Consumer complaint received 2019-07-16
Company: Freedom Mortgage Company
State: NJ
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage

Complaint:
I'm refinancing my FHA loan that I have with Freedom Mortgage ( FHA streamline refinance ). In short, they have been unable or unwilling to provide me with an accurate closing disclosure. Times are in EST. Here 's what happened : * The Closing Disclosure from Freedom Mortgage, which I received on XX/XX/XXXX, set the cash to close at {$1300.00}. I signed the Closing Disclosure Acknowledgement of Receipt on XX/XX/XXXX. I was scheduled to close on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX. 

* On XX/XX/XXXX around XXXX ( so the night before closing ), I received an email from XXXX XXXX, the closing company, saying the amount needed to close was now {$2400.00}. No itemization or further explanation was provided, and this amount was different than what was listed on the closing disclosure. At XXXX that same night, I responded to that email from XXXX XXXX asking for clarification on the amount needed to close, and I cc'ed the person I had spoken to from Freedom Mortgage about the closing. 

* On XX/XX/XXXX around noon, I called Freedom Mortgage to ask for clarification about the amount needed to close. I called the person from Freedom Mortgage twice that I had spoken to about the closing, but she did not answer, so I then called the general customer service line. I spoke to a customer service representative, who transferred me to someone in the refinance department. He looked at my refinance file, but he couldn't tell me definitively what the cash to close was. I told him that if we couldn't determine the correct amount, we'd have to reschedule the closing. He let me know his supervisor would call me back with some info ( supervisor did not call me back ). 

* On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX, since I hadn't heard back one way or the other about the correct amount, I called the notary that was supposed to come to my house and let her know the situation, telling her that I couldn't close if Freedom Mortgage was unable to tell me how much the cash to close was. I summarized all of the above in an email and sent it in the evening on XX/XX/XXXX to the contact from XXXX XXXX and the person from Freedom Mortgage I had spoken to about the closing. At the end of that email, I said that I was waiting to hear back from that supervisor or anyone from Freedom Mortgage about the correct cash to close amount. 

* On XX/XX/XXXX someone else from Freedom Mortgage called me, and I returned his call same day but got a voicemail so I left a message. I emailed him in the evening on XX/XX/XXXX and forwarded the summary I had previously sent above to him so he was aware of the situation. 

* On XX/XX/XXXX I received an email from someone else at Freedom Mortgage saying my refinance application was approved and Freedom would like to schedule the closing appointment. It was as if this person had no record whatsoever about my previous calls and emails asking about the cash to close amount. 

* On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX, a supervisor I had cc'ed on a previous email responded to me, saying that since my next payment would be due XX/XX/XXXX, the funds needed at closing are for 2 months of escrow payments and a portion of the interest that I would have normally made in my XXXX payment. He also asked if I would like to reschedule my closing. Nothing about providing an accurate closing disclosure, or an accurate cash to close amount, or any semblance of a breakdown of the costs. 

* On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX, another new person from Freedom Mortgage emailed me, saying my refinance application was approved and Freedom would like to schedule the closing appointment. Again, it was like this person had no record whatsoever about my current situation. I just wanted an accurate closing disclosure. 

* On XX/XX/XXXX I received 2 phone calls from Freedom Mortgage about scheduling my closing. The first call, around XXXX, said the earliest day I could schedule my closing was Monday, XX/XX/XXXX. The second call, which came about XXXX, did not mention anything about this XX/XX/XXXX date. I called back and scheduled my closing appointment for Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX, at XXXX at my house. The person I spoke to said I would receive the closing disclosure via email. 

* On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX, I had not received the closing disclosure as promised. I emailed the person from Freedom Mortgage that had last emailed me about scheduling my closing and informed her that I spoke to someone earlier, they had said I would receive my closing disclosure via email, but I hadn't received it yet. I then called that supervisor I had cc'ed in a previous email ( mentioned above ) and asked him why I hadn't received the closing disclosure. This was Saturday, XX/XX/XXXX, and the closing was scheduled for Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX. He said that the closing department hadn't sent it out yet. He tried to get a hold of someone from the closing department, but it was past the closing department 's hours for Saturday, so he informed me that the closing department would email me the closing disclosure Monday, XX/XX/XXXX. 

* On XX/XX/XXXX around XXXX, I hadn't received the closing disclosure so I called Freedom Mortgage 's closing department. I got a voicemail so I left a pretty detailed message explaining the situation and asking if anyone could provide me with the closing disclosure for my closing tomorrow. Their message said the closing department would get back to me within 3 hours, or the next business day XXXX next business day I'm guessing if it's end of day ). I called around XXXX so I was expecting them to get back to me by roughly XXXX. 

* I did not hear anything from Freedom Mortgage until XXXX when I got a call from yet another new person from Freedom Mortgage. I was on the subway when I got the call coming home from work. This person left a message and said that the reason why I hadn't received a closing disclosure was because the notary coming to my house would give me the closing disclosure to sign at closing. I called this person back at XXXX and left a detailed message, explaining that I was very confused about this. How could I agree to a closing if I didn't even know the cash to close amount? I didn't know whether I needed a certified check. If so, I would have to go to the bank before the closing to get the certified check. At the same time, how was I provided a closing disclosure ( although with wrong numbers ) roughly a week before my first scheduled closing ( the one that was canceled since no one from Freedom could explain why there was more than a {$1000.00} difference between the closing disclosure and what the closing company said I needed )? 

* So now I'm left wondering if there's a shady reason why they're unwilling or unable to provide a closing disclosure before closing. 

Thank you.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation