Consumer complaint received 2020-05-18
Company: Shellpoint Partners, LLC
State: LA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: VA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
We have had a long-standing issue since last XX/XX/XXXX with our mortgage company, NewRez. Prior to this, our mortgage was owned by NewPenn Financial and they became NewRez on XX/XX/XXXX, we had no problems with them until XX/XX/XXXX. The problems commenced in XX/XX/XXXX and haven't stopped. We have a VA loan with a fixed rate. 
They seem to be great over the phone but when we check the account to see if problems have been fixed, it seems to get worse. Our statements are an absolute nightmare to follow because they can't even get the payments right when pulling from our account. Our account is set up to pull bi-weekly payments and put a little towards principal every month. Our payment is {$720.00} monthly and we pay bi-weekly payments of {$400.00}. They started changing the way they process our payments in XX/XX/XXXX and the mistakes didn't hinder our account until we were notified of a late payment in XXXX. Here is a detailed list of all dealings with them since we were notified of a problem in XXXX. 
XXXX My husband called and talked to someone because of the late notice we had received in the mail. 
XXXX My husband received a call back and asked about the late payment and if I was able to pay it. He had talked to someone yesterday and said they had fixed the problem. They said ok and hung up. 
In XXXX, my husband reviewed the mistakes on the account all the way back to when the account had no errors. He found errors all the way back to XX/XX/XXXX. 
XXXX We received another phone call asking about a late payment. They checked the account and said the funds had been put in the wrong place and they would fix it. 
XXXX My husband called back to verify that the payment had been fixed and they said yes. 
XXXX My husband called and talked to XXXX and she tried to help. She transferred him to XXXX because the payment had been submitted as a principal only and should have been a regular payment. She put in a request for XX/XX/XXXX to change the payment of {$400.00} from principal only to regular payment. 
XXXX My husband called back @ XXXX and spoke with XXXX and transferred to XXXX . They changed the principal only payment of {$500.00} on XX/XX/XXXX to regular payment. XXXX requested that all principal only payments from XX/XX/XXXX to now reapplied to mortgage. She asked that he call back on Monday XX/XX/XXXX. 
XXXX XXXX verified bi-weekly payments with my husband were set up with them instead of through the bill pay on our bank account. They transferred him to a payment specialist. XXXX transferred him to XXXX in customer service and said they couldn't go back more than 90 days to adjust payments. She said she would forward my concerns and to call back in 3-5 business days. 
XXXX I called on this day because my husband was busy, and we had received a statement with mistakes on it again. I talked to XXXX at XXXX XXXX and he reversed the payment on XX/XX/XXXX for {$500.00} from a principal only payment to regular payment. He also reversed the payment on XX/XX/XXXX for {$54.00} from a principal only payment to regular payment. He had also told me that if we could make a payment in the amount of {$150.00} that it would put as paid up and we would be a month ahead again, which is what we try to do. 
I got off the phone and let my husband know that I had talked to them, but he had more questions. We called back a little while later. 
XXXX We both talked to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and she looked at our account again and they didn't have any payments scheduled to come out for XXXX because they didn't want us to get ahead. So they said no payments would come out until XX/XX/XXXX. I explained to them that the reason we had our payments set up that way is so we could be paying a month ahead. I had them schedule two payments for XXXX. One for XX/XX/XXXX in the amount of {$400.00} and one on XX/XX/XXXX for {$400.00}. She verified that we would be paid through until XX/XX/XXXX. 
XXXX We called again because we checked the payment online to make sure it had been processed correctly, and they had made another principal only payment. I talked with XXXX at XXXX XXXX and she tried to help us but was very nervous. We asked to speak to a supervisor, and she got XXXX on the phone at XXXX XXXX. XXXX apologized and said there had been several mistakes and that she would fix the principal only payment on XX/XX/XXXX to a regular payment. 
XXXX It was processed incorrectly and had been processed as a principal only payment. 
XXXX The payment was changed to an unapplied payment and corrected to {$400.00} and a payment was processed. 
XXXX We called at XXXX XXXX because the payment had not been taken out of our bank account. We spoke with XXXX XXXX and he assured us that his department no longer handled these issues and you had to submit your questions or concerns through an email, and they would take care of it. XXXX. 
XXXX We called back at XXXX XXXX and spoke with XXXX XXXX and she was happy to help us fix the problem and processed the payment for us. 
XXXX My husband talked to XXXX with mortgage services and they transferred him to customer service where he spoke with XXXX XXXX . She suggested stopping bi-weekly payments until the past bi-weekly payments were fixed. We did not do this because there was no guarantee that they would be fixed, and we wanted to make sure they were getting the payments. 
XXXX- We had received a bill in the mail saying that our escrow was short and needed to make a surplus payment to catch up the escrow on our account. They changed our bi-weekly payment from {$400.00} to {$430.00} without our permission. My husband called and spoke with XXXX XXXX. She said the escrow would increase the payment so the bi-weekly payments would increase because they assumed that I wanted to continue the {$80.00} overage for principal every month. She changed the principal only payment of {$590.00} on XX/XX/XXXX to cover the {$490.00} shortage on Escrow so it should be {$490.00}. The remaining {$100.00} would go to principal. It should show online in the next 72 hours ( XXXX now ) and should show by XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. 
XXXX The escrow shortage has not yet been corrected as I was told on XX/XX/XXXX it would be, I called and I talked to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and asked about payment history and why money wasn't moved to Escrow like it was supposed to be. The principal only payment on XX/XX/XXXX will also be fixed. The account has been flagged on XX/XX/XXXX for updates. The principal only payment on XX/XX/XXXX for {$430.00} would be redirected to unapplied payment status. 
XXXX It showed on the account history of the escrow shortage being fixed on this date and the principal only overage applied of {$100.00}. 
It also showed on XX/XX/XXXX that the two payments in XXXX both in the amount of {$430.00}, one on XX/XX/XXXX that was supposed to have already been moved back to unapplied payments and the other on XX/XX/XXXX that had been applied to principle only were both removed from principle only and redirected and classified as principle adjustments which according to the principle balance were just principle only payments. 
On XX/XX/XXXX- we received a statement in the mail saying they were changing our payment amount to {$370.00} bi-weekly, again without our permission. Then they took a bi-weekly payment in the amount of {$370.00}. 
XX/XX/XXXX We checked our online account and found that our XX/XX/XXXX payment has not been made because they had improperly applied both payments in XXXX to principle only payments. 
I called and spoke with a customer service rep who transferred me to a specialist named XXXX who transferred me to XXXX in billing. I explained the situation to XXXX I explained that my bi-weekly payments were being improperly applied as principle only, XXXX put in a request to change both XXXX payments from principle only to cover the XX/XX/XXXX payment. 
I also explained to XXXX that the amount of my bi-weekly payments had been changed twice, both times to amounts other than what I had specified in the bi-weekly automatic payment enrollment form that I had signed and sent to them in XXXX. I explained to her that I had been told previously the reason for the first change was that they assumed that I wanted to maintain the {$80.00} overage that was originally set up and that I had explained back then that I wanted the amount to stay at {$400.00} and was assured that it would be fixed. I explained that when they changed my bi-weekly payment amount the last time that they had dropped the bi-weekly payments to {$370.00} and that it needed to be fixed. XXXX informed me that the amount was based on the monthly payment amount and since the escrow amount had changed that the monthly payment amount had changed and I would have to send a new bi-weekly automatic payment enrollment form showing the new monthly payment amount in order to change the bi-weekly payment amount. I asked her how it was changed twice without me sending a new for directing the change, I also told her that according to their policy they can not change the amount of my bi-weekly payments without my permission. She spoke to her supervisor and informed me that she would notify the bi-weekly payment department to follow the directions on the form I had previously sent in and my bi-weekly payments would be reset to {$400.00}.

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