Consumer complaint received 2020-03-24
Company: AmeriHome Mortgage Company, LLC
State: TX
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2020, AmeriHome Mortgage Company bought my loan made in XX/XX/2020 by XXXX XXXX. Amerihome is claiming that there was a fax request inquiry for a payoff amount made by a third part on XX/XX/2020 for a rush payoff resulting in a {$5.00} charge to my account. This was 18 days after they bought the loan and was not initiated by me or approved. I have called in and spoken to a Supervisor and emailed several times to request removal of this fee and they refused. They also refuse to tell me who requested payoff, show me the fax, or provide additional proof of my approval for this service and resulting fee. The refuse to refund the charge and this must be in violation of the banking and home mortgage rules. I would not try to refinance a loan that is 60 days old. There is further issues with escrow inaccuracies that i am having to file under a different request and their responses have consistently been they don't have to fix their errors. 

When I asked for my approval of the rush, all they said was it was faxed in using my SSN, which is readily available and they will not provide the requests name or fax. This is predatory and they can continue to charge fees without my approval for services is predatory and unethical. 

my email chain is below : -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - XX/XX/20 You didnt read my email. I DID NOT inquire about a refinance with any financial institution. I DID NOT approve anyone faxing you an inquiry. I DID NOT approve you provide a pay off response. Therefore, the charge is invalid and the state guidelines do NOT apply. You need to provide me with the fax request and party who inquired on my behalf and prove to ME that this was approved per state guidelines ; or it is an illegal fee. Stating someone requested it and I am liable for fee is illegal, as you should know and is an illegal charge without my approval. It MUST be refunded based on my email below and you have not provide any proof that it was approved by me. Again I DID NOT ask about a refinance on a brand new loan- that is illogical and no true. Sending a formal complaint to CFPA if this is not corrected in next 48 hours. I suggest you escalate this to someone who can address this correctly. 

XXXX XXXX Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support center. Below is a summary of your request and our response. Thank you for allowing us to be of service to you. 
Subject Incorrect Fee Reversal Response By Email ( XXXX XXXX ) ( XX/XX/2020 XXXX XXXX  ) RE :  XXXX Dear Borrower, Thank you for your recent inquiry regarding your fees. 

There is a {$5.00} fee that is assessed to accounts when there is a rush request to obtain payoff statements via fax. According to your account, there was a payoff statement ordered via fax XX/XX/2020. The statement was faxed to XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX. If at any time you inquired about a refinance, authorization to obtain this statement may have been provided. 

Please be advised these fees are assessed per your state payoff statement guidelines and is non-refundable. Please contact the financial institution you were communicating with regarding this statement fee. 

*We do inform all parties of this fee before the process is completed. 

If you have any further questions, please log in to your account and send us an email through the " Message Center '' link. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX E-mail Support Representative Customer By Service Email ( XXXX XXXX ) ( XX/XX/2020 XXXX XXXX  ) XX/XX/2020 Subject : Loan Number : XXXX On XX/XX/2020, Amerihome charge my account an incorrect fee of {$5.00} for a Payoff Rush Handling Fee and I have spoken to a Supervisor who refused to reverse the fee. I did not approve this process nor did I approve *any* outside party to process this on my behalf. Your Supervisor could not tell me who requested this or the information used for approval. This charge is both and incorrect and illegal fee that needs to be reversed immediately. This loan was made 2 months ago and Amerihome purchased it one month ago and there has been no request for payoff by me. If you received a request w/my written approval, provide this information immediately. Otherwise, refund the fee and respond in writing. My next step is a formal complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Agency so assume someone has a {$5.00} approval authority to handle this now. AmeriHome Mortage
Company XXXX XXXX SSN XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, TX XXXX PROPERTY ADDRESS : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX TX XXXX Please waive incorrect {$5.00} fee and if you need more information, please call XXXX. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX - Headquarters : XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, Virginia XXXX, XXXX. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX -- This message is transmitted to you by or on behalf of XXXX XXXX XXXX or one of its affiliates. It is intended exclusively for the addressee. The substance of this message, along with any attachments, may contain proprietary, confidential or privileged information or information that is otherwise legally exempt from disclosure. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you are not authorized to read, print, retain, copy or disseminate any part of this message. If you have received this message in error, please destroy and delete all copies and notify the sender by return e-mail. Regardless of content, this e-mail shall not operate to bind XXXX XXXX XXXX or any of its affiliates to any order or other contract unless pursuant to explicit written agreement or government initiative expressly permitting the use of e-mail for such purpose. 
Question Reference # XXXX Date Created : XX/XX/2020XXXX XXXX  Date Last Updated : XX/XX/2020 XXXX XXXX  Status : Solved

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation