Consumer complaint received 2020-09-29
Company: AmeriHome Mortgage Company, LLC
State: CT
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
XXXX XXXX XXXX. 
XXXX, CT XXXX XXXX XXXX, 2020 Dear XXXX : I am writing to file a formal complaint against my mortgage servicing company, AmeriHome Mortgage Company , LLC, which lists an official address of XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX Oaks, CA XXXX and a mortgage lender license XXXX. 

Over the last XXXX years I suffered some financial setbacks that led me to be late by fifteen to twenty-nine days for several months. Each time AmeriHome charged me approximately {$120.00}. This has totaled up to {$1600.00} as of today. In addition, AmeriHome is charging me an additional {$16.00} per month on top of those late fees, even when I pay on time, which they simply describe as Other Fees, but do not explain what it is for in their monthly invoices to me. They also have apparently charged me interest on these excessive fees. I am presently current on my mortgage except for the late fees and Other Fees that AmeriHome has charged me. 

On XX/XX/2020 I called AmeriHome at their customer service number to attempt to negotiate these late fees downward because late fees typically have marginal profit rates of about 90 % and I felt that it was not only unrealistically high but punitive, and represented a financial hardship for me to pay. In other words, the amount I am charged by AmeriHome is more than ten times their actual cost of my being a few days late. I spoke to a customer service representative named XXXX at about XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/2020. I explained the situation to her and asked to negotiate the fees downward with her. She told me that she could not negotiate with me due to her company policy on the late fees, and that I had to send an email to AmeriHome@loanadministration.com if I wanted to negotiate with them. 

On XX/XX/2020 I sent an email to AmeriHome at the email address that XXXX from AmeriHome gave me explaining the situation and requesting that they negotiate the late fees downward. Later that day on XXXX XXXX, 2020, I received an email notice from AmeriHome that assigned XXXX : XXXX to the email I sent them and acknowledging that they had received my XX/XX/XXXX email, and telling me they would respond. XXXX, XXXX and much of XXXX went by and I did not receive the promised response to my email from AmeriHome. 

So, on XX/XX/2020 I sent another email to AmeriHome that included the previous email I sent on XX/XX/XXXX to AmeriHome requesting that we negotiate down the late fees they claim I owe them. Later that day on XX/XX/XXXX they once again sent me confirmation that they had received my XX/XX/XXXX email and assigned to it XXXX : XXXX. As of now, a month and half after my last correspondence to AmeriHome I have not received any response to either of my two emails to AmeriHome asking that they negotiate with me on the excessive late fees and other fees they have assessed me. 

I have written this complaint because AmeriHome refused to negotiate with me on the phone when I called, and subsequently did not respond to the two emails they asked me to send them, and which they acknowledged in writing having received. I feel that AmeriHome unjustly enriched themselves by the excessive late fees they charged me at a time of financial distress for me, and then has stonewalled me by not responding to either of my two emails requesting that we negotiate down what they claim I owe them in late fees. 

XXXX of the foundations of commercial law is the XXXX of XXXX XXXX and XXXX Dealing. That covenant states that parties in a commercial transaction like a mortgage are supposed to act in good faith and deal fairly with their counterparty in the transaction. By charging me more than ten times the amount of harm they may have suffered in late fees because I was a few days late in making a payment, telling me they could not negotiate over the phone with me, requiring that I negotiate by email with them, and then refusing repeated written requests to negotiate by email these excessive late fees AmeriHome has acted both unfairly and in bad faith, and hence in violation of the XXXX  of XXXX  XXXX and XXXX  Dealing. 

I request the CFPB 's help in this matter. Without your help I believe that AmeriHome will continue use their power to stonewall me and act in bad faith as they have done so far, and by doing so continue to unjustly enrich themselves at my expense by charging excessive late and other fees. Each time they assess these excessively and outrageously high late fees against me they make it that much harder for me to pay my mortgage on time. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation