SPS to email us written confirmation of our monthly mortgage payment since our XX/XX/XXXX mortgage will be due soon. We are not clear if the SPS " required '' mortgage payment should be the SPS written ( {$1300.00} ) or the SPS verbal-by-phone ( {$1300.00} ). 

In addition, on XX/XX/XXXX, The XXXX House announced an Extension of XXXX Forbearance and Foreclosure Protections for Homeowners https : XXXX In the XX/XX/XXXX Release, The White House XXXX XXXX " just over 10 million homeowners are behind on mortgage payments '' due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The actions announced by The White House on XX/XX/XXXX -- only four days after Homeowners last emailed SPS on XX/XX/XXXX -- will : Extend the foreclosure moratorium for homeowners through XX/XX/XXXX ; Extend the mortgage payment forbearance enrollment window until XX/XX/XXXX for borrowers who wish to request forbearance ; Provide up to six months of additional mortgage payment forbearance, in three-month increments, for borrowers who entered forbearance on or before XX/XX/XXXX. 

Homeowners sincerely hope that SPS will become familiar with White House actions announced on XX/XX/XXXX and, as a result, will finally offer fair WRITTEN/EMAILED mortgage relief to us. 

As XXXX, longtime responsible homeowners whose income and health were, and continue to be, negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, we look forward soon to receiving SPS WRITTEN/EMAILED mortgage relief assistance based on the XX/XX/XXXX, White House announced Extension of COVID-19 Forbearance and Foreclosure Protections for Homeowners.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation