Consumer complaint received 2019-01-16
Company: RUSHMORE LOAN MANAGEMENT SERVICES LLC
State: CA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
Rushmore Loan Management Services Consumer Affairs Department Attn : Request for Information XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX CA XXXX XX/XX/XXXX RE : Loan # XXXX  To Whom It May Concern, Rushmore Loan Management is not abiding by the terms of our loan. They have committed an error and have fraudulently attempted to increase the payment of the modified loan. The loan is in the name of my ex-husband, XXXX XXXX XXXX, however I am the one who lives in the home and makes the monthly payment, I am also authorized on the account. In XXXX of XX/XX/XXXX, we were awarded a loan modification with our previous lender, XXXX XXXX XXXX. The modification note is included with this letter. The modification is for a 60-month term, which includes fixed monthly, interest only payments for 60 straight months. The modification includes impounds for property taxes, which are collected at a lesser amount than the actual property taxes. The difference between the amount of the property taxes and what was collected by XXXX  and now Rushmore accumulates into an escrow account, as per the terms of the loan, which will become a balloon payment added to the principle of the loan at the end of the 60-month modification term. This was explained to us at great length before accepting the loan modification. We are just over 2 years into the loan modification.

Unfortunately, shortly after Rushmore Loan Management took over the servicing of the loan, they did an escrow analysis and determined that the payment needed to increase by nearly {$600.00} per month to cover the negative amount accumulating in the escrow account from the property taxes. I have been told that Rushmore has a rule that when the escrow account totals more than {$10000.00} they will adjust the payment. This is where the error comes in. The terms of the Loan modification call for the deferred amount, the property taxes, to accumulate in the escrow account. Rushmore must honor the terms of the loan. The terms of the modification supersede any rules or preferences that Rushmore has prior to servicing the loan. This escrow analysis was conducted around XXXX  of XX/XX/XXXX by Rushmore, as a result, Rushmore incorrectly has tried to increase the payment. The new payment was slated to start on XX/XX/XXXX. This however is incorrect and is in direct conflict with the terms of the loan. I have had hundreds of calls with Rushmore Loan Management since XX/XX/XXXX to try to resolve this matter.

I was told in XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX by several representatives of the Loss Mitigation Department for Rushmore that the internal Consumer Affairs department would investigate the matter. After long last, I was assured that the Consumer Affairs Department have acknowledged the error and that they would be correcting it. I have asked for full names and contact numbers and was told that they could not be given out. I have asked for something in writing to confirm that this will be fixed and was told that also could not be provided at this time, but that it would be eventually when the matter has been corrected.

In the meantime, I have received foreclosure notices from Rushmore, my ex-husband and I get daily phone calls from Rushmore. The representatives in the Loss Mitigation department that have been helpful to me have informed me that they have updated the notes to reflect that the error is being corrected, I have been told to just be patient. I have been instructed to simply advise Rushmore representatives who call to read the notes and they do and thats the end of the phone call.

Much time has passed with no concrete resolution to this problem. I have been told many times that my account rep is Mr. XXXX XXXX, I have asked to speak to him and was told that he would call me back. He has never called me back. Numerous account reps say they will transfer my call to him, only to come back on the line and tell me that he is unavailable. I have received delinquent payment notices from XXXX XXXX that have a phone number, I have tried calling it and nothing happens, the phone does not even ring. I am pretty sure XXXX XXXX does not exist. I continue to speak to people in Rushmores Loss Mitigation department who have assured me that this is definitely Rushmores error and it will be fixed. When asked what I do in the meantime, I am told just keep making my regular monthly payment of {$2300.00}, which I have continued to do on time. The problem is when I make my regular payment, Rushmores computers determine it is not the full amount since the records still incorrectly show that they want to collect the higher amount of {$2900.00}. So, when I send my payment in, it is put aside, perhaps in another escrow account, until the next months payment comes in and then the previous months payment is considered paid. Meanwhile, I get daily calls claiming that I have not made my mortgage payment or that the payment is late. My ex-husbands credit is taking a beating and he is getting very irate over this whole ordeal. To be 100 % clear, I have never had a late payment on this loan! I have continued to make my regular monthly payment as advised by Rushmores representatives. I have been assured by Rushmores Loss Mitigation Department, that the Consumer Affairs Department has conducted an investigation in to the matter and that they have determined that they were in error in attempting to increase the payment in XXXX of XX/XX/XXXX. I have been told that the payments will all be corrected as well as my ex-husbands credit and the payments will return to the original modified amount of {$2300.00}.

At this time, the matter has still not been resolved and the frustration is mounting. This has caused a massive amount of XXXX and XXXX both in my life, my childrens lives and the life of my ex-husband. I was completely remiss in believing the previous representatives that have assured me that this would be corrected. I was originally told to send in a copy of my Modification Agreement, I faxed about 25 copies to many different departments at Rushmore Loan Servicing, because I know how these things go. I was told they only received one copy. When the copy was looked over, I was told that Rushmore was not aware of this Modification Agreement. I was told an investigation would be opened and a decision would be made. I called daily for a one-month period until I could get an answer as I have been a nervous wreck about this, especially after receiving foreclosure notices from Rushmore. At long last, I was told by no less than 3 agents in the Loss Mitigation department that it was positively determined to be an error and I was assured that it would be corrected. I was told to continue to make my regular monthly payment of {$2300.00} and assured that everything would be corrected including XXXX  credit. I was told that Rushmore would make sure that all lates were removed and that they would do whatever was necessary to make things right. When asked for proof or a timeframe, I was told that they could not give me a timeframe but that when it was all done, I would receive a letter to that affect. Not much of a guarantee, but it was all I was offered, I was also told that all the notes in the file would reflect the correction being made.

I have called many times since then, usually the customer services representatives do not want to transfer me to the Loss Mitigation department, however, when they do, the same information has been relayed to me. I am told to be patient and to continue making my regular monthly payment of {$2300.00}. I am always assured that this will be corrected soon. This has helped me to relax a bit and try to convince my ex-husband to relax as well.

More than 6 months have gone by and it does not seem like anyone is doing anything about this matter. I continue to receive default and late payment notices from Rushmore as well as phone calls. Today, I asked again to be transferred to the Loss Mitigation Department after I was called by a Rushmore Rep. After speaking with a rep for some time, she informed a supervisor, who then took my call. The supervisor was named XXXX, like everyone else, he refused to give a last name or contact information. XXXX seemed to be completely in the dark and said the notes were not complete, the results of the Consumer Affairs Investigation was not clear and went back to the original escrow analysis done in XXXX  of XX/XX/XXXXand said that is why the payments have increased. After all my hundreds of hours on the phone with representatives from Rushmore, and assurances that this would be corrected soon, we are now back at square one. I can not even articulate the frustration!

As a result of XXXX  calling Rushmores Irvine office an inquiry was opened on XX/XX/XXXX, a letter was sent via XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX letter attached. In the letter Rushmore states that inquiry is under review and we will have a response within the next 30 days, today is XX/XX/XXXX, no response has been sent.

I am writing this letter to have the Rushmore Loan Management Consumer Affairs Department once again look over the Modification Agreement and see that the terms of the loan call for FIXED monthly payment for 60 months. The only way that the payments can change during the 60-month period are if escrow items ( primarily taxes and insurance ) increase or decrease. This has not happened and if the property taxes increased it would be very nominal, say {$5.00} a month. XXXX  at your Loss Mitigation department did not understand the Modification Agreement and simply kept telling me that it was due to the escrow analysis back in XXXX of XX/XX/XXXX, again, this takes us all back to square one, which is a huge waste of time. XXXX  suggested that I write this letter to your department and he said that Rushmore can even contact the lender that wrote the modification agreement, XXXX XXXX XXXX to ask them what they intended by this modification. My current modification is for a 4 % interest only loan, my previous loan was a 4 % interest only loan, the only difference is this property tax deferred amount. Outside of the lesser amount collected for property taxes and the balloon escrow payment at the end of the 60-month modification term, this loan is the same loan that I had previously. Admittedly, this loan will create a major problem for me at the end of the 60 months, but at the time that it was offered to us in XX/XX/XXXXof XX/XX/XXXX, it was the only offer on the table. I was assured outside of a small property tax increase, that my payments would remain fixed for 60 months guaranteed. Simply put, Rushmore Loan Servicing is not honoring the terms of the loan.

I would prefer not to hire an attorney ; however, I have consulted with one. I also plan to file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I humbly ask that Rushmore resolve this matter once and for all. I also ask that Rushmore remove the inaccurate late payment reporting for XXXX XXXX XXXX and that the phone calls and threating letters from Rushmore Loan Management Servicing cease. This has caused a huge financial hardship and has also caused a tremendous amount of unnecessary stress and angst. Once this matter is resolved it is my hope that Rushmore will permanently modify this loan to something that will be more agreeable so that this will never happen again and to make amends for this injustice.

Please contact me with any information or with any questions at ( XXXX ) XXXX or email, XXXX.

Thank you for your consideration, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation