Consumer complaint received 2020-11-01
Company: PENNYMAC LOAN SERVICES, LLC.
State: TX
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I contacted PennyMac via their Message Center with my concern that the XXXX for XXXX was incorrect. The document indicated the real estate taxes paid were {$950.00}. I requested a full analysis of the taxes paid and what was reported to the Internal Revenue Service. 

Within a few hours, I received a response from a PennyMac representative. The representative addressed me by my first name. I was somewhat surprised by the assumed familiarity. In most cases, if I am participating in a conversation ( spoken or written ) with someone and they address me as Mr. XXXX, I am more than likely to say " please, call me XXXX. '' But in this instance, the representative felt comfortable enough to call me by my first name. To me, this is inappropriate and it is not acceptable to me. 

The representative went on to say that you all are not required to report to the Internal Revenue Service any amounts deemed " special assessments. '' In XXXX, these are sometimes referred to as the MUD tax or Municipal Use District tax. This particular tax is used to pay for the bonds issued to finance projects to maintain and operate the district. This includes the infrastructure for water, sewage and drainage. Although your representative indicated these monies are also used to cover the cost of trash collection and water usage. This actually is not the case in the City of XXXX. I pay a monthly fee to the City of XXXX  for Water and sewage. Further, the City of XXXX  does not charge residents for trash collection. The latter has been a constant topic of debate as the City grapples with challenges associated with being one of the largest metropolitan areas in the nation. Recently, the city began collection a monthly cart fee, approximately {$.00} per month to cover the cost of the trash carts. 

I replied back and again questioned the amount that was reported to the IRS. My XXXX Property Tax Statement from the XXXX County Tax Assessor- Collector shows {$3400.00} was paid to XXXX XXXX as Tax Assessor-Collector. I reached out to PennyMac again on XX/XX/XXXX. As of the writing of this complaint, I have not been given the courtesy of a response. Unfortunately, what has been my past experience is that I've received substandard customer service from one or more representatives. I then file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Shortly after that I receive a call from someone who works in more or less an Executive Customer Service role and the matter is resolved. What I don't understand is why does it even have to go that far? 

It has also been brought to my attention that I paid tax {$2500.00} in XXXX because PennyMax failed to collect the correct amount during XXXX and XXXX. This resulted in my mortgage being raised by a significant amount. It appears that money was then refunded to PennyMax. I believe that money should have been refunded to me.

Thank you for taking the time to review my concerns. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation