Consumer complaint received 2018-10-07
Company: SELECT PORTFOLIO SERVICING, INC.
State: CA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Other type of mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
My loan was modified in XX/XX/XXXX, which states that every year in XXXX, my escrow account would be re-evaluated to determine my new payment for taxes and insurance payment would be over the next 12 months, which would go in affect XXXX of every year. At the end of the year if there was a shortage or an overage based on their foretasted calculations the prior year, they would adjust my payment the following year in XXXX. These are the terms and conditions from XXXX, whom modified my loan. XXXX complied with that from XX/XX/XXXX until they sold my loan to XXXX. XXXX also complied with that all the way through XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX would calculate my taxes and my mortgage payment my taxes would be applied to my escrow account, which at the end of the 12 month period would bring my escrow account current and at a XXXX balance. XXXX reassessed my escrow account in XX/XX/XXXX and increased my escrow payment to XXXX a month and my mortgage payment was about {$1400.00}. In the month of XX/XX/XXXX the loan was sold to SPS and my mortgage payment was the same amount, since XXXX already calculated my new mortgage payment from {$1300.00} ( at an interest payment amount of 2 % and the tax bill for the year of XX/XX/XXXX-XX/XX/XXXX ) to the XXXX. 
Keep your home California provided assistance in XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX.  In XX/XX/XXXX they paid my mortgage from XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX. In XX/XX/XXXX they also paid about XXXX to bring my account current with their reinstatement program. In XX/XX/XXXX they also paid SPS a total amount of {$83000.00}. Select Portfolio applied those funds inappropriately because they collected over XXXX for my taxes and insurance, which would have paid my escrow account in full until the following year in XX/XX/XXXX. Whomever determined where the funds were disbursed, they concluded that my new mortgage payment would be {$1200.00} from what it was prior to funding of {$1400.00}. They took the funds for a 12 month period instead of applying only what I was supposed to pay per month, which would have required them to free me from paying into the escrow account until XX/XX/XXXX. As per my modification agreement that full amount did not have to be satisfied for a 12 month period. SPS had me at a XXXX  balance per there statement as of XX/XX/XXXX. I was past due and Keep your home paid my taxes all the way through XX/XX/XXXX in the amount of XXXX, however SPS never could tell my how they showed that they collected XXXX. I didnt catch the over-payment until XX/XX/XXXX when I changed my home owners insurance and then all of sudden SPS changed my mortgage payment to over XXXX, all though nothing was supposed to change until XX/XX/XXXX. I contacted SPS and filed a complaint and they stated that my mortgage payment had always been that amount. They had no idea I had documentation and confirmation from my relationship manager when the XXXX was applied to my account. SPS asked me to send the statement that showed as of XX/XX/XXXX my mortgage payment had decreased to {$1200.00}. I was told by my relationship manager, that handled my account that SPS had many problems and they had originally mis-applied my funds towards my deferred amount, instead my Interest Bearing Principal amount, that was based on my modification agreement and also how Keep Your Home California was requiring them to pay so that my mortgage payment would decrease. I was also told that all though my payment was {$1200.00} that in one system it showed that they never changed my mortgage payment and then in another system it showed that my mortgage payment was approximately {$1500.00}. I never saw the change and mistake that SPS made until I got a letter in XX/XX/XXXX stating they had decreased my payment by XXXX and that my payment was at about {$1500.00} as if SPS never even reduced my mortgage payment. The statements showed my mortgage statements, all the customer service reps I spoke to, the automated system, and my on line account also showed my mortgage payment being {$1200.00}. When I filed the complaint I had to ask them to correct and provide them all the documentation because they said that they had no record of my payment being {$1200.00}. I also had been passed due and not only were they asking me to pay about {$1500.00} as of XXXX, they also backdated my payments to reflect the higher amount of what they said I owed instead of what I actually owed. They not only calculated incorrectly, but was now taking advantage of me not being current and increasing my payments for about four months of payments I had not made yet of the {$1200.00}. 
As I started talking the manager, XXXX, in the ombudsman department she was so confused and she was under the impression that my escrow account needed to be calculated based on what and when they paid for my taxes and I had already paid my taxes for a 12 month rolling calendar year and plus an additional XXXX that they have never been able to explain to me. I advised them that they added their own Insurance as of XX/XX/XXXX and backdated it for an entire year that I never even had Insurance. I have documentation as to when they added their Insurance. In the process of dealing with XXXX and the time that she spent from XXXX until XXXX she had changed my mortgage payment at least 5 times. She initially said I was short on my escrow account in the amount of XXXX, then XXXX then over XXXX, and then finally over XXXX ( holding me responsible for 2 years of taxes all the way through XX/XX/XXXX because SPS made a tax payment in XXXX in the amount of XXXX and then another one in XXXX of XXXX, which totaled to be the XXXX. She attempted to tell me that I was past due for the previous year in XX/XX/XXXX of XXXX and the difference of what XXXX ( my previous mortgage company before SPS ) calculated of XXXX and the additionally I owed another XXXX. She was basing my shortage on when they paid my taxes. I advised her that her calculations were incorrect because as of XX/XX/XXXX I was at a XXXX balance based on their statement sent to me on how they disbursed the funds of XXXX from Keep Your Home California and not only SPS take too much money I should have never had to pay for taxes until the following year. After months and hours of talking, emailing, and sending all of my documentation.she said that my mortgage payment would be XXXX and that would include XXXX payment which was part of the shortage, even though there was not shortage. Then I got a bill showing that my payment was XXXX and I called SPS and they told me there was no shortage after an escrow analysis and my payment would be XXXX without the shortage payment for 99 months. I have all the emails from XXXX, who is the manager in the Ombudsman department, that reflect all her inconsistencies and misinformation. When I spoke with the relationship managers over that two month period they continued to tell me there was not shortage after my payment from keep your home California and that they needed to adjust it. I continued to make my payment per my statements of {$1200.00} until my XXXX payment was required because they are not legally supposed to change my mortgage payment whenever they want and they also can not backdate it just because I missed payments. My mortgage payment should have remained at the {$1200.00} until XX/XX/XXXX but they were premature in increasing it because they decided to re-evaluate my payment when they received notification to change my Homeowner Insurance in XXXX. I did file a complaint previously with the Department of Oversight and when I did that is when I received a letter in XXXX that showed my new mortgage payment of {$1300.00}. They refused to honor the original agreement of my payment of {$1200.00} until XX/XX/XXXX because whenever I would ask them to fix it, they would make things worse. 

Here we are again in XX/XX/XXXX and I changed my homeowners insurance in XX/XX/XXXX and then in XXXX they increased it again to XXXX. I called again and the relationship manager told me that they made a mistake and they should have never changed my payment until XX/XX/XXXX and said they would do a full analysis. I got a piece of paper in the mail from SPS that was not legible and they had no basis for changing my mortgage payment again prior to the date that they were supposed to. I contacted the escrow department directly and she said that they can change it as many times as they like and they can also collect an additional amount in taxes. I advised her that she was incorrect because in the state of California they can only collect for a 12 month period. 
XXXX ( previous mortgage company ) specifically told me that there was no shortage on my account when it was transferred my account to SPS had been in compliance until XX/XX/XXXX. I overpaid in XX/XX/XXXX for 6 months of {$630.00} which is the difference of the XXXX to the XXXX. If they felt there was a shortage, which there was not, it should had been re-evaluated as of XX/XX/XXXX. SPS is not asking me to pay {$1400.00} from XX/XX/XXXX until XX/XX/XXXX and that is not supposed go in effect until XX/XX/XXXX. 

I have continued to ask SPS how much money of the XXXX that Keep Your Home California was disbursed. I was given a escrow analysis that did not tell me exactly the total amount of how much was applied towards my principal, interest, and my escrow account. I saw that they misapplied my funds and was told they did by my relationship manager in XX/XX/XXXX and. I got a statement that showed mis-applied payments towards the deferred balance and then applied towards my actual principal payment. It appears they applied XXXX toward my principal. It also showed that it looked like they applied {$4000.00} towards Insurance that took me all the way until XX/XX/XXXX. They were only allowed to pay all of my past due balance. XX/XX/XXXX it showed everything at a XXXX balance. In XX/XX/XXXX I changed my homeowners Insurance and then I got a letter in XX/XX/XXXX showing that they reducing my mortgage payment from {$1500.00} to {$1500.00} as if my mortgage payment never even changed to the {$1200.00} that they sent me documentation that reflected my new payment as of XX/XX/XXXX after receiving the XXXX I was asked in XX/XX/XXXX if I wanted to get assistance with a repayment plan and went a program called mortgage assistance program and it dragged on all the way through XX/XX/XXXX. I had emailed a department to help me find out why this underwriting department kept asking me for the same information I provided them and I could not get it resolved. I also told them they changed my mortgage payment before they were supposed to in XX/XX/XXXX to {$1500.00} again and were trying to back date the increased amount for all my past due payments that were XXXX from XX/XX/XXXX until XX/XX/XXXX. They already adjusted to {$1300.00} that was not supposed to reevaluated until XX/XX/XXXX per my modification agreement. As a result of this email in XX/XX/XXXX SPS they took it upon themselves and did another escrow analysis and I specifcally told them not to change anything but just to have a supervisor call me. I then get a statement that I had a shortage of {$12000.00} because they were now charging my escrow payment of the projected tax amount of the XXXX and the payment they made again for my taxes going to the following year holding me responsible for a year and a half of taxes and insurance and increasing my mortgage payment to {$1800.00}. They changed my mortgage payment 3 times between XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX, again changing my payment prior to when my analysis was stipulated in my modification every year in XXXX to going into effect as of XXXX. SPS and every mortgage company complied with this until they received my XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX and has continued to be problem and out of compliance with the Federal guidelines and also what guidlines that are stipulated on SPS portal. I have been told by a number of SPS reps that they showed that they increased my mortgage payment too early and that they had one system that showed the correct amount and another system that showed the incorrect payment. There has been so much conflicting information and their escrow department seems to think that eveytime they make a payment to pay my taxes for the following year that I am short instead of reeavaluating it yearly to reflect my escrow account for a 12 month calandar year. This is spiriling out of control and to make a change in my payments for XXXX to XXXX in just in 12 months is unethical practices. They tried to tell me from XX/XX/XXXX until XX/XX/XXXX that my mortgage payment was never XXXX. They were asking me to send them documentation to them of what sent to me showing my mortgage payment. Everything I told them they said they had no record and I had to keep emailing these documents to them to correct it. 

Now there mortgage assistance program said I am not eligible for a repayment plan because of the incorrect mortgage payment of {$1800.00} as of XX/XX/XXXX because they said my income does not reflect that I am able to afford it.

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