Consumer complaint received 2019-05-04
Company: Selene Finance LP
State: IL
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: VA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
My complaint is against Selene Finance LP, which I believed to be a company which engages in extortion. 
It engages in collection practices which are rude and unprofessional. 
It enacts policies which maximize the financial interest charged on the loan which benefits the creditor and penalizes the borrower. 

It is my understanding the billing aspect of our mortgage loan servicing was transferred from XXXX XXXX  to Selene Finance in XX/XX/XXXX. I was not notified this was being done, nor was a I given a chance to reject the decision. 

It is my position that Selene Finance is an extortion company which has created policies which make it difficult for me to pay additional amounts of money on my loan and thus Selene is charging me larger amounts of interest ( money ) on the loan and preventing me from controlling the payment process and potentially pay the loan off early. This is happening through several of Selene Finance practices. 

When I call Selene, I am treated like a deadbeat and a debtor. Selene Finance makes it clear in its telephone recording that it is a " debt collector '' and all information it receives will be used to collect this debt. They sound more like a " pay day loan company '' than a legitimate mortgage company. My wife and I have never ( never ) been late on a mortgage payment. When I call Selene Finance, I have been asked to answer as many as 10 questions before they will even address 1 of my questions. The tone of voice of the employees sound more like " high-pressure '' bill collectors than legitimate loan servicers. 

Selene Finance assumed the billing portion of the loan in XX/XX/XXXX. In XX/XX/XXXX -- only 6 months later -- they increased my monthly payment due to what they perceived would be a shortage in the mortgage escrow account. This was done without even notifying me of the planned increase. I did not receive a letter, email or phone call about the increase in billing amount. My wife and I were able to assume the increased billing amount, but many people may not have been able to do so. 

Selene Finance 's website is almost always dysfunctional and thus makes it difficult to pay my payment over the internet which requires me to call and answer 10 questions like I am some financial deadbeat, which I am not such a person. There are times I am required to log in several times to get the website to work properly. Just yesterday, a portion of the website that allows me to pay more on the loan principal or pay more on escrow was not working properly. When I called and spoke with the minimum wage employee, who only listened to me complain about the problem, I was told they were aware it was not functioning, but she said she was listening to my complaint. This website issue is another way Selene Finance ensures people can not pay extra thus allowing them to charge more financial interest on the loan. This tactic is typical of Selene Finance. 

Previously, I called Selene Finance and told the person I wanted to pay 1/2 of the payment each 2 weeks thereby reducing the total dollars owed on the loan as I would be paying less interest on the remaining amount. This is a smart repayment tool utilized by many people with other companies. I was informed Selene Finance does not allow me to pay 1/2 via the website but I can call them and make a phone payment. I was told Selene Finance was aware its website does not allow this function and they were considering adding the feature. 

Several months later I called again to inquire about paying every 2 weeks to reduce financial interest paid on the loan. I was told I would need to pay 2 months in advance and then Selene Finance would establish a bank debit to make this happen. My wife and I can pay 2 months in advance, but I want control of the loan payment and not an automatic debit by Selene Finance. I was then told Selene would never accept partial payments. I asked why Selene Finance would not accept " partial '' future payments. I was told it was their policy. So, if I pay my payment on the 1st of the month, then I locate an extra {$1000.00}, I can not not log on to Selene 's website and pay it. I must wait till the next payment is due to pay the extra money. This is another tactic of Selene Finance to ensure the borrower is charged the maximum amount of interest on the loan which benefits the mortgage loan holder and inhibits the borrowers ' ability repay the loan more quickly. 

These are only some of the problems I have with Selene Finance. I basically pleaded with them to sell the loan to someone else. They are a " strong-arm '' debt collector and good people do not want to be treated in this manner. I would ask you to make Selene Finance sell the loan to some legitimate loan-servicing company. Also, their website needs to function properly, and policies need to be enacted to benefit the borrower.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation