Consumer complaint received 2017-08-02
Company: Dovenmuehle Mortgage, Inc.
State: CA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
RE : Missing check for escrow refund of {$5500.00} made on XX/XX/XXXX Dovenmuehle started servicing my loan on XX/XX/XXXX. Upon initiation of the loan I pre-funded the escrow account with a deposit of {$5100.00}. Starting in XX/XX/XXXX I began to experience issues with Dovenmuehle receiving but not applying checks to my mortgage account. I also noticed the account balances for the escrow account were not correct. In XX/XX/XXXX I had requested an escrow statement and escrow analysis to be performed, but unfortunately this request was never completed. We continued to experience issues with Dovenmuehle not applying funds to our mortgage account through XX/XX/XXXX. The mortage went into default and foreclosure proceedings were initiated. I and made several complaints to both Dovenmuehle and CFBP. Dovenmuehle provided a response but it did not address the issues we had been facing although we were provide a detailed account statement showing all of the incoming/outgoing transactions. Surprisingly on XX/XX/XXXX the servicing of this loan was transferred to XXXX XXXX loans. I contacted XXXX and was able to immediately reinstate the loan in full and this is currently in good standing. At the same time of reinstating the loan I requested that XXXX provide me with an escrow statement and analysis dating back to loan inception. XXXX XXXX Loans promptly provided me with all the information I needed. In both the paperwork I was provided by XXXX XXXX at Dovenmuehle and XXXX XXXX loans it showed that on XX/XX/XXXX, Dovenmuehle made what I believe to be an unauthorized disbursement out of my escrow account listed as an Escrow Refund in the amount of {$5500.00}. A customer service representative at XXXX was able to tell me that this was disbursed in the form of a check issued by XXXX XXXX XXXX to XXXX XXXX and had a check number of XXXX. This shocked me I had never requested, nor authorized, any refund disbursements to be made from my escrow account. I had never received a check, nor any correspondence from Dovenmuehle informing me that such a disbursement had been made. It is still unclear as to the reason why a refund disbursement would have been made only four months into the life of the loan which is highly unusual. The consequence of making an unauthorized disbursement in the absence of an escrow analysis led to the escrow account being under-funded and the monthly mortgage payments subsequently increased to account for the shortfall. I contacted Dovenmuehle and spoke to a customer service representative and explained that while my loan had been transferred, I was seeking information on account statements of payments made during the time Dovenmuehle was responsible for my mortgage. The representative informed me she could help me and to contact the new servicer. I called back an asked to speak to a supervisor who was similarly unhelpful and said any such requests should be addressed to the 'Investigations Department '. I asked to be connected but she said I needed to fax over the information, which I did in XX/XX/XXXX. I detailed my issue to Dovenmuehle and requested that Dovenmuehle provide to me a copy of the front and back of this check to confirm a ) if this check was indeed cashed, b ) who this was cashed by, and c ) the banking institution that cashed this check. I have since contacted Dovenmuehle several times and asked that they confirm receipt of the fax and provide me an update on my request, the customer service representatives informed me that they could not help me and to contact my new servicer. This is not something XXXX can assist with as the check disbursements were made out of my escrow account when under Dovenmuehle 's control. XXXX XXXX XXXX have voiced deep concern at the issues I have experienced working with Dovenmuehle and brought into question their servicing practices. In summary while Dovenmuehle was servicing my mortgage they made an unauthorized disbursement from my escrow account that led to my escrow account becoming underfunded. I never received the disbursed funds and Dovenmuehle have ignored my requests to see proof of the check being cashed and by who. The consequence of this means I am down {$5500.00} and my mortgage payment has changed to account for this shortfall.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation