Consumer complaint received 2019-12-04
Company: AmeriHome Mortgage Company, LLC
State: TX
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I closed on my loan which was re-financed with XXXX XXXX  XXXX and helped bring my interest and payment down. My last payment with my mortgage company was scheduled to be XX/XX/XXXX which was sent off via mail. 

Feeling worried about sending such a large payment via mail, I emailed XXXX and asked them to please confirm when they had received my payment. ( I was notified I could not pay online since my loan had already been sold to Amerihome ) On XX/XX/XXXX I received this email, " Received your payment. Have a great day. '' On XX/XX/XXXX I received another email from the same representative stating, " I received your check but you forgot to sign it.I will send it back to you today for your signature. '' This information was incorrect I learned when I received the check in the mail, I had in fact signed the check. However, due to me traveling for two weeks I sent out another check before receiving my returned check so that it would arrive in time before marking my payment as late. I sent the check out again XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX my check posted on my bank account as being cashed and {$1300.00} was withdrawn. 

XX/XX/XXXX I received an email from a XXXX  representative stating, " Is the payment in the mail or will it be sent this week. Please let me know. '' In which I replied, " Hello, they payment has been posted on my account. I sent it about two weeks ago ''. I also attached a screenshot of my bank statement indicating the check had been cashed. 

I went back and forth for about 2 weeks trying to figure out what had happened to my check and who was responsible for cashing it since it was posted on my account. Several representatives contacted me with questions but promised my payment would not be marked late. It turns out that the center I sent my check to, also processes checks for Amerihome. Even though my check specifically said XXXX, they applied my check to Amerihome by mistake then asked for a transfer to XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I created an online account with Amerihome ( still unaware that my check had mistakenly applied to Amerihome ) to make my first mortgage payment but was unable to do so I called customer service. The representative I spoke to advised me that I did not have a XXXX payment as I was a new consumer and new consumers had 60 days before their first payment therefore my 1st payment would be XX/XX/XXXX. 

Very confused, since I was aware my closing documents did not indicate I had a month to skip, I asked the representative if this meant that I would have two payments in XXXX and she answered, " No '' that my first payment was XXXX for {$1300.00} ''. On XX/XX/XXXX I made my first payment to Amerihome for my XXXX payment. Shortly after that I went out of town for the holidays and came home to three letters from Amerihome stating I was overdue on my mortgage payment. 

I called Amerihome on XX/XX/XXXX to gain some clarification because clearly this was an error. I learned several things from this conversation : 1 ) The representative I spoke to stated that she could see in the notes from my phone call XX/XX/XXXX that I was advised that I did not have a XXXX payment and that my first payment would be in XXXX. This representative also stated that information was correct as all new customers have 60 days before their FIRST payment. 

2 ) Once I was transferred to a supervisor, I learned that information was in fact NOT correct and that the 60 days is simply a waiver to not penalize new customers for any late fees in the event the payment took longer to process. The supervisor I spoke to stated that " They must provide training to the agents who took my call ''. 

3 ) I learned that in summary, the processing center that is on the website for XXXX ( see below ) INCORRECTLY applied my payment to Amerihome for XXXX which is the real reason why when I called XX/XX/XXXX the representative stated I did not have a XXXX payment ( NOT because new customers have 60 days before their FIRST payment ). 
Address I sent my check to : XXXX XXXX  XXXX Attn : Payment Processing Center XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, NJ XXXX XXXX ) I learned that they transferred my payment from Amerihome to XXXX defaulting my XXXX payment I made XX/XX/XXXX to my XXXX payment and leaving the XXXX one pending. 

5 ) Lastly, I learned that regardless of the errors committed by other individuals and falsified information I received after being proactive, I am still responsible for coming up with {$1300.00} by XX/XX/XXXX which is past due.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation