Consumer complaint received 2021-02-16
Company: Shellpoint Partners, LLC
State: NY
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: VA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
RE : Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing / New Rez PO Box XXXX XXXX, OH XXXX Mortgage # XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, NY XXXX Shellpoint purchased our mortgage from our old mortgage holder ( DiTech ) in XXXX. 

We have never been late with a payment in any month of the ten years we have had a mortgage on this property. Shellpoint is the third mortgage company to purchase our paper. 

In XXXX of XXXX we received an email offer from them of forbearance due to the Covid virus. I contacted them by phone for details and they said that it would not affect our credit rating and that the skipped payments could be added on to the back of the mortgage when we opted out of the forbearance. 

As our restaurant was undergoing economic distress we accepted their offer for the three month period of XXXX, XXXX and XXXX, XXXX. 

During this time we did not pay the principal or interest under the terms of the forbearance but we did continue to pay the escrow accounts for insurance, school and general taxes which were a part of our monthly statement. 

At the end of the three months we informed Shellpoint that beginning XX/XX/XXXX we would no longer need the forbearance and we would begin making full regular monthly payments again. 

In XXXX we were approached by another lender with an offer of re-financing at 2.2 % ( our current rate was 4.375 % ) and after checking our payment background we were told that that we were showing as being in arrears at Shellpoint with " over 30 days late '' payments on our file. As such neither they or any other lender would proceed with a re-fi. 

We contracted Shellpoint/New Rez and were informed that we were in arrears and would remain so until we repaid the forbearance in full. This was the opposite what they told us when we discussed repayment terms in XXXX. 

During the months between XXXX and XXXX communication with Shellpoint was very difficult, with calls and emails being largely ignored or answered by agents who " were not our primary point of contact '' and who often quoted contradictory information. We often received e-mails threatening foreclosure which their personnel assured us was just a formality. 

During discussions with these various agents I discovered that the escrow amounts that I had paid during the three month period were not being applied to escrow but were just being put into a miscellaneous account and not applied to anything. They are probably still unapplied or unaccounted for. 

In XXXX they offered us a " loan modification '' which would reduce our interest rate to 3.3 % and/or an in house refinance rate of 3 % both of which were significantly higher than the open market refi rates, but since other lenders were still seeing reports of " 30 days late payments '' on our records, we had no choice but to apply with them. 

I worked with both departments ( modification via Mr. XXXX XXXX, and re-fi via Mr. XXXX XXXX ) and was initially told that the re-fi could be closed by XXXX and the modification could be done in XXXX. We would therefor have a choice of either option as both, we were assured, were going to be easily approved in light of the misunderstanding of the status of our account. 

We received a letter indicating that the modification was approved and in subsequent phone calls I was informed that it could be accomplished by XXXX. I completed and submitted all required forms and notarized statements to Shellpoint and they confirmed receipt of these documents via phone. We also completed and submitted all necessary documents for a re-fi with New Rez. I requested that we proceed with the modification since I had no confidence that they would in fact accept the re-fi as they said they would. 

In XXXX I received a letter stating that the re-fi had been denied due to unspecified poor credit report reasons. Note that our credit rating has always been in the high XXXX and the only negative report anyone was aware of was the one that Shellpoint had issued. 

I inquired regarding the modification and was told that it would take effect in late XXXX or early XXXX. In late XXXX I called and was told that rather than proceed with either, they had decided to sell our mortgage to another, unspecified, broker and that I would have to take up the issue with the new company in XXXX. 

As of XX/XX/XXXX, there has been no indication that our mortgage was sold and I have no idea whether they have cleared our file of any delinquent comments which would affect our ability to obtain refinancing elsewhere. 

I have been a homeowner and investment property for over 40 years and have dealt with dozens of banks and mortgage companies and have never been treated in such an unprofessional manner. 

In effect, Shellpoint/New Rez has used the Covid forbearance as an excuse to freeze my account at a higher than market average interest rate and prevent me from refinancing or modifying my load and the process has had negative effect on my borrower credit status. 

Attached are copies of documents outlining the sequence of events to date.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation