Consumer complaint received 2021-01-11
Company: AmeriHome Mortgage Company, LLC
State: VA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
Hard work, prayers and a little luck allowed me to purchase my family, our first home in XX/XX/XXXX utilizing the FHA loan program. The initial interest rate was 4.25 % with a {$300.00} PMI. In XX/XX/XXXX, rates had lowered and our home had gained enough equity to allow us to be approved for a conventional rate/term refi. Our rate was lowered to 3.875 % and PMI of {$87.00}. This lowered our monthly mortgage payment to reduce from {$3200.00}, including escrows, to {$3000.00} including escrows. 
Our first two payments were made to the loan originator XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a loan statement from AmeriHome Mortgage, LLC, which also informed me that my next payment, due XX/XX/XXXX was to be made to AmeriHome Mortgage, LLC as they were now the servicer of my loan. Payments, rates and terms, all seemed in order and understanding selling of mortgage loans as standard procedure, thought nothing more of it. 

However, after only two regular payment to AmeriHome in XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, I received an escrow statement dated XX/XX/XXXX notifying me of an escrow shortage in the amount of {$1400.00} and if shortage amount was not paid in full my regular monthly mortgage payments would increase to {$3200.00}. The statement also noted that even paying the escrow shortage in full would still increase my payments to {$3000.00} beginning XX/XX/XXXX from {$3000.00}. 

I of course found this all strange, not wanting my payments to increase near my previous payments of {$3200.00} and due to XXXX being an extremely busy time of year ( FED FY END ), I decided, it was most likely an accounting error of some sort, paid the shortage in full and figured I would simply address once my workload decreased. I made a payment for the full shortage amount of {$1400.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. 

Two months of payments in the amount of {$3000.00} made in XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX for a total of 4 payment to AMERIHOME since they acquired my loan. First 2 payments reflected accurate payment per loan disclosures of {$3000.00}, the last two an increase to {$3000.00} and an additional payment of {$1400.00} from me to cover a shortage in escrow per AMERIHOME. 

Escrow statement dated XX/XX/XXXX, yet again, provided notice of a new shortage in escrow of {$2900.00}. This of course made me extremely concerned and I immediately began researching all documents in an effort to determine the cause, since aside from escrow statements, AMERIHOME, had provided no other explanation of continuous escrow shortages and increase mortgage payments. After countless hours, I finally discovered that although each of the escrow statements from AMERIHOME, included a projected amount for HAZ insurance of {$1000.00} matching my annual premium to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, they had in fact made a payment to XXXX  through escrow disbursements in the amount of {$2300.00} in XX/XX/XXXX 

Soon after the XX/XX/XXXX escrow statement, and after I discovered the error, I contacted AMERIHOME to notify them of the error and to my surprise had to spend about an hour explaining to the representative what the error was and how it was affecting my payments and their escrow projections. Nevertheless, I was assured she understood and an escalation was being initiated which would resolve the issue within 72hours. 72hours came and went with no contact or correction from AMERIHOME. 

About a week later, I called again and once again, had to explain everything as if it was the first time. Once again, I was told to upload the XXXX page from XXXX XXXX. I told the representative I had already done that and received confirmation it was received. She stated it had not been received and nothing had been done on their end to investigate the errors I had brought to their attention and requested I once again upload the HAZ insurance XX/XX/XXXX page. I did as requested. 

Weeks and several calls later, ( last call being around XX/XX/XXXX ) no corrections were made and every call, I was asked to once again upload XXXX page and once again notified that nothing had been done or corrected and every time, I had to explain everything as if it was the first time. 

On all calls to AMERIHOME I was assured repeatedly that not only would corrections be made within 72 hours but also that no late fees, or late payments would be reported to the credit reporting agencies. In my call to AMERIHOME in XX/XX/XXXX, I was told payments should not be made until correction was done. The representative advised me that correction would be done by XX/XX/XXXX, to which I responded by stating I would be late and be penalized if I did not make my payment by XX/XX/XXXX. The representative once again reiterated what I had been told previously regarding late fees and late credit reporting. 

In total, I contacted AMERIHOME about 5 times from XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX notifying them of the error. After my last call in XXXX, in a panic, I explained to the rep that I had no trust in there verbal statements and requested they accept my XXXX and XXXX payment. Within a couple of days of that call, I made both XXXX and XXXX payments, each in the amount of {$3400.00}. A few days later, I received an alert from XXXX  that AMERIHOME had reported me late for XX/XX/XXXX. 

On escrow statement dated XX/XX/XXXX, AMERIHOME provided yet again another notice of escrow shortage. This time in the amount of {$1300.00}. 

On or about XX/XX/XXXX, I mailed a written notice of error to AMERIHOME MORTGAGE, LLC. As of today, XX/XX/XXXX, no corrections have been made, I have received no communication from AMERIHOME regarding this matter and my payment due XX/XX/XXXX, reflects the amount of {$3400.00}. 

For the last several months, I have been working with XXXX XXXX for a rate term refi and on XX/XX/XXXX, days before closing, I received the following in an email from XXXX XXXX. 

" I re pulled credit on this file. We have a DU refer with Caution. Borrowers credit score dropped considerably, went from XXXX to XXXX. We can sub to UW for denial ''

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation