Consumer complaint received 2019-08-02
Company: TD BANK US HOLDING COMPANY
State: FL
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
I had originally filed a complaint about TD Bank with the CFPB on XX/XX/XXXX. That complaint ID number is XXXX. To summarize, I included an additional principal payment with my normal mortgage payment, and it was mishandled. The entire payment was put into unapplied funds instead of being applied properly. TD Bank fixed the payment after the complaint was filed. 
TD Bank has performed the same actions every month since then with my extra payment. Every month I put in an extra principal amount. I fill out their payment coupon properly, clearly stating in the line marked extra principal the extra amount. Every month, the payment is put into unapplied funds until I call or possibly a week later. During these times, my online account has always stated I owe {$0.00} on the first of the month. I wrote a follow up to my original complaint, but it was unanswered. 
This last month, XXXX, I made yet another mortgage payment with an additional principal. The payment was made on XX/XX/XXXX. As normal, the payment showed up as unapplied funds. I waited a few days, and this time, the payment was changed improperly. Online, it showed my unapplied funds going totally to my extra principal instead of a normal mortgage payment with additional principal. My online account also was updated since the first of the month stating that I owe my normal mortgage amount, due this past XX/XX/XXXX. 
I called TD Bank on XX/XX/XXXX concerning this. I was told my issue had been forwarded to a higher department to fix. As of today, XX/XX/XXXX, the funds have still not been applied properly. My mortgage was due on XX/XX/XXXX. Since these funds were not properly serviced by TD Bank, I am now late with my mortgage payment. 
It is quite obvious TD Bank is in direct violation of the UDAAP ( unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices ). TD Bank repeatedly mishandles my mortgage payments. A quick view of my payment history shows how every month I have dealt with the same issue. Having my online mortgage statement say I owe XXXX $ is deceptive. Adding this extra burden for me to repeatedly and constantly follow up every mortgage payment with phone calls and non-stop monitoring is unfair. TD Banks response to my previous complaint included a phone number for me to call if issues re-appeared. That phone number is incorrect. Again, more blatant abuse from TD Bank. There is no way I can avoid these abusive acts by TD Bank. 
Please review my previous complaint & unanswered follow up to that complaint, attached below. I believe any hint of a late payment should be expunged from all records, credit reports, or other history and TD Bank should be heavily fined for these continued unfair practices. 

ORIGINAL COMPLAINT : On XX/XX/XXXX I attempted to pay my mortgage at a TD Bank Branch. The mortgage payment coupon/slip clearly states " Mortgage Payment ''. It also has a part for you to add additional principle or additional escrow and to total. I added an additional XXXX towards my principle. The transaction took quite a while and included XXXX members of the staff including the manager. I heard them clearly state to put the amount of XXXX in the extra principle field. I received a simple receipt stating I made a " LOAN PYMT '' in the total of my normal payment plus the XXXX extra principle. On XX/XX/XXXX, my account had not been properly credited. The online account showed there was a Misc Receipt made on XX/XX/XXXX, and the outstanding balance of my mortgage had not reflected ANY payment since the prior month. I went back to the branch that day and spoke with the manager, XXXX XXXX. She was one of the employees present when I attempted my payment. While with her, she contacted her account support by phone. They said my payment was used as a pre-payment for future mortgage payments, NOT as a normal mortgage payment with an extra principle deposit. Ms. XXXX explained how the local branch put applied the payment accordingly and was told something went wrong. She was reassured the issue would be corrected that evening and the change would show the next day. This change would also reflect the payment was made on the XXXX XXXX. Ms. XXXX suggested in the future I write two checks and make separate payments to my mortgage if I want to pre-pay my principle. This is a bit odd as the mortgage coupon/slip and the banks system has a spot for me to make an extra principle deposit. I was also told by Ms. XXXX that she would follow up with my payment and contact me the next day to ensure it was done properly. I have not received any contact from TD Bank as of yet. As of today, XX/XX/XXXX, my account has NOT been updated. This costs me the daily interest accruing on the mortgage. It is very wrong for a bank to treat its customers this way. I do not blame the branch employees, as they did what they could have to make the proper payment. Requiring me to write separate checks to make extra principle payments should not happen. 

ORIGINAL FOLLOW UP : Prior to receiving TD Banks response to my compliant, I received a phone call from XXXX XXXX on this issue. My account was properly adjusted as stated. I was told if I have any other questions to contact her directly via the number on the reply I would ( and did XXXX receive. I believed everything would be fine and this complaint could be put to rest. In XXXX, I made a payment to my loan for the normal amount plus XXXX extra principle. The check cleared my bank on XX/XX/XXXX. My online account once again had the payment entered as a Misc receipt. I tried to contact XXXX XXXX via the number given to me on TD Banks reply to this complaint, XXXX. That number does not reach XXXX, but a voicemail for XXXX XXXX I left messages with no reply. There was no indication XXXX XXXX has any affiliation with TD Bank. I later looked at my cellphones history and tried the number I was contacted from after the first complaint. I left a message with my name. I did not receive a return call, but the next day, the funds were properly allocated. The next paper statement mailed statement states unapplied funds were added on XX/XX/XXXX. It continues to state on XX/XX/XXXX the proper amounts were taken from the unapplied funds. Online, the account shows all transactions happening on XX/XX/XXXX. In XXXX, I made the payment for the normal amount plus XXXX extra principle. The check cleared on XX/XX/XXXX. I tried calling the number from TD Banks response again to no avail, it was still for XXXX XXXX and she never returned my calls. I have since lost the other number which may or may not be related. It was not until this morning, XX/XX/XXXX, in which my account has been properly updated. Maybe it was because I called to inquire about the payoff amount the night before. There is no reason in todays technological environment that this should occur. In my conversation with XXXX prior to the TD Bank response to the complaint, I inquired on how I can help TD Bank properly process my payment. I was told there was nothing more I could do as filling out the coupon properly does this. Looking back at my mortgages history, I see that back between XXXX & XXXX I regularly made payments with extra principle. They were consistently deposited properly. Both my online account history and paper statements prove this. Why has TD Bank chosen to make this a challenge now. My online account has misleadingly said the amount due was XXXX since this issue was supposedly resolved back in XXXX. Even though the proper amounts were finally distributed today, my account still states I owe XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. I will receive my statement in the mail with an amount due soon, as I have in the past. It will state I own my normal payment, as expected. Why does the website try to deceive me? It seems like TD Bank has a pattern of improperly applying my mortgage payments as instructed. It is unfair that I can not seem to avoid this extra effort to ensure this account is serviced properly and in a timely manner. I was more than willing and tried repeatedly to contact XXXX instead of continuing this complaint. Unfortunately, that too was fruitless. In searching online, I have noticed I am not alone. Others have also had their additional principle put into unapplied funds. ( see https : //www.consumeraffairs.com/finance/td_ameritrade.html for one example ) This pattern of unfair and deceptive practices should be stopped.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief