Consumer complaint received 2023-08-29
Company: NEW YORK COMMUNITY BANCORP INC
State: WI
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process
Sub-issue: Payment process

Complaint:
On XX/XX/23 I logged into the flagstar website with my personal credentials to make a loan payment. During this time the website was very slow, and buffered multiple times. I waited for the information to load and when it wouldn't load properly I refreshed until the information would load properly so I could make my XXXX loan payment. I successfully submitted the payment and closed the site. 

Yesterday XX/XX/23 I noted that XXXX  payments of the exact same amount were drawn from my bank account. I immediately reached out to the lender to ask that they refund the monies as there was clearly an issue with the website and their system submitted XXXX  payments. The first representative stated they could refund the second payment if I completed a paper form but it had already been applied to my XXXX loan assessment. I advised the representative that I was not interested in completing a paper form as I did not authorize a second payment to be made and simply just wanted the money refunded. The representative refused to accomodate this request without a paper form being completed. I requested to speak with her supervisor. 

Upon speaking with the " supervisor '' my name was mispronounced multiple times and when I corrected this the supervisor began to raise her voice. I questioned this behavior and advised her that we could have a civil conversation. The supervisor stated the representative stated I was claiming fraud occured on my account. I explained to the supervisor that I did not state that, at all but rather that there were website issues when I submitted my payment. The supervisor claimed that I went into the online system and scheduled a second payment. I again, advised that I did not and clearly there was a system issue. The supervisor hung up on me. 

After being hung up on, I waited two full minutes just in the chance that this was done accidently and not out of malice. I spoke with a new representative and asked to speak with a manager as I had just been hung up on by a previous supervisor. This representative put me back in contact with the supervisor who hung up on me. I asked the supervisor if my phone number was not on record ( which it is ) and the supervisor advised that she had thought that I was on hold. I explained that I too had worked in call centers and knew that it is possible to accidently hang up when you thought you were placing someone on hold but, you should know that the call is no longer connected if you make this mistake and call them back if you did make a mistake. The supervisor denied this to which I asked to speak with her manager because, I felt she was being not only dishonest but, she was refusing to own her mistake. 

I spoke with a male XXXX after this conversation, explaining that especially after this extremely poor interaction I had no intention of completing a paper form in order for me to be refunded the money their system had taken without my approval. Smugly he said my only option would be the form. I asked what legal guidelines prevented him from accomodating my request when I had already given authorization for them to draw funds from my bank account. He talked over me and said I just had to do the form and that was their company policy. I found his demeanor to be dismissive and asked for another manager. Even after I refused the form, he still emailed it to me without my authorization. 

He then put me in contact with a female manager who I advised her that I was only interested in being accomodated by having my funds returned to my bank account without paperwork being involved and that if their stance was that I needed to jump through hoops to have my funds returned they could leave the monies applied to my XXXX payment, as I am not in a financial position where I am in dire need of these monies and that I would file a CFPB and XXXX  complaint regarding their poor business practices. She stated their position would be the form and I then advised we were at a stand still and I would move forward with the complaints.

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