Consumer complaint received 2021-03-15
Company: AmeriHome Mortgage Company, LLC
State: FL
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Mortgage debt
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Attempted to collect wrong amount

Complaint:
I, XXXX XXXX XXXX, am a XXXX XXXX permanent and totally XXXX XXXX. I purchased a home in XXXX, Fl on XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. I immediately moved to XXXX and got my drivers license and voter registration card o/a XXXX XX/XX/XXXX to establish residency in Florida. I did this to apply for the Homestead  Tax Waiver for 100 % PNT XXXX veterans for all XXXX XXXX taxes. I applied for this waiver in Late XXXX and was granted this waiver for XXXX XXXX taxes on XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. 
I paid my first mortgage payment to XXXX XXXX in XXXX and did not include the escrow amount. 

My mortgage was then sold to Amerihome. I called Amerihome o/a XXXX XXXX to inform them of my approved Homestead Tax Waiver and to have them exclude the XXXX XXXX tax withholding from my account. I was informed to submit a request with my approved letter from XXXX County Tax Appraisers office. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX I submitted my Homestead Tax Waiver letter on XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX I called again on XXXX XXXX and was advised by your customer service department not to pay my bill until XXXX XXXX, this would certainly be resolved by then. 
XXXX XX/XX/XXXX - I called back on XXXX XX/XX/XXXX to check for an update. I was informed by your customer service rep that my incident # XXXX was disapproved because the Amerihome legal team felt that the Homestead Waiver letter for mortgage companies was poorly worded and should be rewritten by XXXX county despite the sentence. Even though values are likely to change due to ongoing analysis throughout the year, the final estimate in this case will not change. The owner will be exempt from having to pay the XXXX portion of the tax bill. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX I contacted XXXX XXXX on XXXX XX/XX/XXXX and he emailed me a message based on our phone conversation the day before. He stated that XXXX county would not rewrite the approved letter. He added that in order to add clarity to the situation he had included the property tax card highlighted in the key areas, FL Statute XXXX that cites service-connected total and permanently XXXX veterans are exempt from XXXXXXXX taxation. I forwarded these items to Amerihome on XXXX XX/XX/XXXX and included my Homestead Waiver and a letter from VA that stated I was a XXXX XXXX PNT XXXX Veteran. 
XXXX XX/XX/XXXX I received a confirmation email from Amerihome saying this would be resolved in 10 days. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX I called back for an update and was told that no one had looked at my documents yet because they were busy. I asked for a supervisor and was put in contact with a woman whose LID number is XXXX. She stated that she had approved my tax status and entered it into the system herself. She told me to watch the website and I would see notification of these by end of day XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. She also stated that she initiated an escrow reevaluation that should be completed by XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. She also stated that I should receive my escrow overage within 7-10 days after the reevaluation. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX I sent an email through the Amerihome secure message portal On XXXX XX/XX/XXXX I spoke with LID number XXXX and was assured that my payment and escrow reevaluation would occur by XXXX XX/XX/XXXX and reflect the fact that I am not responsible for XXXX XXXX taxes for this mortgage based on the supporting documents I have submitted since XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. What is my status on this issue? 

XXXX XXXX XXXX I called for an update and was told that no one had read my documents and they apologized for this but yes, they saw all of my documents in the system and they would have a supervisor return my call within 24-48 hours. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX I received this message from XXXX XXXX ; Dear XXXX XXXX , thank you for your inquiry regarding your loan We apologize that we have been unable to respond to your message within our standard processing time. We regret any inconvenience this delay may have caused. Our records indicate that you spoke with someone via chat today. Please be advise that the tax exemption document was denied. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX logged in to portal and discovered the denial response from XXXX XXXX . 

XXXX XXXX XXXX I called and spoke with XXXX LID # XXXX and discussed my situation with him. After much delay he found my Homestead Tax Waiver and read the following words to me in paragraph 3 The owner will be exempt from having to pay the XXXX portion of the tax bill. I asked to speak to his supervisor or his supervisors supervisor. I was eventually connect to XXXX, XXXX XXXX. She informed me that my tax waiver was denied, I asked her to read me para. 3 of the XXXX County Tax Appraisers Homestead Waiver and she wrongly read my VA XXXX letter. I told her that was the wrong document, but it showed that they had received all of the attachments I sent to them in my second email to their tax administration email. I then told her the file name and she read par 3 in its entirety to me. This estimate is not final and at this time is only an estimate. The final value will be available in XXXX of XXXX on the Notice of Proposed Taxes ( TRIM ). Even though values are likely to change due to ongoing analysis throughout the year, the final estimate in this case will not change. The owner will be exempt from having to pay the XXXX portion of the tax bill. After reading this statement to me she stated Hmmm, I can understand why you are frustrated. I will have to resubmit this to the tax department and have them review it again. I told her I wanted to speak directly with the tax department. She said that is not possible. I asked for her supervisor, she stated that she had a manager. Her managers name is XXXX and her LID # is XXXX. XXXX would not take my call. I informed XXXX that I would be filing a formal complaint with the CFPB at XXXX today about their deceitful trade practices and their treatment of XXXX veterans unless someone called me back before then.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation