Consumer complaint received 2021-03-08
Company: AMERISAVE MORTGAGE CORPORATION
State: IN
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2021, I logged onto my mortgage account at Amerisave Mortgage Company and triggered a payment of {$240000.00} which included my next months payment of {$1800.00} plus a payment toward the principal of {$240000.00}. A few days later, I logged on to check the account and noticed that the monthly payment had been processed correctly but that the {$240000.00} had been put in my escrow account. 

I called Amerisave ( XXXX ) and was told that they would fix the issue by transferring the $ XXXX towards the principal within 5 business days. 

After a week, I logged on and discovered that the history of my account made no sense. I did not take a snapshot of the history on the screen ( and it has changed multiple times since ) but it was apparent that they had divided my $ XXXX into 24 transactions of {$9900.00} plus an additional transaction of {$0.00}. ( I dont know the legality of that strategyI assume it is so that they dont have to report transactions in excess of $ XXXX to the government. It is not clear whether that is for their benefit or for some of their customers, but it is confusing and seems a bit unseemly. ) {$9900.00} was applied to the principal but the remaining {$230000.00} was still in my escrow account. 
Another phone call. I was told that they would correct it within 5 business days. 

A week later, on XX/XX/XXXX, there was an Advance reversal of {$9900.00} posted to my accountwhatever that isand another Principal curtailment of {$230000.00}. This left {$9900.00} in my escrow account ( that should have been against the principal ). I called Amerisave and was told it would be corrected within 5 business days. 

A week later, the {$9900.00} was still in escrow and so I called again. I was told that it would be corrected within 5 business days. 

In the meantime, on XX/XX/XXXX, I triggered an additional principal payment of {$58000.00}, which was {$9900.00} less than the outstanding balance of the loan. I assumed that this would pay off the loan, once it was posted along with the {$9900.00} that was supposed to be transferred to the principal as well. 

The {$58000.00} was posted on XX/XX/XXXX, leaving a balance of {$9900.00}. ( Just to reiterate, the balance shown on my account on XX/XX/XXXX was {$9900.00} and my escrow account balance was in excess of {$13000.00} because of the extra {$9900.00} that was in escrow but should have been against the principal. ) A week later, the {$9900.00} was still in the escrow account ( and my mortgage balance was still at {$9900.00} ) and so I called again. This time I was told that I could request an escrow review and if they determined that there was excess, it would be mailed to me as a check. I told them I didnt want a checkI wanted it against my principal. I became angry and asked for a supervisor. The supervisor told me that the {$9900.00} in the escrow account would be posted against the mortgage principal within 5 business days. I told her that I also had paid {$58000.00} toward the principal ( and was already posted ) and wanted to make sure that that transaction would not be messed with. She told me that I wasnt supposed to pay off the loan via the website, but congratulated me for ( essentially ) paying off the loan. 

This morning ( XX/XX/XXXX ), I logged on and found that Amerisave had posted an Advance reversal for {$58000.00} as well as a Principal curtailment for {$230000.00} and another Principal curtailment for {$9900.00} and that my account balance was now {$58000.00}. So, a week ago, my loan balance was {$9900.00} with {$9900.00} excess in my escrow account. Now, my loan balance is {$58000.00}. ( At least the escrow account looks correct now. ) I called Amerisave yet again, asking to know where my {$58000.00} was. I was told that it was in a suspense account and that within 5 business days -- of course -- they would mail me a check for that amount. I was angry and told them that I wanted them to put the {$58000.00} against my principal and did not want them to mail it to me. They told me that it was against their policy to do that. 

Apparently, the policy is that their website can not be used to pay off more than 80 % of the loan. I argued that if that is the policy, they should program their web page to not allow it to happen. 

In the meantime, of course, I am accruing interest. This for a loan that should have had {$240000.00} credited against it on XX/XX/XXXX and {$58000.00} ( i.e., the balance of the loan ) credited on XX/XX/XXXX. Instead, the {$240000.00} was credited on XX/XX/XXXX and I will wait, probably for two or more weeks, for a check to arrive in the mail for {$58000.00}. I will then deposit it my bank where it will be frozen for 2 (? ) weeks before I can use it to pay off my mortgage. It will be XXXX before I am able to pay off this loan. 

I have spent hours on the phone with Amerisave and am incredibly frustrated. They are either incompetent or unethical. Or both. I most certainly do not recommend that anyone use them as a mortgage provider.

Company public response: Company believes the complaint provided an opportunity to answer consumer's questions
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation