Consumer complaint received 2018-02-09
Company: Shellpoint Partners, LLC
State: RI
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
See my most recent email to the loan servicer. I do not recall all of the dates that I have contacted the loan servicer, but I began calling them in XX/XX/XXXX, and have called them XXXX times, at times spending XXXX minutes on the phone with them. Most recently I have worked with a supervisor named XXXX XXXX, whom I began speaking with on XX/XX/XXXX, and he said I should hear back from him in XXXX weeks. I called him again XX/XX/XXXX to check on the status after XXXX week of not hearing back from him. They could not get him for me, so I left a message on his voicemail on XX/XX/XXXX requesting a call back asap. XXXX hours later, I did not receive a call back, so I called again today ( XX/XX/XXXX ). They could not get ahold of him yet again, and suggested I email them instead. I've sent the following email, which details my issue. 

To Whom It May Concern, I need some assistance rectifying discrepancies on my escrow account for my mortgage. I called into your customer service number over XXXX weeks ago, and I still have not received any legitimate assistance. I received an updated escrow analysis, which shows that my mortgage payment will be increasing from $ XXXX to $ XXXX, due to a deficit in the escrow account, which is currently - {$3500.00}. This is a MAJOR increase, and it seems to be misguided. Ive called your customer service department XXXX times over the last XXXX weeks, however I have yet to get any resolution. I now face a $ XXXX increase in my mortgage payment that I have been trying to rectify before being billed for, however the increased bill has already begun as this has been dragged out. Each time I ask for someone to call me back on the status, Im told I can expect a call in 7-10 business days, at which time no call is received, I call again, and am told it will be another 7-10 business days. I NEED AN ANSWER ON THIS ISSUE NOW. 

Upon reviewing my account activity, I see that my account was in good standing until the activity that occurred XX/XX/XXXX-XX/XX/XXXX. Youll see that a payment was made to the city in the amount of {$5800.00}, then shows a refund received of {$4400.00}, but then this was paid out again. This made the balance negative, and this is what clued me into a problem here. I am aware that my taxes were increased as of XX/XX/XXXX when I moved out of this home and lost my owner occupied tax exemption. This escalated the taxes from $ XXXX to $ XXXX, therefore I expect there to be somewhat of a deficit. Upon further research, Ive found that the payments in your system do not match up with what payments the city received. 

Ive reached out to my city and received a record of all payments and balances over the last few years ( see attached ). Ive highlighted the payments made for XX/XX/XXXX tax year, as this is where the problem lies. Outlined in the large red box in this document on Page 3. Per this record, they received the following payments ( outlined in Green ) : - XX/XX/XXXX - XXXX XXXX - {$940.00} - XX/XX/XXXX - - $ XXXX XXXX **of which includes a {$380.00} interest charge because you were late making the payments!!!!! ) TOTAL PAYMENTS MADE TOWARD XX/XX/XXXX TAXES ( PER CITY ) - {$6800.00} Per the account activity on your website for my account, you list the following payments made to the city : - XX/XX/XXXX - XXXX Qtr - {$940.00} - XX/XX/XXXX - XXXX Qtr - {$940.00} *** NOT REFLECTED IN THE XXXX RECORDS - XX/XX/XXXX - XXXX Qtr - {$5800.00} - XX/XX/XXXX - - - - - - - + {$4400.00} tax refund report - XX/XX/XXXX - - - - - - - ( - ) {$4400.00} tax refund report TOTAL PAYMENTS MADE TOWARD XX/XX/XXXX TAXES ( PER YOUR RECORDS ) - {$7700.00} These are the questions I have regarding this : 1. What is this tax refund report showing +/- {$4400.00}??? As it is not reflected anywhere in the city records? 
2. How/why was a tax payment missed/delinquent, resulting in {$380.00} in interest charges? As my loan servicer, isnt it your job to make all tax payments on-time? Why am I paying for this interest charge that was incurred due to your mismanagement of my tax payments? How can I receive a refund for this? 
3. What is this extra payment made on XX/XX/XXXX per your records, that is not reflected on the citys records? Where did that money go? 
4. I do not have the escrow projection for XX/XX/XXXX in front of me, but I recall that you estimated my tax payments for the upcoming 4 quarters to be {$1600.00}, XXXX {$1800.00}, XXXX {$1800.00}, {$1600.00}. Where did you get this ~ {$1800.00} figure from for XXXX of the quarters? Upon reviewing my taxes with the city, the current projections is that it will remain at $ XXXX, or $ XXXX. I do not want to pay you a dime more than I need to into this escrow ( given the risk that it will me mismanaged ). Please correct this down to {$1600.00} for all quarters on the projection. 
5. As I see it, there will likely still be a deficit ( given that you took this long to adjust the escrow balance despite the taxes having clearly gone up ),  but this should be offset by refund of the {$380.00} in interest charges and {$940.00} in extra payments that from XX/XX/XXXX, for a total of {$1300.00}. 
6. As I see it, my current mortgage payment should be {$2100.00} {$1000.00} Principle {$400.00} Interest {$65.00} FHA MI {$110.00} Homeowners Insurance {$530.00} Taxes ( XXXX = $ XXXX ) If there is a deficit, Id like to know exactly how much, and would like to settle it. This way I can keep my mortgage payments stable and predictable. After all, isnt that the purpose of a loan servicer - someone that is responsible to service the loan accurately to help the customer have predictable and affordable payments? 
7. Why did it take you so long to adjust my escrow when the taxes had clearly gone up?? What good have you done for me as my loan servicer, besides miss payments, incur interest charges, misrepresent my payments, and screw up my escrow balance? I would like to get out of this escrow situation and manage my loan and payments myself. If this is not possible ( due to FHA requirements ), who can I speak with about getting a more competent loan servicer? This is a major problem if a servicer like this is required to service FHA mortgages. Most people with FHA mortgages likely would not have identified the many problems here, and instead defaulted on their loan when the payments suddenly increased by 40 %! Then, upon calling countless times, I was never able to get a straight answer. Today I called yet again ( after leaving a message for a supervisor 24 hours ago and not receiving a call back ), and was told that I should email you, as you may be more responsive to written communication. I cant believe it took me XXXX weeks to find this out. This is so inappropriate and I am appalled that it has taken me XXXX weeks of my hard work to get to the bottom of this, with no assistance from your company. 

Sincerely Concerned,

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation