Consumer complaint received 2022-02-28
Company: Cornerstone Home Lending Inc.
State: SC
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
XX/XX/XXXX I emailed Cornerstone 's Customer Service to advise my $ 8,400+ tax bill would be decreasing in a few weeks since I had a pending application for the 4 % County resident rate, and a new bill was expected from the County soon. 
XX/XX/XXXX - Customer Service replied with Please be advised, your taxes are scheduled to be paid around the last week in XXXX. I have notated your account. 
XX/XX/XXXX I noticed the tax bill was paid on XX/XX/XXXX, which was earlier than I had been advised previously ( and at the higher rate ; over {$8400.00} ). 
XX/XX/XXXX - I emailed Customer Service and inquired why the tax bill was paid on XX/XX/XXXX when it should have been the end of XXXX. 
XX/XX/XXXX - Customer Service replied with This message is to inform you that your tax inquiry has been acknowledged and is being researched at this time. 
XX/XX/XXXX I emailed Customer Service again, and provided a copy of the revised tax bill that I had just received from the County ( now reduced to {$2500.00} ). 
XX/XX/XXXX Customer Service replied with This is to acknowledge receipt of your recent property tax bill. The bill has been forwarded to our Tax Department for review. 
XX/XX/XXXX I emailed back and asked that someone call or email me directly when there was an update to the open ticket/work order. NO phone call or email. 
XX/XX/XXXX I emailed Customer Service and asked if there were any updates. I also mentioned that my monthly payment increased by {$700.00} and I could not afford that additional cost every month. 
XX/XX/XXXX Customer Service replied with Be assured that our Tax Department will verify the correct amount due prior to disbursing payment. Once payment is disbursed from your escrow account, our records will reflect the actual tax amount paid.

I replied and asked for someone from the tax department to contact me since I have been trying to resolve this issue for nearly 6 weeks already, and I could not afford the increased mortgage payment. **I provided a copy of the tax bill again** XX/XX/XXXX Customer Service replied with We have opened a request for our Tax Department to contact your taxing authority in regards to obtaining a refund. Please be advised that your taxing authority is not required to issue a refund. They may decide to credit the over payment to your next tax installment. Also, once it is determined that a refund is due back, your Taxing Authority can take up to 10 weeks to send the funds back to be credited to your escrow account. 
XX/XX/XXXX I emailed Customer Service and requested a phone number where I could speak to someone in their Tax Department. 
XX/XX/XXXX Customer Service replied with Please be advised, there is no direct phone number to our tax department, but you are more welcome to contact customer service and request to speak with a supervisor. 
XX/XX/XXXX I emailed Customer Service asking for an update on the open work order. 
XX/XX/XXXX Customer Service replied with Please be advised, we have forwarded this information on for review. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you. 
XX/XX/XXXX I called my County tax office and was told that they already issued a refund to XXXX as of XX/XX/XXXX ( a pass-through company that Cornerstone uses to make tax payments ). I emailed Customer Service and advised them of this, and requested an update on the open work order. 
XX/XX/XXXX Customer Service replied with Please be advised that we are currently awaiting the tax refund in the amount of {$5700.00}. Please allow six to eight weeks for the refund to be deposited back into the escrow account. We appreciate your patience in this matter and apologize for any inconvenience. 
XX/XX/XXXX I emailed Customer Service and asked that the work order be expedited. 
XX/XX/XXXX Customer Service replied with We apologize that we have been unable to respond to your message within our standard processing time. We regret any inconvenience this delay may have caused. As of to date we have not received the tax refund. Once received we will deposit to escrow. 

XX/XX/XXXX Customer Service emailed with Our Tax Department is in process of recouping a refund of {$5700.00} due to overage paid in your taxes. Once we receive reimbursement from your taxing authority, we can place funds back into escrow and run a re-analysis. A work order is tracking entire process. Estimated completion date : XX/XX/XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I called and was able to get a Supervisor to open a 72-hour expedited work order; was told to expect a return phone call after that timeframe. 
XX/XX/XXXX I chatted with a virtual Customer Service rep and was told the work order is still open through XX/XX/XXXX and I should hear something soon. 

**My loan was sold to another company effective XX/XX/XXXX, so I am seeking immediate resolution of this issue. I have spent countless hours on the phone and responding to emails, but no resolution since early XXXX. 

This is WELL BEYOND the 8-10 week timeframe that I was originally advised. I need immediate review/adjustment of my Escrow, and a refund of any amount I overpaid for my mortgage payment based on the lower tax amount of {$2500.00}.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation