Consumer complaint received 2021-03-11
Company: Freedom Mortgage Company
State: MO
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I received notice from my homeowner 's insurance company that my policy premium was past due, unpaid by my lender, Freedom Mortgage. My policy was due on XX/XX/XXXX and this was the first I was notified of as much. 
I contacted XXXX XXXX Insurance who indicated that they attempted to follow-up with Freedom Mortgage, as the party who assumed my mortgage loan in the fall of XXXX, on multiple occasions, including XX/XX/XXXX to determine if/when Freedom would pay my premiums ( XXXX Mortgage paid my premiums in a timely fashion on the XXXX of XXXX faithfully for XXXX years ). XXXX indicated as well that my policy declaration was sent at the beginning of XX/XX/XXXX as per usual. XXXX they stated she would emailed the policy declaration to Freedom Mortgage again to the contact information she was provided ; she forwarded the same declaration information to me and I sent it to the email contact address XXXX was using. At that time, I also called Freedom Mortgage myself to attempt to understand why they failed to meet their fiduciary duty in paying my insurance premium. I spoke with XXXX in Customer Care, who transferred me to XXXX, who transferred me to XXXX in the " insurance department. '' XXXX indicated that they had tried to contact XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and received no action on my policy. XXXX then asked that the policy information be uploaded to the mycoverageinfo.com/agent link. I called XXXX XXXX back and let them know of the website address and was informed that policy information was emailed not uploaded. 
When the email I sent was returned undeliverable to the address XXXX XXXX had, I forwarded the content and policy declaration to Freedom Mortgage 's Customer Care email address from their website ; I received confirmation of receipt from that address on Saturday XX/XX/XXXX. 
On Monday XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted XXXX XXXX again to ascertain whether Freedom Mortgage had taken care of paying my insurance premiums. XXXX XXXX still had not heard from Freedom Mortgage about this matter. The call was disconnected, and I then called Freedom Mortgage. XXXX, with Freedom Mortgage transferred me to XXXX. When I explained that matter to XXXX, she explained that processing policies through email would take 2 - 5 business days. XXXX asked that I take a screen shot of the declaration page of my policy and upload it to mycoverageinfo.com/freedom. This information was different than the information I received on XX/XX/XXXX. Moreover, she also said this method of transmitting policy information would also take 2 - 5 business days. 
Keep in mind that XXXX has had no issues contacting me, upon transfer of my mortgage to their business, to try and sell me a new lower rate mortgage. They called 2 - 3 times a day, multiple days a week, despite my letting them know that if I were interested in reducing my interest rate, I would contact them. They also had no issues send me a contract to sign to reduce my interest rate without my request or consent. But they did not and could not reach out and let me know they had not received the information they needed to pay my homeowner 's insurance and that the coverage was otherwise going to lapse. It was XXXX XXXX that let me know of this dire circumstance first. 
Nonetheless, on XX/XX/XXXX, rather than taking screen shots, I discovered, when I went to the website address provided by XXXX, that the entire policy declaration document could be uploaded to XXXX. So, I downloaded the current policy declaration document from my XXXX XXXX account and uploaded it to the website XXXX provided. I received confirmation that the document was received as the site indicated " Policy Submitted & Under Review. '' I also received an email from XXXX confirming receipt of the uploaded information. 
XXXX XXXXXX/XX/XXXX, I contacted Freedom Mortgage to follow-up on their receipt of my policy declaration. The recording on the number provided by their website, XXXX stated 1 ) the policy information was " successfully processed. '' Then, 2 ) my policy expired on XXXX and to avoid Freedom acquiring coverage for me at a higher rate, I needed to upload a copy of my current policy as no information was received ; moreover, there was no current history of payment. - What?! 
So, I talked with XXXX at Freedom Mortgage. I explained why I was calling, and XXXX started by being concerned about updating my telephone number ; I had done that on Monday on the mycoverage website ; she indicated that I needed to do that on the main website. When I reiterated the purpose of my call and the fact that I found it more imperative that this issue with my homeowner 's insurance be taken care of more so than my telephone number, she stated I needed to upload my policy declaration. I explained that I had. She then indicated that the information Freedom received was out-of-date. I explained it was not as I looked at the information received from XXXX XXXX via email and the declaration on my XXXX XXXX account online. XXXX then wanted to know what mortgage company was declared. It is Freedom Mortgage. XXXX then, finally, attempted to contact XXXX XXXX. After only four minutes of hold time, she came back and indicated that she could not hold any longer and that I would need to contact XXXX XXXX myself to resolve this matter. I explained to her that Freedom Mortgage has a fiduciary duty to manage this matter on my behalf since they are the company that assumed my mortgage. She was not willing to be of further assistance, recognizing that I was frustrated, she could not hold any longer. 
I contacted XXXX at XXXX XXXX. I explained the dilemma I was experiencing with Freedom Mortgage and he too recommended that I upload the policy declaration. I explained that I had, that I had received confirmation of receipt, and that Freedom was not seeing the information, was stating it was outdated information, etc. While XXXX was willing to help, he indicated he could not conference Freedom Mortgage into the call ( although XXXX had suggested on XX/XX/XXXX that calls with lenders could be ). I was able to conference XXXX into the conversation with XXXX, however, and we spoke with XXXX. XXXX was faxing the information to Freedom and, in the conversation, I let XXXX know that I had uploaded the policy declaration was well on Monday, XX/XX/XXXX. She put us on hold to look to see if the declaration was uploaded and she came back stating she had it in hand. She had the correct premium rate and stated that the policy would be paid in full, would be put in the mail tomorrow, XX/XX/XXXX, and for XXXX XXXX to expect receipt of full payment in 7 - 10 business days.

While this debacle appears to be resolved now, I remain concerned.

1 ) When Freedom Mortgage assumed my loan from XXXX in the fall of XXXX, I had difficulties getting my mortgage payment paid to them in a timely manner ; that has since reflected on my credit report. The late payment was not due to negligence on my part, it was on their part. That reflection remains there despite the lack of Freedom having my account information available online or by phone when they assumed the loan.

2 ) Freedom Mortgage hounded me for weeks, almost a full month, to refinance my mortgage with them despite my not being interested and indicating, multiple times, that if I changed my mind, I would contact them. They had my contact information and had no problem contacting me, emailing me, and sending me a contract I did not request in the mail.

3 ) When accounted to manage my escrow account to pay my homeowner 's insurance, I hear nothing from them. Not a phone call. Not an email. And, when mentioned to those I have talked with since Friday, XXXX, XXXX, no one indicated then that Freedom had attempted to reach out until today when XXXX said that a letter was sent to me on XX/XX/XXXX. I have not received this letter yet, as of XX/XX/XXXX. Furthermore, sending me this notice after I contacted XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, seems pointless as does the fact that that letter was sent two days after Freedom failed to send payment to XXXX XXXX - the party they are supposed to make payment to on my behalf. And, clearly, they have that contact information as XXXX contacted them today. 
4 ) XXXX also indicated that Freedom had attempted to reach out to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. No other representative with Freedom indicated as much. Both XXXX and XXXX indicated the last attempt to contact XXXX XXXX made by Freedom Mortgage was XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX then said she could read all the notes to me ; please, I just want my homeowner 's insurance paid out of the escrow account Freedom Mortgage assumed responsibility of in the fall of XXXX. My attempts to rectify this matter have fallen on deaf ears and Freedom has left me to take care of this circumstance without taking accountability. 
5 ) I am duly concerned that this payment will not be mailed tomorrow and that I will again have to continue to follow-up with an organization that clearly is inept meeting their fiduciary duties. In fact, when looking at my escrow account, they have failed to account for increases in premiums and taxation, unlike XXXX. Therefore, it is with great concern, when told that my homeowner 's policy will be paid in full, that still submit this complaint as I fail to see how Freedom Mortgage will effectively meet these and the other fiduciary duties they have on my behalf without this entity causing further negative impact to me as their consumer ; I did not choose Freedom Mortgage and they have failed to demonstrate how they have my best interests in mind when handling this circumstance. Therefore, I anticipate that I will continue to have to face an uphill struggle to ensure that my home and the security of my home are protected from the very company that is responsible for supporting me in doing so. 
Thus, I ask that others be made aware of these struggles and that remedies be made on behalf of myself and other consumers who endure the disconnected irresponsibility of a mortgage company who fails to effectively manage mortgages. I have had nothing but poor experiences with Freedom Mortgage since this past fall, apart from interactions with XXXX ; I fear I will continue to have poor experiences with this business as I wait out the next seven to ten business days.

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