Consumer complaint received 2018-08-18
Company: NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC
State: LA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
I refinanced my home in XX/XX/XXXX because I wanted lower monthly payments. I chose to do this so that I could use the extra savings to apply to buy my son a car for school - I am a single mother with XXXX children. In the 4 years with this company, I never missed a mortgage payment. I was never 30 days late in payments.

In XX/XX/XXXX, I was informed that my longstanding flood insurance policy with XXXX  was not renewed for some reason. I called XXXX   to clarify and they faxed over a copy of my flood policy to Nationstar mortgage company, which is now Mr. Cooper. I was told it was fixed and I thought all was settled but received more notices. I again had XXXX fax my flood policy to Mr Cooper in XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX.

Apparently, Mr Cooper ignored faxes from XXXX and did not send payment and my policy was cancelled in XX/XX/XXXX because of nonpayment and I lost my grandfathered rate. I was told by XXXX  that I lost my longstanding grandfathered flood insurance policy rate in XX/XX/XXXX - so I would have to pay {$460.00} to get an elevation certificate to see what my new rates would be.

This is extremely important because my grandfathered flood insurance rate was only around {$1100.00} - because my longstanding XXXX  policy was canceled, In XX/XX/XXXX, a lender placed policy around {$5400.00} was placed on my house in which I only found this out through my email. This more confusing because I thought all was fixed. I again called Mr. Cooper numerous times to see what happened because I was so confused because XXXX faxed my policy repeatedly. Continued horrible costumer service as I was placed on hold for long periods of time, one time I was told I was speaking to a supervisor only to find out the next phone calls that the person logged on my file was only employed there for two days, placed on hold to wrong departments and hung up on multiple times, supervisors never called back, calls were not logged I know this because they said we have not heard from me in weeks and so on when I knew I called.

I spoke to escrow and even got a fax number to personally fax and figure out what happened with my escrow because I always had my insurance paid through escrow. To my knowledge, I am required to have escrow with my FHA loan. Correct? Especially because my home is in a hurricane evacuation flood zone. This action by Mr Cooper caused my monthly payments to become less affordable because they increased nearly {$500.00} per month. Even after a three way conference call with myself, an XXXX agent and someone in Escrow dept at Mr Cooper - in which my XXXX agent told Mr Cooper that the policy that was faxed in XX/XX/XXXX and in XX/XX/XXXX and again in XX/XX/XXXX was actually good for all three months. It was Mr Coopers escrow departments mistake for the lack of knowledge of this and then placing an unnecessary overpriced lender placed policy and caused me to lose my longstanding grandfathered rate which increased my monthly payments and further caused me to fall behind with payments.

After, the elevation certificate, and a longstanding customer, XXXX worked with me and with some adjustments to flood insurance coverage - My new yearly rates were now three times higher around {$3700.00} up from my grandfathered yearly rate of around {$1100.00}. There was nothing I could do to get my grandfathered rate back. Furious with Mr. Cooper, myself and an agent at XXXX began to think that I was scammed in to refinancing only to lose more money and owe more - Like I was being punished for refinancing in the first place or Mr. Cooper was trying to get me out of my house or trap me there with higher payments and/or not able to sell my home. Also, because my house would not be as attractive than the home next door that maintained their grandfathered rate.

No one is servicing was listening to me or XXXX. Mr. Coopers mistake has caused so much emotional damage. BUT, even more so, there is no way to even predict or even put a number on the future damage this has caused because of my credit score and the loss of my grandfathered rate. Stress, tears, anxiety can not ever be compensated. I lost a HUGE selling point for my home. I lost value in my home that there is no way a number can even be conceptualized or ever realized. Who will buy my home now with this TRIPLED flood insurance rate? Mr. Cooper has further trapped me because my credit score is now so badly destroyed that I can not even go to another mortgage company to sell or buy a new home. This is frightening.

This entire nightmare has been a series of phone calls, between working full time 12 hour night shifts, raising XXXX children alone and scared to death that Im going to lose my house because someone did not renew my flood insurance? My high school children and I started packing our things in our home in boxes because we just anticipated Mr. Cooper was going to get us out of our home with all of these inconsistencies and suspicious behavers of claiming they never received faxes and calls and placing overpriced lender policies. No family should have to endure this for a mistake Mr Cooper made with servicing my loan.

I was promised a {$460.00} refund on the elevation certificate - never got that. I was promised to have this resolved and all mistakes corrected and to reflect on my credit report as such. Instead, I was locked out of my online account and further reported to credit agencies. My credit score dropped over 150 points and credit card companies canceled my cards, lowered my credit limits and I started receiving bankruptcy rescue mail. I can not even qualify to lease a car for my son much less buy one for him after refinancing with this company. I worked very hard on my own as a single mother with no help to qualify to refinance my home at a lowered rate around 3.6 % from around 5.6 % to save money to put towards my childrens growing expenses Further, while I was at work one morning my already stressed out children were served papers by a sheriffs deputy for a Notice of Seizure and our home was up for a sheriffs sale on XX/XX/XXXX. Not only was my credit history destroyed - now it is on public record that my home is no longer my home because my Longstanding flood insurance policy was not honored? How is this not a scam?

After even more months of phone calls through a painful automated system and no return calls from supervisors, I was told I would now have partial claims and re-modifications which were even more confusing because to my understanding this was only from origination of not renewing my longstanding XXXX  policy. In XX/XX/XXXX - I receive a workout plan by Mr Cooper with my monthly payments of {$1400.00} this was even higher than they were before refinancing in XX/XX/XXXX. The agent argued with me about the amounts stating that my payments were always around {$1500.00}. It was only after I sent an old payment stub with the amount of {$1000.00} that she said she would call different departments and see what the issue was. Even after arguing my point and sending the documentation, she proudly offered a new workout plan with my payments at {$1100.00}. This was only lower a few hundred dollars WITHOUT a flood insurance policy included. I was told I would just have to save a little extra money to get flood insurance policy on my own. In which increases my payments around $ XXXX/month because of my NON-grandfathered flood insurance rate. I am in much worse financial situation now than before I refinanced. How is this possible? What happened? Why is this being done to my family? Isnt my flood insurance supposed to be escrowed because of my FHA loan? Or at least offer escrow options?

Also during this time, this agent told me that she discovered that in XX/XX/XXXX my flood insurance policy was dropped one week before closing for some reason. I never knew this or was never informed of this I would have NEVER refinanced or signed any documents knowing someone purposely dropped or did not include or did not honor my longstanding policy with XXXX  or inform me of potential future higher payment amount adjustments to my loan. This is very alarming to my thoughts of the origination of this what I and others believe is a scam to take my home from me or make it impossible for me to afford. I can not afford a lawyer I am trapped and at the mercy of Mr Cooper.

Again, I refinanced my mortgage to have LOWER payments. Especially to have my home in foreclosure, put up for a sheriffs sale and lose my home who would ever refinance after this? Further, and sadly, my children both protested and stated they are never going to buy a home and only rent because of what they have seen their mother go through.

This workout plan, all the discovery and how I was treated and how my children and I suffered are what prompted my complaint to your agency. I do not know what else to do at this point. We are scared. Their resolution is not a resolution with ANY part of favor to me. Im paying more for refinancing I see it as a punishment or a scam or both for refinancing with Mr. Cooper.

Further again, I am not this person as reflected on paper with Mr. Cooper. I am a hard working single mother that put myself through XXXX  school. I maybe had 4 late payments never over 30 days in the years that I had this loan - I am being treated like someone that does not work or pay her bills - this is not fair. The narrative of this story needs to be changed. Mr. Cooper made the mistake - they need to fix it to my benefit not Mr. Cooper.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation