Consumer complaint received 2022-03-03
Company: Specialized Loan Servicing Holdings LLC
State: PA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
I refinanced my home through XXXX in XXXX of XXXX. They sold the loan to Specialized Loan Servicing. This complaint is about the business practices in regards to my loan with Specialized Loan Servicing from here on they will be referred to by their acronym SLS. 
I was notified after I sent payment to XXXX that they had changed the loan servicer and Speicalized Loan Servicing ( SLS ) wanted me to pay my mortgage immediately less than 10 days after the loan was sold. I told them I sent the payment to XXXX and that they would need to get it from them. 
I called XXXX and verified they would forward my check to Specialized Loan Servicing. 
I then started to recieve daily phone calls from Specialized Loan Servicing ( SLS ) asking me to make my payment and I told them that XXXX would be forwarding it and the CSR from SLS on XX/XX/XXXX the funds from XXXX arrived and they recieved their payment for XXXX before the grace period. 

on XX/XX/XXXX. I called the company and spoke to a CSR because I set up ACH auto pays and wanted to make my payment for XXXX ; the representative told me that I didn't have a payment due until XX/XX/XXXX. I told her that didn't sound right and I should be making a XXXX payment and she assured me that wasn't the case and my account was current. I didn't trust this so I kept the payment on reserve in case they needed it. 

on XXXX my ACH autopayment posted to their account and my account was deemed current. I received the attached statement for XXXX payment that shows current and the next payment which they state was due XX/XX/XXXX. 
XXXX XXXX made several adjustments to my transaction history which are outlined in the attached screen shot. They unapplied and reapplied several payments. 
XXXX - XXXX I receive a call from an anonymous CSR asking to speak with me on a personal matter. I asked them to identify the company and they refused so I terminated the call. Immediately following this I googled the phone number and discovered that it was XXXX calling me. 
XXXX I log into my account and discover the transaction history adjustments. I was also greeted with a message telling me I was 29 days overdue on my account. 

XXXX I called into the customer service line for XXXX. I spoke with CSR there. They explained to me that they applied someone elses payment to my account and had to make adjustments and thats where all the transaction history changes came from and that I was in fact overdue on my account by 27 days and I needed to make a payment immediately to become current. I told her that they were asking for two mortgage payments today they said- you have the 15 day grace period to make your second payment but you still need two make two payments to become current. We started discussing how a person was expected to pay two morgatges at once and that was unfair and unreasonable to expect that. Especially since this would have been the very first payment I would have needed to make and that the rep on XX/XX/XXXX told me I was current and didnt need to make the payment. This CSR asked me how I would feel if my payment was misapplied and tried to guilt me into making 2 mortgage payments immediately like this was some how my fault. I told him thats something theyd need to take up with the other account holder and had nothing to do with me. I informed him that my ACH payment would trigger tomorrow and that theyd get the first payment then and I would need to talk to a supervisor to discuss the other payment since our conversation was going no where and delving into guilt manipulation tactics. I was told that there was no supervisor there for me to speak to and that they would have to give me a call back later today. 

XXXX XXXX a supervisor with SLS calls me back and I have to repeat my story and request. We discuss the issue and again he confirms I have to make two payments within the grace period for XXXX in order to stay current on my loan. I tell XXXX about the ACH payment and he says that takes care of one of them and I ask him about the other payment and how I can make arrangements and he tells me he will have to look into it and get back to me cause he doesnt know. He said he would call me back. ( Two very important things that are important later never come up in this conversation that a CSR Supervisor should know- A ) My ACH autopay was canceled and no longer functioning. B ) There is in fact a payment plan outlined and this supervisor didnt know anything about it. ) XXXX No contact with SLS. 
XXXX XXXX I receive a call from a woman CSR from the SLS number that Ive now entered in my phone to ID the company. Again, she was unwilling to identify the company that she was calling for until I identified myself. She informed me that I was now 32 days overdue on my payment and that I would need to make a payment immediately to become current. I told her I already had a conversation with XXXX and that I would like a call back from him. I explained the misapplied payment situation and she said she didnt know anything about that but my payment was late and I needed to pay now to become current. I asked her to look at the transaction history ( attached ) and asked her how I could be 32 days late when a payment was applied on XXXX. I also expressed concern that theyd be reporting to the credit breaur that I was a late pay and would damage my credit. She said she didnt know anything about this and that I could be current if I made my payment now. I became frustrated at this point and asked for a supervisor call back. We ended the call. 

XXXX I logged into my account and grabbed transaction history screenshots and downloaded statements. 
XXXX I called SLS back and spoke with the payment investigation department. I spoke with a woman named XXXX. She took several minutes to look through my history and then came back on and spoke with me informing me that I did indeed owe two payments on my mortgage and that I would need to pay both of them to become current. I asked her about my ACH payment which should have triggered and been sent and while on the phone with her looked at my account. She informed me that people who are past due have their Autopay shut off and that I would need to make the full 2 mortgage payment via the online portal or with her online. Therefore they didnt get my ACH payment. I asked her why they would shut that off and cause peoples payments they expect to come through to not be made. I then said that I feel sorry for the person whos payment was misapplied to my account if he had autopay inacted because he may not have figured it out for two months and I said- it seems like thats exactly how it happened since SLS didnt catch the error until two billing cycles had passed.

I asked her how she expected most people to pay two mortgage payments at once and she offered a payment plan to take care of the arears in a 2 month or 6 month increment. I asked her how she determined how long I could take to pay it back and if there was a longer option and she said there was a computer program on her file that tells her how long I could pay back and there was no option for a longer term. I asked her if she ran my credit for that she said no and I asked for more details on how the program determines the length of time you get to pay back and she would not give me more information. She confirm there would be no interest or late fees. I asked her more about the 6 month program and she told me it would be around {$500.00} a month more each month. I asked her if that would be added to my statement so that I could keep track of it and she said no it would not. I asked her how they would keep track and she said this would be a separate transaction each month that Id have to pay through the online portal. I asked if I could have it autodebit and she told me it would not and that my autopay might not work at all until I was current on the loan and I would not be current until I payed off the missing payment. At this point I declined the re-payment option and told her I would pay it in full on the online portal within the hour. This was always my intention since I kept that mortgage payment aside for expressly this purpose, I just wanted to have more information on their repayment practices that I could document and forward on to the relevant agency or my attorney should that be necessary. 

We also addressed the 32 day late issue and I was told that I would be transferred to the credit inquiry department and they could handle this and insure they could issue a correction to the report if needed. She put me on hold to transfer me then came back on the line and told me they couldnt speak with me until I made the payments and brought the account current or made payment arrangements to pay the arears. They told me they would call me back on XXXX After a short discuss on the unethical nature of the way they are handling this incident which they caused by misapplying another loan holders payment to my account. I told her that I this consider a predatory and purposeful action that creates a situation where a family might be forced to pay two mortgage payments at once or XXXX of their mortgage payment every month for 6 months thus putting them in an increased situation to default on their mortgage. I told XXXX that she might want to consider other career options. 
We then disconnected the call. 

XXXX I made a onetime payment through the online portal in the full amount of 2 mortgage payments and received a confirmation email that this payment would be processed. 

XXXX No call from the credit department as promised. 

XXXX XXXX I logged onto my online account and confirmed that the payment was debited from my back account and also credited to my SLS account. 

XXXX am called into SLS myself to get the credit issue straightened out. I reached a CSR and was transferred to the credit department. 
XXXX is the credit manager that picked up the call. I explained the situation and asked her to make sure that the credit reporting agencies were not miscommunicated about the days I was late. I also informed them that I was now taking extensive documentation in order to file my complaint with the appropriate government agencies and to keep a record should legal action be required in the future. 
XXXX said she is noting the account to modify the adverse reporting notice on my account she entered this into her computer so that they can correct the error. She filed a ticket with the credit department. 
I again has a conversation with XXXX that I had with XXXX about how this situation is shady and the way this was handled is a trap to catch people off guard and try to get them to default. Trying to get families to make 2 mortgage payments by misapplying other peoples funds or a XXXX XXXX payment plan is how they do it. I also informed here of the settlement that SLS made with the CFPB in XX/XX/XXXX. 

XXXX XXXX SLS contacted me via phone and let me know that they did not report the above issues with payment to the credit reporting agency. They sent an internal message to me on their web portal also confirming this. I let the agent know that I would still file a report with the CFPB due to the serious nature of the issue. 

XXXX As of the date of filing this report there is no derogatory credit reporting on this issue. I will reserve the right to file an additional complaint should negative reporting show up.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation