Consumer complaint received 2016-07-23
Company: SUNTRUST BANKS, INC.
State: WA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional fixed mortgage
Issue: Loan servicing, payments, escrow account

Complaint:
I have a mortgage with Suntrust Mortgage. Suntrust has a 15-day grace period on payments. As a result of an oversight, I neglected to send a payment that was due on XXXX XXXX, 2016. 

SunTrust has not sent statements on a regular basis. For example, I received a statement dated XXXX/XXXX/2016 with a Payment Due Date of XXXX/XXXX/2016 ; however, when I missed making that XXXX/XXXX/2016 payment, the next statement was not issued until XXXX/XXXX/2016 when the 15-day grace period was up and a Late Charge Assessment of {$70.00} had been applied. I still had not received the new statement when SunTrust called me on XXXX/XXXX/2016 and told me that my payment due on XXXX/XXXX/2016 had not been received and ton XXXX/XXXX/2016, a Late Charge Assessment had been applied. Over the telephone, I authorized an immediate withdrawal from my checking account to cover the overdue payment and the Late Charge Assessment. Had I received a statement dated XXXX/XXXX/2016, that would have shown that I had not sent the payment that was due on XXXX/XXXX/2016, and I would have had time to make the payment and avoid the Late Charge Assessment. 

After I received the Late Charge Assessment on XXXX/XXXX/2016, I checked the dates of statements from SunTrust because I knew they were irregular, but did n't know why. After checking, I realized that SunTrust sent a new statement only when they received a payment. If SunTrust did not receive the payment by the Due Date, they would wait for the 15-day grace period to pass before sending a new statement. In this latter case, the result was that statements could be sent up to one and one-half months apart, which allowed SunTrust to apply a Late Charge Assessment before the customer learned that the payment had not been made. 

I called SunTrust this morning ( XXXX/XXXX/2016 ) because I had not yet received a statement with a Payment Due Date of XXXX/XXXX/2016 and I need the coupon to send the payment ( I realize the check can be sent without the coupon, but SunTrust asks that the coupon be included with the payment ). The previous statement, with a Payment Due Date of XXXX/XXXX/2016, was dated XXXX/XXXX/2016. I was informed that the new statement ( with Payment Due Date XXXX/XXXX/2016 ) was issued on XXXX/XXXX/2016. I have not received this new statement today ( a Saturday ), so the earliest I can receive it will be Monday, XXXX/XXXX/2016. This probably leaves insufficient time for my check to be mailed and reach SunTrust before the Payment Due Date of XXXX/XXXX/2016. 

When I called SunTrust this morning, I asked about the irregular timing of statements. The person I spoke with told me that customers had been having problems because new statements were not issued until the previous payment was received, so, as of now, SunTrust will send statements on a regular basis. I asked if the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had allowed SunTrust to send statements on an irregular basis and was told that SunTrust does everything according to federal regulations. 

It appears that SunTrust was purposefully sending statements irregularly, only after payment for the previous statement was received or, when payment was not received, they waited until the 15-day " courtesy period '' for late payments had passed and then sent the new invoice once the Late Charge Assessment had been incurred. If SunTrust had sent statements on a regular, monthly basis, people like me who simply overlooked making a payment would be alerted when they received a new statement and would have made the forgotten payment within the grace period, thereby avoiding the Late Charge Assessment. 

Was SunTrust was acting within the CFPB regulations regarding the irregular timing of sending my statements and in the application of the Late Charge Assessment on XXXX/XXXX/2016? Also, has the CFPB changed the regulations regarding timing of statements to require mortgage companies to send statements regularly ( on the same date ) once a month? 

Thank you for your assistance.

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 monetary relief