Consumer complaint received 2020-01-30
Company: FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF OMAHA
State: NE
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
In XX/XX/XXXX, my family and I moved to XXXX, XXXX from XXXX. We purchased a home and used First National Bank of Omaha as our lender. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter from First National Bank of Omaha advising my mortgage was going to increase by over {$400.00} a month because they underestimated my property taxes and as a result, my escrow account was under funded. I immediately called First National Bank and the mortgage lender I worked with. I told them something had to be wrong because that was a massive increase. I was told it was right. I told them I could afford the payment now and was told I would need to refinance but they wouldnt be able to do It because they were the originator of the initial loan. 

It took me 6 months to find a lender and close on the refinance. In the meantime, I struggled beyond belief to pay my bills. I put thousands on credit cards just to survive. Finally, In XX/XX/XXXX I refinanced with XXXX XXXX. The refinance naturally cost me a lot of money too. Appraisal fees, inspection fees, updates because of the inspection, closing costs, title fees etc. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter from the XXXX County Treasurers Office advising none of my property taxes had been paid for the previous year. The letter said if they werent paid in full by XX/XX/XXXX, there would be a County tax sale. 

I called the treasurers office on XX/XX/XXXX and learned I owed {$3800.00} in unpaid taxes. Of that amount {$290.00} was interest. I was told my tax payments were due in XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX and they did not receive a payment at either of those times. 

I then called First National Bank. I was told that must be a mistake because they paid {$2200.00} in XX/XX/XXXX and another {$2200.00} again in XX/XX/XXXX. I was told in XX/XX/XXXX, they received a check back for {$2200.00} advising my account t had been paid in full. 

After speaking with the bank, I called the treasurers office back and told them what the bank told me. They said their records did not show that and asked that I give First National Bank my parcel number as well as the phone number to the treasurers office.

I again called First National Bank and provided them with my parcel number. First National Bank indicated that parcel number did not match their records. I told them it was clear to me that they paid somebody elses property taxes with my money and it was because of that that they received a refund check in XX/XX/XXXX. It was also because of that that my mortgage went up over {$400.00} a month, leaving me in financial ruins and leading to a refinance that cost me thousands of dollars. I was told I would receive a returned call in XX/XX/XXXX by XXXX. I never received that call. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called the bank again and was apologized to repeatedly. I was told I would receive a call by XXXX that day. Again, I did not receive a call. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, there was again no communication from First National Bank. 

On the morning of XX/XX/XXXX, I received a call from First National Banks  mortgage department advising they would be overnighting me a check in the amount of {$2200.00} and would include an additional check for {$300.00} to cover interest. I was told I would be responsible for the remaining {$1300.00} of the unpaid balance. I told them I didnt have the money and could not pay it to which they said they also did not have the money. A major bank doesnt have the money, thats laughable!! I asked how this all happened and was told they contract with a third party vendor to pay the property taxes. That vendor had the wrong parcel number and therefore paid the wrong parcel number. But they assured me they were fixing that problem like I cared. They said they had talked to the treasurers office this morning and found out I had {$300.00} in interest and that is why they agreed to pay that amount. They further advised they would not pay the remaining {$1300.00} because I got a check for roughly {$2800.00} back from them in escrow overages when I refinanced my house. I explained to them that the {$2800.00} was described to me as just that, an escrow overage. It was not described as a check to pay unpaid property taxes. In fact, I was told my property taxes had been paid. It was for that reason that my mortgage went up and for that reason that I had to refinance in the first place. As a result of what I was told,, the {$2800.00} check paid some of the credit card balance that I had because of the mortgage payment increase. I was then told that I should have never been clear to close on the refinance with unpaid taxes so my current mortgage company should use the title insurance to pay the res of the taxes. I told them, although I agree I shouldnt have been cleared to close, this mistake lies solely on them. It is not my fault nor my current mortgages companys fault and therefore, they need to fix the mistake themselves. 

After getting off the phone with the bank, I called the treasurers office again. I was told nobody in the treasurers office had heard from First National Bank or their representatives. After explaining my story to the treasurers office, I was told the following : In XX/XX/XXXX, they received a payment of {$2200.00} from XXXX which was placed into my account to pay my taxes. They indicated XXXX is a third party company that pays the property taxes on First National Banks behalf. They further advised XXXX  sends them a list of all of First National Banks clients. Included in the list are the names, addresses, parcel numbers and amounts to be paid on each clients account. In XX/XX/XXXX, my name, address and parcel number was on this list. However, the day after the {$2200.00} was paid on my account, XXXX contacted the treasurers office and advised they had paid the {$2200.00} on the wrong account and asked that it be transferred to an account belonging to XXXX XXXX. The treasurers office made this transfer. In XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX again sent the list of clients. I was nowhere to be found on the list this time. Instead, XXXX, on behalf of First National Bank, sent {$2200.00} of my money to the account of XXXX XXXX again. However, this time XXXX property taxes had been paid in full. As a result, the treasurers office sent a check in the amount of {$2200.00} back to XXXX. Included with the check was a print out of the account showing it had been paid in full. Included on this print out was the name, address and parcel number of XXXX XXXX, not me, XXXX XXXX. The treasurers office further advising on XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX, on behalf of First National Bank, requested the treasurers office send First National Bank a check in the amount of {$3500.00} from XXXX XXXX account due to the  money being paid on the wrong parcel. The request was made on behalf of XXXX XXXX per the treasurers office. The treasurers office then overnighted a check in the amount of {$3500.00} to First National Bank on my behalf.

So how is it that First National Bank requests {$3500.00} be refunded on my behalf but on the same day the receive that check, they offer me two checks totaling {$2500.00} to fix their mistake. How is it that First National Bank is going to profit on their mistake while leaving me with {$1300.00} in unpaid taxes that they expect me to pay. How is it that they dont have the money to pay {$1300.00} when they received a check for {$3500.00} on my behalf. 

Furthermore, how do I get repaid for the extra money I paid on my mortgage for 6 months, how do I get repaid for the money and interest paid on my credit cards during that six months, how do I get repaid for the thousands of dollars spent on a refinance that didnt need to happen in the first place. None of that would have happened had First National Bank not paid the wrong persons property taxes with my money!!

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 monetary relief