Consumer complaint received 2015-09-29
Company: Ocwen Financial Corporation
State: IL
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional adjustable mortgage (ARM)
Issue: Loan servicing, payments, escrow account

Complaint:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY : A technology fault with Ocwen caused my XXXX XXXX payment to be late. Ocwen falsely claims this is my fault and claims my mortgage was 33 days late. At the same time, they were in receipt of {$3000.00} sent by me to reduce the principal and they applied this money to the XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX payments ( since corrected by Ocwen ). I believe their actions are either ( a ) the result of incompetence or ( b ) a deliberate act on their part to keep collecting PMI ( private mortgage insurance ) from me. They refuse to address this issue and have merely told me to contact the credit reporting agencies on my own. 

1. I have a mortgage with Ocwen, # XXXX. The mortgage was originally obtained with GMAC in XX/XX/XXXX. I have always been current and never later on the mortgage. 
2. XX/XX/XXXX, I asked that the PMI be cancelled as I believe the Loan-to-Term Value had passed the XXXX-XXXX % threshhold, based on both the original value of the property at the time of the loan ( XX/XX/XXXX ) and with appreciation as determined by the county tax assessor. After speaking to several people in foreign call centers who I could not understand, I finally got a US employee who was very rude. She told me that I had to fax the request to an office in XXXX, that I could not mail or email the request. She stated that the recent tax revaluation from XXXX County, XXXX was not valid for assessing the Loan-to-Term value, and that I could only use the information gathered by Ocwen 's " approved vendor '' ( a company in XXXX ) to establish the home value. She stated I had to pay whatever the vendor charged. I also had the option of paying additional principal. 
3. XX/XX/XXXX, I wrote a check for {$3000.00} to reduce the principal, requested automatic payments by filling out the required form, and asked that the PMI be cancelled and sent all of this to Ocwen 's address in XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX. 
4. Ocwen negotiated the check on XX/XX/XXXX, and applied the money partially towards the principal and partially towards the XX/XX/XXXX payment. This has since been corrected ( see attached email ). The total amount, {$3000.00}, has now been applied to the principal. 
5. Ocwen did not debit my account for the XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX payment until XX/XX/XXXX6. Ocwen sent me on a letter on XX/XX/XXXX stating that my account was 33 days past due, and that my mortgage was in default. 
7. I immediately contacted Ocwen ( see attached emails ). 
8. Ocwen claims that the late payment was my fault. They refuse to refund the late payment charge. They refuse to cancel the PMI. Their stated reason now is that I was late more than 30 days on a mortgage payment in the past six months. They refuse to correct the report of the late payment to the credit bureaus. They told me I could write a letter. I have attempted to resolve this with my " relationship manager '' at Ocwen, but they will not change their position. 
9. The failure to debit money from my account was the fault of Ocwen. At the same time, they were in possession of a check for {$3000.00}. I believe they either do n't want to admit their incompetence, or this is a deliberate act on their part in order to keep the PMI fees rolling in. 
10. RESOLUTION : I wish ( a ) Ocwen to inform the credit bureaus that the reporting of the later payment was an error on their part ; ( b ) refund my late payment for XX/XX/XXXX of {$56.00}. ( c ) Cancel the PMI retroactive to XX/XX/XXXX and return the {$150.00} they charged me for the months of XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX ( {$300.00} ). Open source information on the Internet is replete with stories of Ocwen 's shenanigans and shady dealings, including stories like this from the XXXX XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX : " The executive chairman of Ocwen Financial Corp. will resign as part of a legal settlement with XXXX 's financial regulator. '' Ocwen has paid of XXXX in fines since XX/XX/XXXX.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation