Consumer complaint received 2020-07-16
Company: United Shore Financial Services, LLC
State: CA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX we closed on the purchase of our home, located at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX. Every payment made to our mortgage company, United Wholesale Mortgage ( UWM ) was on time, and paid via autopay from our XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) account. We chose to refinance for a lower interest rate. The refinance closed on XX/XX/XXXX. 

We received our new loan statement [ Attachment 1 ], dated XX/XX/XXXX, which was also from UWM. I arranged for a new autopay through XXXX, and the first payment was processed on XX/XX/XXXX [ Attachment 2 ]. On XX/XX/XXXX, I called UWM at XXXX to ask a few questions [ Attachment 3proof of call ]. As we were in the process of completing our XXXX taxes, several topics were discussed, including : - What the stipulations were for UWMs COVID-19 forbearance program o Upon hearing the requirements associated with this forbearance program, I said that while I appreciated the information, we would not need to utilize the program, as we were financially comfortable. 
- I asked for our new loan number and any tax documents, so that I could provide them to our accountant. The representative stated that there was only one loan in XXXX, and that the new loan number had not yet been generated. 
o At this point, I said, Oh, so I couldnt even make a payment right now, even if I wanted to? to which the representative laughed and agreed. 
o During the course of this 14-minute call, I was not once informed that our XXXX mortgage payment was delinquent, even after I asked, is there anything else that I need to know? 
We did not receive any further communication from UWM until I  received several letters at once, on XX/XX/XXXX : - Delinquent payment notice ( dated XX/XX/XXXX ) [ Attachment 4 ] - Loan statement ( dated XX/XX/XXXX ) stating that we owed {$6600.00} [ Attachment 6 ] - Letter from UWM attempting to collect upon a debt ( dated XX/XX/XXXX ) [ Attachment 7 ] - Notification of right to HUD counseling ( dated XX/XX/XXXX ) [ Attachment 8 ] Upon receiving these letters, I immediately called UWM at the number on our mortgage statement XXXX XXXX ) to address the issue. I called at XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, and the call lasted 12 minutes. Upon hearing that they had not received our payments for XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, I immediately logged into XXXX XXXX to send a payment while still on the phone with UWM. I asked to have the late fee waived, which they said could be done as a courtesy once every 12 months, so I sent a payment for {$6400.00} ( the full amount owed, minus the late fee of {$120.00} ). This late fee has still not been waived. 
In addition to not informing me of the delinquent XXXX mortgage payment during the XX/XX/XXXX phone call, UWM made no attempt at live contact or early intervention at all, in direct opposition of 12 CFR 1024.39 ( a ) and 12 CFR 1024.31, respectively. XXXX XXXX guidance that servicers must, at minimum, make personal contact with the Borrower as early and as often as necessary to promptly cure the Delinquency was also ignored. [ Attachment 9 confirmation that our correct phone number, XXXX, had been provided ]. 
The first notification we received was the Delinquent Notice, dated XX/XX/XXXXonly after they were legally allowed to assess a late fee [ Attachment 4 ]. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I called UWM at XXXX XXXX  to confirm that they had received the payment [ Attachment 5 ; proof of call ]. Upon learning that they had NOT yet received the online payment through XXXX, I immediately paid the full amount owed of {$6400.00} over the phone ( Confirmation # XXXX ). When I asked what to do in order to get our credit reports fixed, I was told that the only way to correct the negative reporting to the credit bureaus would be to file a dispute through the credit bureaus directly. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I again called UWM ( XXXX ) at XXXX XXXX   and was connected with XXXX. I asked her why, when I called on XX/XX/XXXX, the representative I spoke with did not tell me that our XXXX mortgage payment was delinquent. XXXX stated that while all calls are either recorded or notated, they had no record of my call on XX/XX/XXXX at all. It was during the course of this call that I finally learned that the phone number listed on our mortgage statements ( XXXX ) is actually the phone number for UWMs sub-servicer, XXXX XXXX. When I called UWM ( XXXX ) on XX/XX/XXXX, I was speaking with UWM directly, not the sub-servicer ( XXXX XXXX ). 
Neither UWM nor XXXX XXXX provided us with notice that our loan service was being transferred, in violation of 12 CFR 1024.33 ( b ) and page 10 of our Deed of Trust [ Attachment 10 ]. 

XXXX then transferred my call to Shantice ( XXXX XXXX ). XXXX began our call by stating that all calls were recorded, so I asked to hear the recording of my call to UWM on XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX then transferred me to XXXX at XXXX XXXX. XXXX stated that they would need to open an investigation, which would involve reviewing the transcript of all calls. XXXX stated that I would get a letter with the results within 5 to 7 business days. I never received a letter or any other follow up from UWM or XXXX XXXX regarding this request for an investigation. At no point was I informed that I would need to submit a request in writing in order for an investigation to be conducted, in violation of 12 CFR 1024.35. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I again called Cenlar ( XXXX ) to ask for the results of the investigation. I was told that the inquiry had no notes regarding my request for the transcript or recordings of the calls from XX/XX/XXXX, which is in direct violation of 12 CFR 1024.38 ( c ) ( 1 ) and 12 CFR 1024.38 ( c ) ( 2 ). I was told that no official investigation had been started, because only Loan Administration could initiate an investigation, and I had previously spoken with Customer Service. Again, at no point was I informed that I would need to submit a written request in order to have an investigation stated. I asked to speak with a supervisor, and was told that Mr. XXXX XXXX would call me back within 24 hours. I was also told that the investigation should be completed by XX/XX/XXXX. 

Following these conversations with XXXX, I reached out to our loan officer, XXXX XXXX at XXXX XXXX. He connected me with XXXX, one of his teams Customer Service Representatives. 

On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX, XXXX arranged a conference call to Cenlar ( XXXX ) [ Attachment 11XXXX bill showing call to XXXX at XXXX ]. During this 36-minute call, the representative I spoke with said, It looks like youre trying to blame us for something thats not our responsibility. I asked why I had not been called or emailed regarding the missed payments, and was told that the company, does not have time to reach out to customers over things like that. This is in blatant violation of CFR 1024.39 ( a ), as well as CFPB Bulletin 2013-12. The representative stated that Mr. XXXX XXXX would call me back by the end of the day. Once the representative from XXXX had hung up, I spoke briefly with XXXX about the call, and she stated that the tone of the representative, and the fact that she said that I was trying to blame them for something that wasnt their responsibility, indeed felt very predatory. 
Mr. XXXX XXXX called me later on XX/XX/XXXX [ Attachment 11 ; XXXX ]. Mr. XXXX stated that all facts would be reviewed, and that only facts can lead to a credit retraction. He, too, was unable find record of the XX/XX/XXXX phone call that I placed to XXXX. When I provided the phone number I had called XXXX XXXX ), he stated that he works for XXXX, not UWM, and would not have access to those phone records. I asked for him to reach out to UWM to get those records for the investigation. Mr. XXXX said that it would be a minimum of 2 weeks to achieve a resolution, and said I would likely hear back around XX/XX/XXXX. 
On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX, I called Cenlar ( XXXX ) to find out the results of the investigation [ Attachment 12proof of call ]. I was told that the investigation was complete : our mortgage payments for XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX were received on XX/XX/XXXX, which would not provide any reason for them to change the reporting to the credit bureaus. We also received a generic template letter from UWM, stating the same [ Attachment 13 ]. I asked who had made the report to the credit bureaus, and was told that XXXX XXXX had done so on XX/XX/XXXX. I asked to review the transcript of recording of the call from XX/XX/XXXX, and was told that they did not have access to it, so it was not included in the investigation. This makes it clear that XXXX XXXX did not bother to conduct a reasonable investigation, in violation of 12 CFR 1024.38 ( e ). 
While still on the same XXXX XX/XX/XXXX call, I was transferred to UWM at XXXX XXXX. I asked if there was any record of an investigation into the call on XX/XX/XXXX, and was told no, in clear violation of their duty to maintain an accurate servicing file as set out by 12 CFR 1024.38. The representative stated that she could see that there was a call on XX/XX/XXXX, but that there was no record of a request to investigate it, and noted, that is very strange. 

I was then connected with XXXX at XXXX XXXX, while the previous representative was still on the line. I asked them both, If I called my mortgage company directly, why wouldnt they tell me that my XXXX mortgage payment was delinquent? XXXX said, I see what youre saying, but offered no other explanation. I asked for the transcript or recording of the XX/XX/XXXX call, and was told that a manager would have to request the call record. I was further told that I would  need a court order to receive a copy of the transcript. I asked them to send the recording or transcript to Cenlar, and was told that would also require a court order or subpoena, despite the fact that UWM had failed in its duties to transfer accurate and timely information relating to the servicing of our loan to the sub-servicer ( XXXX XXXX ), as stipulated by 12 CFR 1024.38 ( a ). Further, they did not provide notification, written or oral, that the records constituted confidential, proprietary, or privileged information before refusing to provide me with the telephone recording, a blatant violation of 12 CFR 1024.35 ( e ) ( 4 ). They offered to allow me to listen to the call, but I would have to wait until a manager could call me back to listen with me. No manager ever called me back.

We feel that it is important to call attention to the unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts that UWM and XXXX XXXX used to mislead us regarding who was actually servicing our loan, in order to ensure that other consumers are protected from their tactics. 

- Deceptive : o Following our refinance, the new loan mortgage statements that we received are so similar in style and structure that no reasonable person would think that anyone other than UWM was servicing our loan [ Attachment 14, Attachment 1, Attachment 2, Attachment 6 ] UWMs NMLS Number appears on every statement o The only time the words XXXX XXXX were found written anywhere was in the fine print at the very bottom of the new UWM website that was provided on the mortgage statement [ Attachment 15 ] The design and language of the website makes it impossible for any borrower to recognize that someone other than UWM was servicing the loan.

Please compare the screenshots of the new UWM website [ Attachment 15 ] to the previous UWM website we had accessed prior to our refinance [ Attachment 16 ]. 
- Unfair o This misrepresentation has caused us substantial injury, as shown by : The significant damage to our credit reportsour credit scores have dropped by approximately 125 points on each credit report [ Attachment 18XXXX Credit Reports ; Attachment 19XXXX Credit Reports ]. 
XXXX repeated denials for XXXX loans for his XXXX XXXX  for COVID relief. The stated reason for this denial was his credit score [ Attachment 20 ; XXXX Loan Denial ] - Abusive o We relied upon the fact that, upon speaking directly to a representative at our mortgage company, UWM, on XX/XX/XXXX for 14 minutes, said representative would act in our interests to tell us that our XXXX mortgage payment was delinquent so that we could act before we suffered substantial damage to our credit reports. 
o These practices take unreasonable advantage of the fact that we, as consumers, have no choice in who services our loan, and are thus unable to protect ourselves by choosing a company with a reputation for taking care of its customers. 
Further, by damaging our credit scores so substantially, we are no longer in a place to refinance or move to another mortgage lender, rendering us essentially dependent upon UWM and XXXX XXXX. 
o It is evident that neither UWM nor XXXX XXXX feels any duty to act in the interests of the consumers. 12 CFR 1024.39 ( a )  specifically states that servicers must make good faith efforts to establish live contact no later than the 36th day of delinquency. Instead of contacting us, however, XXXX XXXX reported both of us to all three credit bureaus on the 35th day of delinquency ( XX/XX/XXXX ). 

Finally, please note that at no point were we financially unable to make our mortgage payments, as evidenced by the bank statements attached [ Attachment 17Bank statements showing financial stability ]. Please refer to the credit reports attached for both XXXX [ Attachment 18 ] and XXXX [ Attachment 19 ] ; you will find that we both have exceptional payment histories with every single account we have ever opened. The only missed payment on either of our credit reports is the one reported by XXXX XXXX, as the direct result of their deceptive practices. 

Considering our excellent credit history and financial stability, there was absolutely no reason for us to knowingly skip a payment. No reasonable person would expect that their mortgage payment was 2 weeks delinquent following a direct conversation with his or her mortgage lender, during which the borrowers question of, Is there anything else I need to know? was laughed off. 

In summary, UWM failed provide us with notification that our loan had been transferred to a sub-servicer ( 12 CFR 1024.33 ( b ) ( 3 ) ). XXXX XXXX failed to provide us with notice that they were now servicing our loan ( 12 CFR 1024.33 ( b ) ( 3 ) ). UWM did not provide timely and accurate information to XXXX XXXX that would have allowed us to fix this problem before it impacted our credit scores ( 12 CFR 1024.38 ( a ) and 12 CFR 1024.38 ( b ) ( 1 ) ). XXXX XXXX failed in its duty to reach out to UWM to retrieve missing records from our file ( 12 CFR 1024.38 ( b ) ( 4 ) ). Both UWM and XXXX XXXX have failed to retain accurate records regarding our recorded and/or transcribed phone calls ( 12 CFR 1024.38 ( c ) ( 1 ) ). An accurate servicing file was not maintained for our account ( 12 CFR 1024.38 ( c ) ( 2 ) ). UWM failed to inform us that our XXXX mortgage payment was delinquent during the XX/XX/XXXX phone call, and XXXX XXXX blatantly disregarded 12 CFR 1024.39 ( a ) when they made absolutely no good faith effort to contact us before sending negative reports to all three credit  bureaus. Both Cenlar XXXX and UWM failed to conduct reasonable investigations ( 12 CFR 1024.38 ( e ), did not inform us that we were required to submit requests for investigations in writing ( 12 CFR 1024.35 ), then further failed to provide the recordings or transcripts of the phone conversations ( 12 CFR 1024.36 ) without asserting that those calls were confidential, proprietary, or privileged information. UWM and XXXX XXXX have engaged in flagrantly unfair, deceptive, and abusive practices to hide who was really servicing our loan by making every document and website appear to be from UWM instead of XXXX XXXX, right down to the appearance of UWMs NMLS number on all of our loan statements. 

We ask that you assist us in getting both of our credit scores, for all three credit bureaus, corrected so that the deceptive practices of XXXX XXXX and UWM will no longer affect our financial futures. Thank you.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation