Consumer complaint received 2018-05-24
Company: Specialized Loan Servicing Holdings LLC
State: GA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage

Complaint:
Reason for contacting you: I had problems closing out a home mortgage. I believe the contract mortgage servicer (billing and receiving payments) Specialized Loan Servicing LLC (SLS) did not follow the loan/mortgage terms. I believe SLS incorrectly handled a principal prepayment, created incorrect billings, caused delays, caused addition interest to accrue, created a grossly incorrect payoff quote, did not provide requested revised payoff quotes, did not communicate with me and delayed the closing of the account. SLS cost me a couple hundred extra dollars, primarily late fees but not all late fees, and created an inappropriate and unnecessary impact on my FICO credit score. I initiated communications with SLS approximately a dozen times between mid-XX/XX/XXXXand XX/XX/XXXX attempting to closeout my loan/mortgage. SLS never followed up with me, followed through with changes they agreed to, and did not initiate communications with me until after they reported me to the credit rating agencies 
I followed the terms of my loan but SLS did not. Also, I made frequent phone contact with SLS customer service during this ordeal to resolve issues and bring the process to closure. On more than one occasion I would reach resolution with a SLS rep and believe everything was finished only to get another bill, grossly incorrect payoff quote or late charge notice continuing and prolonging the process.
In summary all $XXXX  of principal and all interest through XX/XX/XXXX cleared my checking account on XX/XX/XXXX. The only fees I believe are appropriate after XX/XX/XXXX would be a $XXXX recording fee and any other final closing fees, if any, that I have never been made aware of. Therefore I believe I have been overcharged by ~$XXXX and SLS impacted my credit in bad faith. I would like both issues rectified. 

Executive summary: I secured a $XXXX first mortgage loan from XXXX XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX (see attachment # 1).  XX/XX/XXXX my loan was sold to XXXX XXXX  and within a few months I was working with my third and current contract billing and payment processing company, Specialized Loan Servicing LLC, (SLS).
My loan is a 15 year $XXXX @3.5% fixed rate with a $XXXX   monthly payment of principal and interest only with no escrow and no PMI. The loan has no principal pre-payment penalties and no full or partial pre-payment limits. 
I have paid additional principal on most of the scheduled ~48 monthly loan payments between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. These principal reduction amounts were included with scheduled monthly payments and ranged from several hundred to several thousand dollars when I could afford it. My goal was to pay off the mortgage before my planned retirement in XX/XX/XXXX. I was severed by my employer in XX/XX/XXXX which was OK since I already planned to retire soon in XX/XX/XXXX.
SLS handled each of my scheduled monthly payments, which usually included principal reduction payments, correct until my XX/XX/XXXX monthly payment, which also included a principal reduction payment. They did not apply all of my principal reduction payment against my principal. I believe this is a breach of my loan agreement and a deviation form SLS’s past practice.
Now that I reflect back over my entire close out experience, I believe that my XX/XX/XXXX payment reducing my principal balance to exactly $XXXX   and paying all interest due on the principal through XXXX XXXX placed SLS in a situation uncommon to them. Therefore they tried to apply their time sensitive and hurried house closing process where certified funds are required to insure all funds dispersed during the closing are good. I was not selling my house and therefore had no hurried deadlines driving the process. I was simply paying my last principal payment on a house I plan to retire and live in for many years. I knew other fees were required such as recording cost. Therefore I planned to request a payoff quote in early XX/XX/XXXX once my XX/XX/XXXX payment cleared my bank. SLS mishandled my funds received and posted XX/XX/XXXX thereby creating a false “outstanding principal” balance of $XXXX. I wonder if SLS created this false principal balance to keep them 100% in control of everything. After all it allowed them to charge additional interest, impose 3 moths of late fees and ultimately report me to the credit agencies. At this point I gave up on logic, reasoning, trying to cultivate cooperation and simply did what I was told even though I believed it to be wrong as did many of the SLs reps I talked to.
I believe I followed all the terms of my loan and that SLS did not. I feel that I tried numerous times to find solutions, resolve any issues and I feel SLS was inconsistent by telling me one thing and then doing another. I feel that I have been wronged in this process and my credit needlessly damaged. I ask that these wrongs be righted.
All $XXXX of principal and all interest due through XX/XX/XXXX cleared my account on XX/XX/XXXX. All payments had been made on time. As of XX/XX/XXXX a correct payoff quote should have been approx:
Principal balance	$0
Interest on principal $0 (XX/XX/XXXX pmt posted XX/XX/XXXX and cleared my bank XX/XX/XXXX
Late fees	$XXXX	
Recording Fee	$1XXXX
Total Amount Due	$XXXX
SLS payoff quote XX/XX/XXXX	$XXXX attachment #2 (only payoff quote received before XX/XX/XXXX)

More Details including discussions with SLS:

I talked to 10 to 12 SLS service reps from mid-XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX. I don’t have all the SLS cust rep names or all of the exact dates and times especially early in this ordeal. I didn’t know it was going to be so difficult and drawn out.  All of the calls were recorded by SLS therefore should be available from SLS. The chronological events listed below are my best recollections from my minimal notes during the several hours of conversation with SLS serv. reps.  In some cases my calls were passed off to others.
 
A history of my last few payments:
				                  Sch $XXXX		Principal	         Principal	
Date  		total paid	        Principal  + Interest  	reduction 	         Balance
XX/XX/XXXX	          $XXXX	$XXXX + $XXXX	 $XXXX	$XXXX
XX/XX/XXXX 	$XXXX 	$XXXX + $XXXX	 $XXXX	$XXXX
XX/XX/XXXX	$XXXX	$XXXX +$XXXX	 $XXXX	        $XXXX
XX/XX/XXXX	          $XXXX	$XXXX +$XXXX	 $XXXX	        $XXXX
XX/XX/XXXX	       $ XXXX	$XXXX  +$XXXX	 $XXXX	$XXXX
XX/XX/XXXX 	  $XXXX	$XXXX +$XXXX	         $XXXX	        $XXXX
XX/XX/XXXX	  $XXXX	$XXXX +$XXXX	         $XXXX	        $XXXX
XX/XX/XXXX	$XXXX	$XXXX +$XXXX	$XXXX   XX/XX/XXXX	$XXXX(should’ve been)
SLS numbers	$XXXX	$XXXX +$XXXX	         $XXXX	$XXXX*


	

*SLS placed $XXXX in a suspense fund claiming it was a “partial payment” creating a principal balance 	

My XX/XX/XXXX payment of $XXXX (pre-payment prin $XXXX + scheduled payment prin $XXXX + $XXXX monthly int) cleared my account XX/XX/XXXX (see attachments 3 & 4). 
On XX/XX/XXXX I mailed my scheduled XX/XX/XXXX mortgage payment + principal reduction in the amount of $XXXX (sch prin $XXXX + sch XX/XX/XXXX interest  $XXXX + prin reduction $XXXX). The payment was received and electronically posted to my account on XX/XX/XXXX by SLS and the funds cleared my bank on XX/XX/XXXX (see attachments 5 & 6).  I planned to request a final payoff quote in early XX/XX/XXXX when I got my XX/XX/XXXX bill to verify proper credit for my XX/XX/XXXX payment. 
I review my checking account weekly for any suspicious activity.  Around XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX I checked to see if theXX/XX/XXXX mortgage payment had cleared my checking account which it had not.  Knowing that SLS typically withdraws the payment in 2 to 3 days after I mailed it I worried that maybe they hadn’t received the payment for some reason. I called SLS and they confirmed that it was received and posted on XX/XX/XXXX.. I asked why it had not cleared my account. After some checking the SLS rep indicated that they plan to return the check and require that I send a certified check. I asked why and she said large amounts required certified checks. I told her to look at my XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX payments which were larger and were paid with a regular check so I didn’t see the difference. She placed me on hold again and in a few minutes she came back and said that payoffs had to be with certified funds. I told her this was a pay down and not a payoff. I told her that I knew there would be cost associated with legal documents that would need to be executed and recorded and all of which would be handled when I requested a payoff quote in early XX/XX/XXXX. I convinced her to deposit the check as they had with all of my other payments and that after it cleared my account I would request a payoff in early XX/XX/XXXX as planned. She agreed to deposit the check. The check cleared my bank on XX/XX/XXXX.
I expected my XX/XX/XXXX bill to have a principal balance very near $XXXX plus interest of $XXXX or very near $XXXX depending on when they posted my XX/XX/XXXX payment .I got myXX/XX/XXXXbill aroundXX/XX/XXXX or XXXX. My XX/XX/XXXX bill (see attachment 7) listed $XXXX outstanding principal, $XXXX int thru XX/XX/XXXX, $XXXX in “Suspense” and a total payment due of $XXXX.  Note the “Suspense” funds is equal the outstanding principal balance and the $XXXX is interest on $XXXX @ 3.5% annually for XX/XX/XXXX – XX/XX/XXXX due in XX/XX/XXXX. 
Why did they treat my XX/XX/XXXX payment (received and electronically posted to my account by SLS on XX/XX/XXXX) different than all of the other payments that each had some amount of principal reductions included????  If they had applied the $XXXX, they incorrectly placed in “suspense”, the outstanding principal would have been $0 which would have resulted in $XXXX or near $XXXX interest for XX/XX/XXXX since all funds cleared my account on XX/XX/XXXX.
1.	Note “Total Amount Due” is only $XXXX. Wouldn’t it make you think they were going to apply the $XXXX suspense amount against the $XXXX principal leaving only $XXXX interest XX/XX/XXXX – XX/XX/XXXX which the rep agreed to write off? 
2.	Why wasn’t the “Suspense” $XXXX applied to principal as I requested and SLS had correctly done dozens of times in the past?
3.	What is a “Suspense” fund? (see “Important Messages” section of attachment #7). I called SLS cust service and a rep told me it was Escrow. I told her my loan was a “NO ESCROW” loan which she confirmed to be correct. She stated she would get the suspense funds applied to my principal and would write off or remove the $XXXX   payment due which was interest on an incorrect principal balance due. I asked if I would have a XX/XX/XXXX payment due and/or did I need to do anything other than get a payoff quote to cover any final cost. She said that I did not need to send in the $XXXX cents and disregard the XX/XX/XXXX bill. I told the SLS rep that I was not able to access the SLS web site and I asked would she submit a payoff quote request for me. She agreed to make the request.
4.	Who decided to place some of my principal in a “Suspense” fund?
5.	How and why did they decide to post $XXXX of the $XXXX   principal reduction to principal but not the $XXXX?
A few days later I received a payoff quote which I first assumed to be the one the SLS serv rep agreed to request for me.  Since the quote was drastically different than I expected (see attachment  #2) I got upset until I realized it had an “issue date” of XX/XX/XXXX. This was prior to me talking with SLS rep about my XX/XX/XXXX billing issues. Therefore this payoff quote was generated prior to me requesting a quote.  Note these errors in the payoff quote “issued XX/XX/XXXX”:
1.	It did not give me credit for any of the $XXXX funds received by SLS on XX/XX/XXXX and which cleared my bank on XX/XX/XXXX. None of the funds they had taken possession of on XX/XX/XXXX was applied or acknowledged anywhere in the quote. Payments typically clear my bank within 2 to 3 business days with most clearing within 2 days. Why did it take SLS 10 days with my XX/XX/XXXX payment (XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX)?
2.	Interest of $XXXX was applied from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX 
a.	Yet they received $XXXX which included $XXXX interest through XX/XX/XXXX.
b.	They charged interest on the $XXXX prin through XX/XX/XXXX yet they took possess of the last $XXXX of principal on XX/XX/XXXX.
3.	What is the $XXXX late charge for? Nothing was late. The XX/XX/XXXX payment posted XX/XX/XXXX and the XX/XX/XXXX payment posted XX/XX/XXXX both of which is prior to the XX/XX/XXXX payoff issue date!! 
4.	I expected recording fees and possible other minor cost which is why I planned to request a payoff quote once the XX/XX/XXXX payment posted and my XX/XX/XXXX bill arrived early XX/XX/XXXX. They’ve made a few errors in the past therefore I like to see my next SLS bill before I proceed with anything.
I could not afford to write them another check for their GROSSLY incorrect payoff estimate of $XXXX. Since the SLS rep had told me to disregard the XX/XX/XXXX bill and had agreed to request a payoff quote for me I just filed away this error filled payoff quote not requested by me.
On XX/XX/XXXX my XX/XX/XXXX mortgage statement was generated and I received it a few days later (see attachment # 8). Although the SLS rep agreed my XX/XX/XXXX bill of $XXXX was incorrect and agreed to fix it, now I’m looking at an XX/XX/XXXX bill of $XXXX. Please explain the difference in this bill and the XX/XX/XXXX bill because no one at SLS could. Note these issues with my XX/XX/XXXX bill:
1.	The $XXXX suspense is still there although the previous SLS rep had agreed to get it applied to principal and not to worry about my XX/XX/XXXX bill
2.	The $XXXX past due is the $XXXX outstanding principal plus the $XXXX interest on the $XXXX which was on the XX/XX/XXXX bill. So the rep didn’t or couldn’t get the suspense funds applied to principal
3.	What is the $XXXX in new fees
4.	How did a XX/XX/XXXX bill of $XXXX become an XX/XX/XXXX bill of $XXXX
I had a little faith in SLS until I receiving my XX/XX/XXXX bill. Now I have no faith that SLS can and will do anything they tell me. I took some time to gather myself and then I called SLS to discuss my XX/XX/XXXX bill. I asked why the suspense funds had not been applied to principal on my XX/XX/XXXX mortgage payment as requested and then again in early XX/XX/XXXX as promised when I talked to the SLS rep about my XX/XX/XXXX bill. I was told SLS policy is to place any partial payments in a suspense fund until addition money come in to complete a full payment (I believe this policy does not comply with paragraph 4 of my loan agreement- see attachment 1). I asked who decided that $XXXX of the $XXXX was a partial payment to be placed in suspense while the other $XXXX   would go to principal reduction and how did they decide on those amounts being that $XXXX was such a good round number? I didn’t get an answer!!  I asked about the payoff quote that I requested and the SLS rep said it had been mailed. He must have been talking about the XX/XX/XXXX payoff because I never received a revised payoff until XX/XX/XXXX (see attachment # 9). I asked because I still could not get into the web site even though I had worked with SLS web support and SLS cust reps on several occasions.
In XX/XX/XXXX (I don’t know exact date) I received a letter from SLS dated XX/XX/XXXX (see attachment # 10). I contacted SLS cust service and they told me that my account was over 45days past due and that I had been reported to the credit agencies. They said I needed to get my account up to date ASAP. Needless to say I was very upset. I ended the call and started gathering all of my records and organizing my thoughts before calling SLS back.
XX/XX/XXXX I called SLS and talked with XXXX. I asked to confirm if my account was more than 45 days past due and had it been reported to the credit agencies which she confirmed it had. I asked if she could tell if a revised payoff quote had been mailed to me and she said one had (yet I had not received one at that time). I told her that I had not received anything except the XX/XX/XXXX payoff quote which we agreed was not applicable. We talked a few minutes about the history of my account starting XX/XX/XXXX. She was polite but very much kept to the company line that what they show due is due and I needed to pay it otherwise I would be reported to the credit agencies again within the next few days.  At that point I was ready to give up and pay whatever they said just to make the pain go away. I asked how much I needed to pay and could it be paid in time to prevent another negative hit to my credit. She said the payoff was SXXXX and if I would permit her to electronically withdraw the fund immediate so it would process into the account overnight then she could probably stop the credit reporting. I agreed and the transaction occurred. I asked her if she could mail me a copy of the payoff quote she was working from and I confirmed my mailing address with her. She agreed to send it. I received the $XXXX   payoff quote (see attachment # 9)17days later on XX/XX/XXXX with several other documents.
On XX/XX/XXXX I called SLS again and asked if there was or organization that I could request to review my situation. I was transferred to XXXX in the “Consumer Escalations” dept. XXXX was very pleasant to talk to and he reviewed the account history with me. I believe he confirmed the SLS policy of “suspensing” partial payments. Although I feel he had sympathy for my situation he didn’t commit to anything at that time. After approximately 30 minutes of conversation he suggested that I call back in 3 or 4 days to give the account time to close and after credit reporting is either stopped or reported again. He gave a phone number he stated to be direct to the executive services dept which should be able to help me with these issues.
On XX/XX/XXXX I called SLS and asked for XXXX in Consumer Escalation and was told that department had been combined with cust service and could she help me. I talked to both XXXX and XXXX during the call. They confirmed that the money transfer was successful and the account was closed. I asked if they had a record of the final closing documents being sent to me and they indicated yes.
Again on XX/XX/XXXX I called the “executive services” number and it went directly to the same SLS cust service group I had been talking to earlier. I was told due to reorganization, that department could not help me. I asked if they could transfer me to tech support because I could not access my account through the web site. The web tech tried but was not able to help me gain web access.
On XX/XX/XXXX I called SLS cust service web support to try again unsuccessfully to get web access. I explained the problem to tech support. He placed me on hold a few minutes. He came back and said it should work now. I asked him to hold on while I tried to get in. I described to him every step of the sign in process as I went through it. I had the same problem. I read him the error code and he said maybe it will work tomorrow after the nightly updates. The rep said it really doesn’t matter because your account is closed so you will not be able to access it anyway.  I tried today, XX/XX/XXXX and I could not sign on the web site. I tried again XX/XX/XXXX and could not get in. I give up!!!
On XX/XX/XXXX I received 3 envelops post marked XX/XX/XXXX
1.	a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX that included my signed mortgage & security deed marked “Paid in Full”
2.	I also received a copy of the XX/XX/XXXX payoff quote and a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX stating they were returning my check and asking for a certified check (which was not previously mailed to me).
3.	I also received a check for $XXXX listed as “ESCROW REFUND” (See attachment 11)


I called customer service many, many times trying to get these issues worked out and the account closed.  On several occasions the rep would see the issue and I thought we had things worked out but the issues would pop back up. Things got worse rather than better. I was declared to be late on the final payments and was reported to the credit agencies which lowered my FICO score 98 points from XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX to XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX. You don’t get this kind of credit rating by not paying your bills. In XX/XX/XXXX when they told me that they had reported me to the credit agencies I paid whatever they asked, $XXXX. I just wanted to stop the pain of hits on my credit. See attachment #12.  SLS received sufficient funds on XX/XX/XXXX (delayed transfer to XX/XX/XXXX by SLS) to cover all $XXXX   principal and interest through XX/XX/XXXX. The payoff quote issued XX/XX/XXXX and post marked XX/XX/XXXX (attachment #9) was the first payoff quote I received that gave me credit for any of the $XXXX of principal I paid on XX/XX/XXXX even though I had requested an updated and corrected quote many times through SLS cust service. I have never been able to sign into the SLS web site which has made this ordeal even more frustrating because I couldn’t see what was going on in my account.  SLS did not provide reasonably accurate closing documents in a timely manner even after the errors were pointed out.
Problems with XX/XX/XXXX payoff quote:
1.	Declaring $XXXX unpaid principal while also listing $XXXX  credit  in “unapplied funds credit” The $XXXX portion of my principal payment became “suspense “ on XX/XX/XXXX when my XX/XX/XXXX bill generated , to “unapplied Funds credit when the XX/XX/XXXX payoff quote was generated to escrow when the XX/XX/XXXX escrow rebate check was generated..
2.	The $XXXX represents 3 months of late payments. One month was refunded in a check post marked XX/XX/XXXX with a description “ESCROW REFUND”. The opportunity for late fees was created when SLS incorrectly designated $XXXX as a partial payment and placed it in a suspense fund rather that applying it to principal as I requested and as my loan agreement specifies.  By hijacking $XXXX of my principal payment SLS was able prolong this closing process by approximately 3 months or more. Charge me three months of late fees and needlessly negatively impact my credit rating.
3.	The $XXXX recording fee is the only correct entry on theXX/XX/XXXX closeout document generated at SLS request. My payoff request would have been made in early XX/XX/XXXX after my principal pay down was credited to my account.
4.	The $XXXX was release as an “Unapplied Funds Credit” which I feel is a breach of contract because my loan allows me to make full prepayment principal reduction or partial prepayments principal reductions without penalty. They did not handle my payment appropriately thereby creating an unnecessary principal balance which created the opportunity for them to bill me for unwarranted late charges and negatively impacted my credit.
5.	I also received (post marked XX/XX/XXXX) a refund check for $XXXX (see attachment 11) with the description “ESCROW REFUND” even though I told them multiple times my loan was a no escrow loan and a couple of SLS cust reps verified it and said they would have the “suspense” funds applier to the principal.

In summary, I tried every way I knew how to resolve this in a timely manner. I was on the phone many hours (no exaggeration) and they just were no help at all. I thought cable TV suppliers had terrible customer service but SLS is now at the top of my list.
I’m surprised SLS’s Georgia XXXX XXXX XXXX rating is a “B”. Based on my experience I expected it to be much lower.
Please place attachments  #3, 6, 7, 8, 13, & 14 in from of you and see if they make any sense and would have known what to do with them other than try to discuss it with SLS customer service.

I am asking for:
1.	All negative notices remove from my credit report and my score restored to near its previous level. I know it fluctuates some.
2.	A refund of late charges and unnecessary interest.
       $XXXX	principal since all principal was in SLS hand XX/XX/XXXX
       $XXXX	interest since there was no principal due after XX/XX/XXXX
$XXXXXX/XX/XXXX payoff quote collected from me onXX/XX/XXXX
 ($XXXX)	recording fee which is legitimate cost
 ($XXXX)	Escrow refund received by meXX/XX/XXXX
$XXXX	additional interest and late fee refund due me

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