Consumer complaint received 2021-03-26
Company: Shellpoint Partners, LLC
State: CA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
As of XX/XX/XXXX, I had not received my NewRez statement for XXXX. I checked my XXXX statement to find the payment mailing address so I could send my payment without a payment coupon, if necessary. I was surprised to find that the statement did not have the payment mailing address. It did have one address that is preceded by the statement " DO NOT SEND MAIL OR PAYMENTS TO THIS ADDRESS ''. The only other address on the statement is the Notice of Error or Information Request Address. 

I then checked the website to either find the payment mailing address or to download a copy of the statement. I could not find the address on the NewRez website. On XX/XX/XXXX, the statement was not on the website. I called customer service on the XXXX to get the mailing address. I was told that statements are a courtesy, are mailed by a third party and NewRez takes no responsibility if a statement isn't sent. I verbally received the payment mailing address during the call. 

I waited until XX/XX/XXXX to mail my payment hoping a statement would arrive, since I prefer not to send payments without a coupon. I have found that payments made without coupons often get lost in processing somehow. I did find that by the XXXX, the NewRez website had the XXXX statement online. I downloaded a copy and included my payment and the downloaded coupon in my own envelope. I mailed the statement at the nearest post office on the XXXX. The XXXX was a Sunday, so I effectively mailed my payment on the XXXX. Coincidentally, my NewRez statement arrived in the mail on XX/XX/XXXX after I mailed my payment on the XXXX. Mailing my payment on the XXXX allowed 7 business days, 8 post office business days including Saturday and 9 total days for my payment to arrive on time. 

When I received notice of a late charge, I called customer service and spoke with NewRez representative XXXX. I explained the above to XXXX and she stated that the payment mailing address is way, way down at the bottom of the website and she often gets calls from people who can't find the address. XXXX confirmed that NewRezs CRM system shows that I called on XX/XX/XXXX saying I hadnt received my coupon, the coupon was not on the website and requesting the payment mailing address. XXXX explained that to request reversal of the late charge, I needed to submit a written request. NewRez has since responded that the late charge reversal was denied. 

Even with the delays caused by NewRez, I mailed my payment early enough for it to arrive on time. I should point out that this is not a financial issue. I have been consistently including extra principal with my payments, including this one. NewRez started servicing this loan in XX/XX/XXXX. Their performance has been terrible since day one. I never received a statement for XX/XX/XXXX and had to go through a similar exercise to get my first payment in on time. Based on NewRezs performance to date, I would not be surprised to find that NewRez slow-rolled my payment so they could charge a late fee.

It certainly seems that NewRez puts up hurdles to prevent consumers from paying on time. They dont provide the payment mailing address on statements except for the coupon that gets returned to NewRez. They hide the payment mailing address on their website as confirmed by their own representative. They send statements late and take no responsibility for getting statements to customers. They are late publishing statements to their website. In addition to the above, NewRez provided no proof that my payment was late. My XXXX statement showed they received the payment on XX/XX/XXXX one day after it was due. My credit union shows the check cleared on XX/XX/XXXX. Having a paper check clear the NewRez account and my account in one day is very suspect, especially since my credit union is not on technologys leading edge.

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