Consumer complaint received 2023-10-28
Company: CARRINGTON MORTGAGE SERVICES, LLC
State: GA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Reverse mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process
Sub-issue: Paying off the loan

Complaint:
XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX : loan number XXXX Dear XXXX XXXX : My mother XXXX XXXX recently passed away. She had a reverse mortgage with your company. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received correspondence from XXXX XXXX that included a copy of my parents loan agreement, a copy of a notification letter dated XX/XX/XXXX alleged to have been sent to my mothers address and a letter from XXXX XXXX threatening a foreclosure sale. 
The heading of the notification letter dated XX/XX/XXXX. ( page XXXX attached XXXX ) is as follows below : Carrington mortgage services , llc XX/XX/XXXX ESTATE OF : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX Reverse Mortgage Servicing Department XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Michigan XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX Office ( XXXX ) XXXX Fax Sent via Certified Mail MORTGAGE DUE & PAYABLE NOTIFICATION ACTION REQUIRED TO PREVENT FORECLOSURE RE : Reverse Mortgage Loan Number : XXXX Dear Estate Representative, XXXX XXXX did not enclose a receipt showing that this certified notification letter had been sent. 
I wonder if this letter was never sent? 
XXXX XXXX did not send a copy of the receipt that we signed for this letter upon delivery. It does not exist. 

THIS NOTIFICATION WAS NEVER RECEIVED BY US AND NO ONE ACCEPTED AND SIGNED FOR IT! 
Why would we not respond to this letter and pay the {$70000.00} stated due at the end of XXXX? 

The above letter, that is the whole premise for your premature foreclosure was never received! 

We did receive a monthly reverse mortgage statement dated XX/XX/XXXX ( attached XXXX ) that states nothing regarding a foreclosure and clearly states " THIS IS NOT A BILL '' I live most of the time in XXXX XXXX and did not see this statement until mid XXXX when I traveled to XXXX to go through my mother 's belongings. I then made at least two written requests to XXXX for payoff information. 

In the fourth paragraph of the XXXX XXXX letter ( archive XXXX zip ) she stated that, according to HUD guidelines, if intent to pay off the loan is demonstrated within 90 days of the certified Mortgage Due and Payable Notification letter of XXXX XXXX there would be 180 days allowed to satisfy the reverse mortgage. I state again that this XX/XX/XXXX letter was never received or signed for! Despite that fact, I demonstrated intent to pay by requesting payoff quotes for this mortgage in XX/XX/XXXX, well within 90 days of XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX did not respond to my payoff requests until XX/XX/XXXX. ( attached XXXX ) Since then, I have been communicating with XXXX XXXX, an employee of yours, who has not been helpful. 

The payoff statement of XX/XX/XXXX listed a principal, interest and MIP total of {$72000.00}. The payout also listed charges for attorney fees of {$570.00}, appraisal of {$420.00} ( which has not been done ), and property inspection of {$40.00}. 
Having paid off multiple mortgages I have never encountered such charges and informed XXXX XXXX that they were inappropriate. 

My brother XXXX paid the principal, interest and MIP total of {$72000.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. ( attached XXXX ) Not only did we show intent to pay the debt within 90 days of the XX/XX/XXXX notification letter ( that we never received ) but we actually paid the debt in full, XXXX days after first receiving a payoff quote! When I informed XXXX XXXX that I would not pay for attorney fees, appraisal and property inspection she informed me ( for the first time ) that those charges were because the loan was in foreclosure. On what basis was the loan in foreclosure? We never received any notification or warning of foreclosure. Is it your practice to send out certified Mortgage XXXX and XXXX Notifications and then just foreclose when you do not receive a response rather than follow up with the estate first? Is it your policy to foreclose before the 90 days stated in XXXX XXXX letter are up? 

A second payout document was sent to me dated XX/XX/XXXX ( attached XXXX ) and described as being good through XX/XX/XXXX. The unpaid balance was {$990.00} higher than the prevous payout document which was good through XX/XX/XXXX. The appraisal fee was increased from {$420.00} to {$870.00} and a new {$290.00} fee for title cost appeared. There has been no appraisal or property inspection. The total payoff increased from {$73000.00} to {$75000.00} despite the fact that XXXX had been paid in full with {$72000.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. Who makes these calculations? 

I was informed in XXXX by XXXX XXXX that my complaints would be sent to your complaint department and I received no response from them until XX/XX/XXXX. ( letter from XXXX XXXX ). 

Incredibly, on XX/XX/XXXX, we received the {$72000.00} wired back by XXXX XXXX. ( attached XXXX ) This was total payment of principal, interest and MIP that we had a right to pay. 
It was paid to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and the return wire is dated XX/XX/XXXX. 
My parents contract clearly states the right and obligation to pay principal and interest. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, and on XX/XX/XXXX I requested an updated payoff document. 
Later in the day on XX/XX/XXXX I received the XXXX pay off document. ( attached XXXX ) According to this payoff statement the unpaid balance which was XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, has risen to {$74000.00} on XX/XX/XXXX without explanation. 
How can that be? How do you do your calculations? 

Using your own ( higher ) daily interest and MIP rates, as of XX/XX/XXXX the total interest and MIP from XX/XX/XXXX until XX/XX/XXXX calculates to {$670.00} ( {$16.00} + $ XXXX {$19.00} x 35 days = {$670.00} ) Interest and MIP from the XX/XX/XXXX payoff statement was {$400.00} + {$61.00}. 
The real estate tax which XXXX apparently paid was {$990.00}. 

XXXX + XXXX + XXXX + XXXX + XXXX = {$74000.00} This = the current unpaid balance + interest and MIP + real estate tax not {$75000.00} as would total on the payoff statement dated XX/XX/XXXX We paid the XX/XX/XXXX balance and the interest/MIP on XX/XX/XXXX totaling {$72000.00} and you wired these funds back to us, dated XX/XX/XXXX, received on XX/XX/XXXX. 
These funds were in you a possession for 21 days. 
How is it that you can charge interest for funds that were in your possession for 21 days? 
I have never encountered a bank returning lawful payments for principal and interest. 

What were the attorneys fees of {$570.00} for? How did they increase to {$1400.00} dollars? 
What is the name of the attorney? Please send me a copy of this attorney 's work product. 

There has been no appraisal and there has been no inspection. Someone is at the property every day. 
How did the appraisal fee change from {$420.00} to {$870.00} and then {$450.00}? 

How is a loan in foreclosure status when there was no notice ever sent to the borrower of foreclosure? 

In my view, since the certified MORTGAGE DUE & PAYABLE NOTIFICATION was never received and quite possibly never sent we should be allowed to settle this loan for the total cost of {$70000.00} which was quoted in that XXXX XXXX notification. Had we received that notification we would have paid in full just as promptly as we did when we received the first payoff statement of XX/XX/XXXX. 

The foreclosure was inappropriate since this action was taken in less than 90 days from the MORTGAGE DUE & PAYABLE NOTIFICATION ( that we never received ). In fact, we paid off the loan in full on XX/XX/XXXX which was within 90 days of the XX/XX/XXXX MORTGAGE DUE & PAYABLE NOTIFICATION. 

I have never encountered such inappropriate behavior on the part of a bank! 
Is it your practice to prey on grieving families? 

I am a XXXX  and work for XXXX XXXX XXXX iXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX I can not take phone calls from Banks during the day. 
When I have received calls I have responded in writing. Typically, my emails have been answered after several days to weeks or not all. As you can see, I respond promptly in writing. 


Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX all attachments as a zip file attached 1 .jpg 934.3kB attached 2 .jpg 1MB archive ( 2 ) .zip 2.2MB attached 4 .jpg 914kB attached 5 .jpg 4.5MB attached 6 .jpg 3MB attached 7 .docx 24.2kB attached 8 .jpg 3MB

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation