Consumer complaint received 2016-06-09
Company: Statebridge Company
State: WI
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Home equity loan or line of credit
Issue: Loan servicing, payments, escrow account

Complaint:
In XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX sold our XXXX loans, a mortgage and HELOC to Statebridge Comapany. While we have had issues with both loans, the HELOC is what this complaint will detail. 

Although the HELOC transferred XX/XX/XXXX, it was n't until a notice of overdue payments in XXXX XXXX that we received anything from Statebridge Company. This was after numerous calls and attempts to make a payment from XXXX XXXX onward. Each time a Statebridge representative told us that a payment could not be made because the loan was not fully set up in their system. We were not pleased to receive a late notice on a loan which we had received no statements, and worse yet, had not been allowed to make a payment over the phone even. Given the fact the mortgage loan did n't start smoothly, we had hope that this too would get figured out. We never did receive any statements until XX/XX/XXXX. Instead we were instructed to go online at or before the XXXX of each month and make a payment for the exact due date so as not to incur any fees. While this was less than ideal, we had to make payments so that is what we did. We attempted to set up ACH payments, however were told that a HELOC can not be set up for it. So instead we paid either a {$5.00} online fee, or a {$15.00} phone fee to make our payment each month. Finally XX/XX/XXXX when we began to receive statements it simplified not having to go online to find out the due date, however the statements arrived too late to make the payment by the due date, so we had to go online to pay anyway. In XXXX XXXX the statement showed that {$2400.00} was overdue. Although it showed payments were applied, it also showed that all payments from the beginning had been reversed. Reversed where? And why? Several calls to Statebridge revealed no answers. In XX/XX/XXXX we were told that it was a system error and to make the usual monthly payment. The issue was being forwarded to another department to be corrected and we would hear back the following week. After waiting a week and no response, we called again and were told the same thing. To this day any reversed payments have not shown up in our bank accounts, so not sure what it means, nor have we had any luck from Statebridge telling us what it means, other than it is an error and to continue making our monthly payments and not to worry about what is shown as an overdue amount. We again attempted to set up ACH, which a representative now said we could do with a HELOC, but only after the account was not overdue. In XX/XX/XXXX we could no longer pay online because that option is only available to customers whose accounts are paid up to date, so we paid over the phone. Although the Statebridge representative agreed that there is an error and we should only pay the normal monthly amount, we do not have the option to pay online. Finally in XXXX, we decided to send our payment by mail so that we could include a note to please have someone call us on this issue since nobody who we called could make sense of it, or transfer us to someone who could. We sent this payment the day we received the statement in the mail, which was XXXX XXXX. Our bank copy of the check shows it being stamped by Statebridge on XXXX XXXX XXXX with the words " Past Due '' hand written on the check by XXXX. As if it is n't bad enough, on XXXX XXXX we noticed that our credit had received a negative mark from Statebridge as a loan 120 day or more past due. This took our credit score from XXXX to XXXX. Wow! Talk about adding salt to a wound. To date we have not received any late notice about this, attempts to collect, nothing other than the monthly statements. We have worked very hard to get and maintain an excellent credit score. We pay all of our bills on time. We hope that this matter can be resolved and our credit restored. We would love to refinance through another bank, but as of now we can not due to this issue.

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