Consumer complaint received 2018-11-14
Company: Dovenmuehle Mortgage, Inc.
State: LA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Other type of mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
My mortgage loan was subserviced previously by Dovenmuehle Mortgage , Inc. ( " Dovenmuehle '' ) under a contractual agreement with XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX ( " XXXX '' ). I always made timely payments to, and prior to XX/XX/2018, never had a negative experience with, Dovenmuehle. On or about XX/XX/2018, I received a " Notice of Servicing Transfer '' letter ( the " Letter '' ) ( see Attachment1 ) in the mail from Dovenmuehle stating, in relevant part, that : ( i ) the servicing of my mortgage loan is being transferred from Dovenmuehle to XXXX XXXX XXXX d/b/a XXXX XXXX ( " XXXX XXXX '' ) effective XX/XX/2018 ; ( ii ) Dovenmuehle " is currently collecting [ my ] payments and will stop accepting payments received from [ me ] after XX/XX/2018 '' ; and ( iii ) XXXX XXXX " will start accepting payments received from [ me ] on XX/XX/2018 '' and to " send all payments due on or after XX/XX/2018 '' to XXXX XXXX. Pursuant to ( iii ) above, on XX/XX/2018, due to the fact that my loan was due for the XX/XX/2018 installment payment at that time, I scheduled an electronic payment in the amount of {$1000.00}, including my regular monthly payment of {$1000.00} plus a {$5.00} principal curtailment, via DovenmuehlXXXX 's website to be drafted by Dovenmuehle from my bank account on XX/XX/2018. Out of an abundance of caution, I called XXXX XXXX 's Customer Service Department on XX/XX/2018 at XXXX XXXX  ( CST ) at telephone number XXXX to inquire about the Letter and the servicing transfer to determine if there was any action I needed to take during the servicing transfer. The XXXX XXXX representative who answered my call was a gentleman, and I informed him that I had received the Letter in the mail and, pursuant to ( iii ) above, had scheduled the aforementioned payment via Dovenmuehle 's website. I asked the XXXX XXXX representative if Dovenmuehle would keep that payment or would forward it to XXXX XXXX. The XXXX XXXX representative said he was not sure and therefore advised me to contact Dovenmuehle to confirm what would happen to my payment. Immediately thereafter, I called Dovenmuehle 's Customer Service Department on XX/XX/2018 at XXXX XXXX  ( CST ) at telephone number XXXX. The Dovenmuehle representative who answered my call was a lady, and I informed her of the aforementioned payment that I scheduled as well as the details of my conversation with XXXX XXXX. I asked the Dovenmuehle representative whether Dovenmuehle would keep my XX/XX/2018 payment or would forward it to XXXX XXXX. After placing me on hold for a few minutes, the Dovenmuehle representative advised me that Dovenmuehle would NOT forward my payment to XXXX XXXX, that the payment would be " rejected '', and that I needed to make my payment ( due for XX/XX/2018 ) directly to XXXX XXXX. I told the Dovenmuehle representative that I would log into their website and cancel my scheduled electronic payment and would instead remit payment to XXXX XXXX. The Dovenmuehle representative advised me that it was too late to cancel my electronic payment because payments must be cancelled within 1 hour of scheduling them. The Dovenmuehle representative further advised me that she would go ahead and " reject '' my scheduled payment while we were still on the telephone since it was too late for me to cancel the payment on my end. With the understanding that the Dovenmuehle representative was going to reject and effectively cancel my scheduled payment, I then mailed a personal check ( # XXXX ) in the amount of {$1000.00} to XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/2018. Four days later, on XX/XX/2018, I noticed that Dovenmuehle had drafted {$1000.00} from my bank account - the description of the transaction actually says " DOVENMUEHLE MTG MORTG PYMTXXXX '' ( see Attachment2 ) - despite the fact that the Dovenmuehle representative had previously advised me she would reject my scheduled payment in their system to prevent the payment from being processed and drafted from my bank account. I immediately called Dovenmuehle on XX/XX/2018 at XXXX XXXX ( CST ) to discuss the erroneous transaction, and I requested that the Dovenmuehle representative who answered my call escalate the matter to a supervisor. My call was transferred to a gentleman named " XXXX ''. I asked XXXX if Dovenmuehle records its calls with its customers and XXXX stated that it did. After explaining the details of what occurred, XXXX apologized to me and advised me to contact my bank and request a stop payment on check # XXXX that I mailed to XXXX XXXX. XXXX further advised me to provide him with proof of the stop payment fee assessed by my bank along with a written request with my name, loan number, and signature and that upon receipt of that information, he would submit a request to reimburse me for the stop payment fee. Additionally, XXXX advised me that check # XXXX shouldn't be deposited by XXXX XXXX for several days and that I had nothing to worry about. The following day, on XX/XX/2018 at XXXX XXXX  ( CST ), I called my bank to request a stop payment on check # XXXX. The bank representative advised me that she could not process a stop payment because check # XXXX had already been deposited by XXXX XXXX and that the check cleared my bank account on XX/XX/2018. As a result, an additional {$1000.00} was drafted from my account on that same date. I then called Dovenmuehle 's Customer Service Department on XX/XX/2018 at XXXX XXXX and again at XXXX XXXX  ( CST ) but could not speak with anyone because apparently Dovenmuehle is closed on the weekend. So, instead, I called XXXX XXXX 's Customer Service Department on XX/XX/2018 at XXXX XXXX ( CST ) and discussed the matter with an Escalation Agent, the details of which I won't include in this complaint since this complaint is against Dovenmuehle and not against XXXX XXXX. I then replied to an email XXXX previously sent to me during our call on XX/XX/2018, and in my email, I informed XXXX of my conversation with my bank and I requested that he provide me with the name and contact information of his supervisor and escalate the matter to him/her immediately. A copy of that email correspondence is attached ( see Attachment3 ). As of the date of this complaint, I have not received a reply email or call from XXXX or his supervisor at Dovenmuehle. Thereafter, on XX/XX/2018 at XXXX XXXX ( CST ), I called Dovenmuehle 's Customer Service Department and requested to speak to a supervisor. My call was transferred to a woman named " XXXX '', who advised me that the servicing transfer of my loan occurred on XX/XX/2018 and that my XX/XX/2018 electronic payment was, in fact, forwarded to XXXX XXXX, which directly contradicts the information I was given by the Dovenmuehle representative on XX/XX/2018. I asked XXXX to provide me with the name of the state and/or federal regulators and government agencies that govern Dovenmuehle and she said she did not know and wanted to know why I needed to know. I told her I wanted to know where to file a complaint. I then requested that she transfer my call to someone who could provide me with that information. XXXX transferred me to a man named " XXXX '' in the Loan Servicing Department. XXXX said I could file a complaint with the CFPB but did not know what other regulators or government agencies that governed Dovenmuehle. Both XXXX and XXXX told me since my loan had been transferred to XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/2018, there was absolutely nothing that Dovenmuehle could do to resolve the issue. Specifically, they told me that Dovenmuehle could not refund the payment that it processed in error, that Dovenmuehle could not provide any monetary relief to me for its error, and that I would need to deal solely with XXXX XXXX to reach a resolution of this matter. Since XX/XX/2018, I've worked daily with XXXX XXXX to rectify this situation, which was caused by Dovenmuehle. As previously stated, Dovenmuehle represented to me that it records its calls, so it should be able to review those call recordings to corroborate my statements made herein. On XX/XX/2018, XXXX XXXX finally refunded {$1000.00} to me for the electronic payment that Dovenmuehle processed in error on XX/XX/2018. The refund was made via a wire transfer from XXXX XXXX to my bank, and as a result, my bank assessed and collected a {$15.00} wire transfer fee from me ( see Attachment6 ), which I believe Dovenmuehle should be held responsible for, and at a minimum, be required to reimburse to me for causing this mess of a situation to begin with. I've attached images of the call log from my phone showing the time stamps of the calls made to Dovenmuehle and XXXX XXXX beginning on XX/XX/2018.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation