Consumer complaint received 2022-08-30
Company: Flagstar Bank, N.A.
State: MO
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage

Complaint:
This complaint is about Flagstar Bank. In the process of trying to pay off the mortgage, they have been withholding information and have cost me almost {$1000.00}. 

My family recently sold our home on XX/XX/2022, everything was signed sealed and delivered. The payoff check was sent to Flagstar Bank the next day, XX/XX/2022. But the check wasn't received until after XXXX XXXX So by Flagstar policies, as I've been informed, the check doesn't get applied until the next day. Turns out the payoff amount wasn't enough. So Flagstar let the check sit for 2 more days before returning it! On Friday, XX/XX/2022 at XXXX XXXX CST the title company gets a notice that it's been returned. Why was no one at Flagstar going to let me or the title company know!?

The only reason I found out was that on the same Friday just a few hours before the check was returned I called Flagstar to find out some questions I had on my paper statement. After being placed on hold, during which the agent panics to figure out what is going on with the account, I find out the payoff is being returned! 

So here is what happened. On XX/XX/2022 the title company I'm using calls for a payoff report. Then a few business days later on XX/XX/2022 Flagstar pays the home insurance. When they do this the escrow goes into the negative by {$440.00}. 

The problem is, that on the payoff report there is no indication that funds were about to be distributed to insurance! So the same copy-paste answer I keep getting from Flagstar Bank is `` under ESCROW ACCOUNT INFORMATION, there is a line that states what the escrow balance is at the time the payoff was requested, and that there is a statement that exactly says ( subject to change ). '' And so that just gets them off the hook for this?!?!?! 

How is the title company supposed to calculate an accurate payoff amount if Flagstar Bank is negligent in giving all the information?!?! It's like solving for x but Flagstar is forgetting to tell you what y equals! 

So now back to the phone call on Friday, XX/XX/2022 I've now got my title company rep on a conference call trying to figure out exactly what is happening. During which a new agent from Flagstar joins the conversation and proceeds to blame all of this on me! ON ME!! Well, you should have known... I'll tell you one thing Flagstar has trained their staff well, well in the art of passing the blame! 

And I should clarify, there were some problems in the sale of our home and so we closed later than we expected. The original payoff stated good from XXXX to XXXX. But, the title company already took care of that and made sure to send extra money to Flagstar! More than enough to cover the extra few days! 

So what should have been done on XX/XX/2022 is on the first payoff that was requested there should have been detailed information about when the next insurance payment was going to be made as well as how much it was going to be! That information is nowhere to be found! 

At this point in the call, I'm really upset, and the agent from the title company is asking questions to get this resolved and we are both getting nowhere and not getting any reasonable answers to questions. So my title company graciously says they will request a new payoff amount and resend a check to Flagstar. This caused the title company to go into the negative because they have already given our money to us. But the title company did this so that their customer, aka me, wouldn't have to suffer any more charges, interest, or fees from Flagstar. 

So we are still on the phone and a new payoff report is sent to myself and the title company. This new report now has a new charge that wasn't there before a " XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX '' for {$250.00}! That wasn't on the original payoff report from XX/XX/XXXX! So now the title company is out of pocket {$740.00}, which then transfers to me. The only response I've been given so far is that the payoff report says what the escrow balance was and that it is subject to change. And that Flagstar isn't sure why the XXXX XXXX wasn't there before but it should have been. 

So that just lets you off the hook?!?!? 

My questions that I need a detailed response to, not the same copy-paste responses, are these. 

1. Why is the next insurance distribution date and amount not listed on the payoff? Especially when it's going to be within 2 business days!

2. Why wasn't the RHS Fee included on the first payoff? But now I'm supposed to just pay for it because it should have been there! 

3. Why was no one at Flagstar going to contact us the moment they found out the payoff amount was incorrect? Do you have no decency?

4. What is Flagstar going to do about these charges? It's not my fault FlagstaXXXX didn't provide accurate information to the title company. 

5. This one might take a bit more time but never less should still be answered. Who else are you XXXX over? 

The only reason I bring this complaint forward is that I'm someone who is willing to take action and take a stand when I see something that isn't right. There are hundreds of thousands of people who would just say forget it and pay to get the monkey off their back, because they don't have time, or they get frustrated with the whole process, or it just stresses them out to have to deal with this nonsense. But you and I both know that Flagstar and many other giant corporations do this kind of ridiculous behavior all the time! I shouldn't have to be the town crier declaring the deplorable nature of these dealings and have to be the one to show these companies how to be a decent person and accept responsibility when they mess up! But I guess I am.

Flagstar you messed up, now the proper response is to acknowledge it and fix this issue, not just for me but for the rest of your customer base!

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation