Consumer complaint received 2016-03-04
Company: LD Holdings Group, LLC
State: OR
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: VA mortgage
Issue: Loan servicing, payments, escrow account

Complaint:
My husband and I have a joint VA guaranteed mortgage that is currently being serviced by Loan Depot. My husband and I received a notice from Loan Depot dated XXXX/XXXX/XXXX, that our escrow account had a shortage of {$570.00}. On the notice it clearly says that if we pay the extra escrow amount required, our monthly payment will increase from {$2400.00} to {$2400.00} ( due to expected increase in property taxes and homeowners insurance ). However if we did n't pay the extra escrow, the notice clearly stated that our monthly mortgage payment would increase to {$2500.00}. 

On XXXX/XXXX/XXXX, I paid the escrow shortage through Loan Depot 's pay-by-phone system. My intent in using the pay-by-phone system was so that the escrow payment would be credited to our account before the next regular mortgage payment date of XXXX/XXXX/XXXX which would ideally allow us to avoid our monthly payment increasing to {$2500.00} Unfortunately, my husband and I were direct debited on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX for {$2500.00} instead of the correct amount of {$2400.00}. When I looked at our mortgage account online, I discovered that on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX, Loan Depot 's pay-by-phone system had applied what should have been our escrow payment to the principal of our loan instead, which made it appear that we had not paid the escrow shortage when we actually had. On XXXX/XXXX/XXXX, I called Loan Depot 's customer service center to clear up the issue. The representative assured me that they would move my payment from the principal part of our loan and apply it to the escrow portion of our loan account. He also told me that this would clear up the issue so that we would indeed be debited {$2400.00} for our XXXX XXXX loan payment instead of {$2500.00}. However on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX, my husband 's and by bank account was again debited for {$2500.00}. I called Loan Depot 's customer service center again today, XXXX/XXXX/XXXX and when I described the problem to the employee, her first response was " well do you know you have a escrow shortage? ". I informed her that the escrow shortage had been paid on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX. She checked her records, and then put me on hold. She came back and told me that " the reason my monthly payment was increased by {$5.00} was for increased property taxes and homeowners insurance. ". I could n't believe it! It was like she had never heard me describing the problem in the first place. The employee seemed so confused that I asked to speak with a supervisor, She then put me back on hold which lasted 15 minutes before I gave up and hung up. 

My husband and I are fine with paying an increase of {$5.00} in our monthly mortgage loan payment but as of right now Loan Depot is charging us {$47.00} more in our monthly payment ( the difference between {$2500.00} and {$2400.00} ). Basically, Loan Depot is treating our account as if if we never paid the escrow amount they asked us for. Further they are not timely in rectifying the issue for my husband and I.

Company public response: Company believes complaint is the result of an isolated error
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation