Consumer complaint received 2018-12-28
Company: Caliber Home Loans, Inc.
State: PA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: VA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
A few months after we closed on our new house I received a tax bill. When I called Caliber I was told that they pay our taxes automatically and that I didn't need to send them our bill. I mailed them the bill anyway and assumed that it was taken care of. At the end of XX/XX/XXXX, I received a notice from the tax collector that our taxes were passed due and that we would need to pay a 10 % penalty. The notice also said that if the taxes were not paid by XX/XX/XXXX, liens would be filed against our house. I contacted Caliber on XX/XX/XXXX to notify them of the issue and to ask them to resolve it. I called more than 10 times since to check on the status of my tax payment. From XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX, I was told that the tax department was trying to contact the local tax collector and that they were unable to reach her. I talked with the tax collector many times during that time period, so I'm not sure why they had so much trouble. After a month of calling I was told by Caliber that my taxes were paid at closing and that I needed to talk with the title company to resolve the issue. I contacted the title company and after reviewing the closing statement, we determined that not only were the taxes not paid at closing, but Caliber had failed to escrow the amount necessary to cover the taxes. I called Caliber again and was told that they were still trying to contact the tax collector. I asked what information they needed and they told me that they needed to confirm the amount due. I told Caliber the amount due numerous times but this time I offered to upload the tax bill. I uploaded the tax bill on XX/XX/XXXX and called back on XX/XX/XXXX to confirm that Caliber received the bill. The person that answered confirmed that they had the bill but they still needed to contact the tax collector. I asked to speak with a manager because if they haven't been able to contact the tax collector for more than a month, they probably wouldn't be able to contact her in the next week. The manager, XXXX, apologized for the mix up and said he would personally follow up to ensure that my taxes were paid. I called back on XX/XX/XXXX to confirm that the check had been sent out but the person I talked to said that they still needed to contact the tax collector and the next follow up was scheduled for the following week. I was so frustrated by this point that I hung up on the guy. After XXXX on the XX/XX/XXXX, I called again. This time I was told that Caliber needed to contact a third party tax collection company to handle the issue because the taxes were delinquent. I talked with the local tax collector numerous times and she never mentioned this third party company. I again asked to speak with a manager and this time I spoke with XXXX. XXXX told me that he would do everything he could to resolve the issue and that he would call me back to follow up. XXXX did call to follow up and left a message saying that they still needed to contact the third party company to determine how much was owed. I called Caliber back on XX/XX/XXXX and I was told that they were unable to contact the tax company and that they were scheduled to follow up on XX/XX/XXXX. I told them that wasnt good enough and that liens would be filed if they didnt send the check. I called the third party company and the message said that their office was closed until after XXXX XXXX. I called Caliber back and asked to speak with XXXX. XXXX is a manager in a call center and there was a limit to what he could do. I was not able to speak directly with a representative from the tax department. I ended up paying the taxes out of pocket. I had to pay the 10 % penalty instead of the 2 % discount I should have received if Caliber had done their job. If the money had been withheld properly at closing, which is Calibers responsibility, this wouldnt have been so bad. But having to pay this much money at this time of year really hurts. Im going to continue to call Caliber to get the difference between the discount and penalty amounts but Im not confident that they will make it right.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief