Consumer complaint received 2020-10-31
Company: Specialized Loan Servicing Holdings LLC
State: MD
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC)
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
In XX/XX/XXXX I found out that my HELOC account with XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX  ) had been closed after the monthly payment I had submitted was reversed back to my XXXX checking account. I went into the Bank and all they said was it was closed and no one could find any information as to why. After multiple inquiries about my outstanding balance, I was told someone would call - this never happened. At the beginning of XX/XX/XXXX, my ex-husband in XXXX sent me a message that mail in my names had come to his home. We have been divorced since XX/XX/XXXX and he moved from XXXX  to XXXX in XXXX I have never lived in XXXX  and therefore, I assumed that it was junk mail. He forwarded the mail to me and that is when I realized that the mail were in names I had not used since XXXX and the documents were accusing me of being delinquent on a bill of XXXX held by Specialty Loan Service. It seemed like it was some kind of Phishing mail because none of the names used on all the mail were my current legal names- it was a mix of all names I have used in the past including my ex-husbands. Because the amount cited was similar to that I had owed on my HELOC, I decided to pull a copy of my credit report and that is when I realized that I had a big problem on my hands. 
In XXXX I filed for Bankruptcy- my car note and HELOC loan ( both with XXXX  ) were not part of the discharged accounts. I continued to pay on both these accounts till XX/XX/XXXX - when the HELOC Acct disappeared, and no one at XXXX  could tell me what happened. I continued to pay the car note, at XXXX, which was scheduled to be paid off in XX/XX/XXXX. At the beginning of XX/XX/XXXX, my Car note account disappeared from my mobile accounts profile with XXXX. My first instinct was to think that I had paid it off and thus XXXX had removed it. Given what we had been going through, my husband encouraged me to call XXXX and confirm that this was the case. To my dismay a representative told me that I still owed $ XXXX. Her reason as to why the account had dropped off my mobile bank profile was that XXXX had instituted a new policy regarding accounts whose customers had filed Bankruptcy they could no longer submit payments via their mobile accounts! Apparently a new procedure -that had gone into effect 2 weeks prior! My bankruptcy was in XXXX, I had been submitting payments this way the whole time and would have had no reason to think I needed to do it differently. A change in policy/procedure was fine but why not notify the customer formerly? I never received any notification in this regard This is EXACTLY the way it went with the HELOC account in XXXX. Now, here I was at the end of my loan and was almost put in a position to incur fees/interest because the company changed a policy and procedure and me, as the customer did not deserve to be notified. This situation further confirmed my suspicion that XXXX, inspite of their insistence that they had sent me a notification, did not do their due diligence- I was not appropriately notified when they transferred my account to SLS LLC . A review of my credit report indicated that I had been delinquent on the HELOC loan since XX/XX/XXXX which was not true! I had been up-to-date with my payments on this account and the last payment I submitted to XXXX, when I was able to, was XX/XX/XXXX in the amount of {$250.00}. The paperwork from SLSs law firm indicated that I had been delinquent since XX/XX/XXXX. I never received any documentation or instructions from XXXX or any other company instructing me on changes in submission of my payments which I had the ability to pay. The documents that were forwarded to me from XXXX were the first information that I received regarding the HELOC account since reversal of the XXXX payment I had submitted to XXXX last year. 
On XX/XX/XXXX - I went into my local XXXX branch and again inquired about the HELOC account and once again all I got was that the account was closed and no information was available. I presented the documents I had received and the representative gave me a number for The Reconcilement group ; XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX NC. Phone- XXXX ''. I called this number a couple of times and left messages- no one ever returned my call. I resorted to using the XXXX  app via XXXX and sent a message to XXXX XXXX XXXX with my concern. Someone responded and I then received a call on XX/XX/XXXX and for the first time I got collaborating info that the HELOC Acct and these documents were connected. The representative told me that I needed to contact Specialized Loan Services, gave me a number and said that they had no more information for me since the Acct was not with XXXX. I raised the issue regarding the discrepancy in the information on my credit report and had to plead that she take a look at my account to confirm that I had been making payments till XX/XX/XXXX. I requested that this issue be escalated- she said someone would call but no one did until I was able to find an email of an executive member at XXXX! I expressed my disappointment that XXXX had not notified me of the transfer and the fact that no one at the Bank prior to this could access this information was proof that there had been a misstep in this process. I felt that my information was transferred in a manner that compromised my security. XXXX has my correct names and address, I have been at this address since XXXX -I don't understand why this situation happened. After multiple calls with a member of the XXXX escalation team, they maintained that they had transferred my account to SLS with my current Legal names and current address. XXXX agreed to make a correction to my credit report but would not assist me in finding someone at SLS that I could talk to. 
I placed my first call to SLS on XX/XX/XXXX and offered the account number on the documents, and provided my social and names but my legal names did not match the names on the account. I proceeded to explain that those were my names prior to divorce etc. I was told that since those were not my legal names I needed to get an authorization from my ex-husband to discuss the account since the names did not match and they were not willing to have further discussions on the issue. The documents had indicated that I was expected to pay {$2000.00} in late fees/interest by XX/XX/XXXX and the next installment by XX/XX/XXXX. The principal balance in XX/XX/XXXX was about {$16000.00}. No one at SLS would talk to me about the issue because of the names. I was given a P.O Box to forward my concerns. On XX/XX/XXXX I sent 2 certified letters-one to the company lawyer ; XXXX XXXX and the company in Colorado. A week later I received a confirmation from the lawyer who indicated that he had forwarded my concerns to the company. I waited until about XX/XX/XXXX and decided to put together a packet of documents to prove my identity and sent it blindly to another P. O. Box address I obtained after calling the company back- pleading for a name or phone number which no one was willing to give me because I was not who I was supposed to be. I sent the certified letter and just waited. 
On XX/XX/XXXX at my wits end, I decided to file a complaint with the XXXX XXXX XXXX. A week later they had not received a response from SLS and inquired if I had. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received the very first direct communication from SLS in my names but the contents were even more disturbing. The bill was demanding I pay {$4900.00} in fees/interest by XX/XX/XXXX! An additional {$2800.00} had been added to the {$2000.00} fees they had demanded in XXXX! I was incensed to say the least! The next day XX/XX/XXXX, the long awaited response was received via the XXXX XXXX XXXX. SLS was now pointing fingers at XXXX who they claim had given them the names and address they used. It is however not possible since those were not the names I used when I obtained the loan at XXXX. SLS offered to remove a portion of the fees but what came as a shock to me and what has triggered my anxiety and decision to reach out to CFPB with this complaint is the statement the SLS made Please be advised, SLS has determined that delinquency and foreclosure related fees assessed to your account in the amount of {$2300.00} will be removed. We are currently working to update your account regarding the removal of these fees. Foreclosure action has been terminated as of XX/XX/XXXX. 
SLS was foreclosing on my property and I did not even know it! I am angry, I feel vulnerable How can a company have plans for such an action without notifying the consumer? For 2 months I have done everything I can to try and resolve this issue but am wondering if this was all part of the plan. Delay and provide obstacles to communications while accumulating fees and get the consumer to walk away after they have mounted prohibitive fees. The process of verifying my identity could have taken under 24 hours if they were really in the business of serving their consumers. I feel lucky that I may have avoided a catastrophe but I am not nave to believe that am the only one who befell this ill-luck! I am yet to resolve my situation and I am concerned that there are other people who have lost much, much more. For the last couple of months, I have randomly received solicitations by mail and text, offering to buy my home I am now convinced that SLS has put something out there that has precipitated these inquiries. I am concerned that I am not out of the woods yet and I hope someone can look into this issue and save myself and others from this unscrupulous company! I would like support in ensuring that SLS removes the fraudulent late fees from my account and that my credit report is not negatively impacted by SLS fraudulent actions.

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 explanation