Consumer complaint received 2020-02-04
Company: AG AH LLC
State: FL
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
Our mortgage company is collecting more escrow than they need. They just payed a tax on our property and there is more than 10,000 dollars left in escrow month 1, we called them and they refused to return the escrow surplus, stating that we have to have minimum of XXXX XXXX dollars in there ( the tax each year varies from 8-9 thousand ). We called multiple times and no success, so i would like to file a formal compaint. My husband sent them a letter yesterday but no one responded yet ; represantative transferred us to her supervisor and we were on hold for 2 hours and 13 minutes until we gave up waiting. Below is the letter with all the information. Its ARC loan company and our loan number is XXXX. The number you can reach back to us is XXXX - XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX Arc Home LLC XXXX. XXXX  XXXX XXXX, PA XXXX ARC Mortgage To Whom it may concern It is with sincere concern that I have written to you herein in relation to the excess escrow overage maintained by your bank. I have been unable to resolve this issue on the phone. I have been told that I need to have as of the first month of the year, amounts ranging from {$12000.00} to {$15000.00} in the escrow account depending upon the person who answers the phone. This excess escrow has been active since XX/XX/XXXX. The amount of funds escrowed by the bank has been as high as {$23000.00}. Insurance is paid directly by me. The escrow reserve therefore is only for tax, which was most recently {$9900.00}. 
I have called on multiple occasions requesting a correction and normalization of the escrow to within acceptable standards. As you are aware the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, or RESPA, was enacted by Congress to provide homebuyers and sellers with complete settlement cost disclosures. The Act was also introduced to eliminate abusive practices in the real estate settlement process, to prohibit kickbacks, and to limit the use of escrow accounts. 
Initially passed by Congress in 1974, RESPA effective on June 20, 1975.  RESPA has been impacted over the years by several changes and amendments. Enforcement initially fell under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ( HUD ). After 2011, those responsibilities were assumed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) due to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection legislation. 
Section 10 of RESPA controls the amount of money a lender may require to be held in escrow for the payment of real estate taxes and hazard insurance. Federal law does not require lenders to escrow. 
Under RESPA, a lender may not require borrowers to pay monthly more than one-twelfth of the total amount of all escrows calculated for one year. However, lenders are permitted to maintain a cushion equal to one-sixth of the total amount of items paid out on a yearly basis. In other words, to ensure that lenders will have sufficient funds to timely pay the real estate taxes ( or the insurance ), the law does allow a cushion of two months per year. 
I would be pleased if you would remedy this excess escrow sequestering by your mortgage company within 14 working days of receipt of this registered mail. 

My preference would be to resolve this issue in a convivial manner. 

Yours sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief