Consumer complaint received 2020-09-08
Company: WEICHERT FINANCIAL SERVICES
State: VA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: VA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
I am writing to request assistance with my mortgage escrow account. I closed on my home on XX/XX/XXXX and have not been successful in getting Weichert Financial Services to apply the tax exemption for which XXXX County, Virginia has approved me. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Weichert Financial Services to ask how to submit my XXXX County, Virginia Real Estate Tax Exemption Certificate ; I was advised to e-mail it to XXXX. I do not have the name of the individual ( s ) to whom I spoke, though I did send the document to the prescribed address. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called again to confirm receipt of the document. I was advised that the document had not been received and that I should try faxing it to ( XXXX ) XXXX. I do not have the name of the individual ( s ) to whom I spoke on this occasion either. 

Shortly after, I received an Annual Escrow Account Disclosure Statement and Change of Payment Notice dated XX/XX/XXXX. The letter indicated that I had an overage of {$840.00} and that my refund should be sent to me via mail within 30 days. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called to follow up on the status of my refund ; I was advised that my account was frozen, though there was no clear indication as to why. The representative said she would put in a work request to have my account unfrozen and the refund issued. I do not have the name of this individual either. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called to inquire about the status my refund again. I spoke with XXXX ( XXXX ) who indicated that she, too, would request a refund on my behalf. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I chatted with XXXX ( chat ID XXXX ) to ask why {$450.00} had been paid to XXXX County for property taxes ( Tax ID number : XXXX ) having already provided an exemption certificate and having received an escrow analysis that accurately reflected my tax exemption. XXXX was unable to answer my question at that time and said that I should allow 5-7 days before following up on the matter. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I faxed a letter to Weichert outlining my experiences from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX and asked three questions 1 ) When I should expect to have the first refund of {$840.00}. It has been one week, and the check still has not arrived.

2 ) What the remedy is for the taxes paid to XXXX County that were not due. 
3 ) I would like to have another escrow analysis to determine why my current account balance is {$1100.00} over the required amount. Is there a specific form that I need to submit to request this analysis? 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I finally received my escrow refund of {$840.00} from XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called and spoke to a supervisor regarding my concerns from my XX/XX/XXXX chat session with XXXX. I do not know the name of the gentleman with whom I spoke, but he indicated he would open a work order to have my account reviewed. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, an updated escrow analysis was completed for my account noting that my escrow payment was to increase from {$130.00} to {$210.00}, a difference of {$76.00}, to pay for {$450.00} in property taxes for XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a form letter dated XX/XX/XXXX indicating that no updates were needed based on my inquiry. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Weichert again and spoke with a supervisor regarding the XXXX XXXX letter ; I do not have this individuals name, though he asserted to me that they verified the tax bill and would not have paid it otherwise. I called XXXX County to ask about my tax bill and was told the bill result from XXXX to XXXX when I did not own the property and that XXXX County has not been taxing the property since it became exempt. The staff at XXXX County advised me to contact my settlement company. I reviewed my settlement documents and found that the seller paid {$930.00} at closing, presumably into the escrow account, as I did not receive any funds at closing. I contacted Weichert again and spoke to XXXX and told him that after the XXXX payment there should not be any further tax payments made, as the taxes that are being paid now are from the previous owner. I asked to have my monthly escrow payment returned to the {$130.00} that is meant to cover my homeowners insurance. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called to check on the status of my account. I explained my trouble again to the individual with whom I spoke, and she indicated that she would request that my tax bucket be returned to {$0.00} and that she would annotate on the account that the XX/XX/XXXX payment of {$450.00} should be the last payment tax payment submitted to XXXX County. I do not have the name of the individual to whom I spoke. 

On XXXX XXXX, I received another form letter dated XX/XX/XXXX indicating that no updates were needed based on my inquiry. 

On XXXX XXXX, I called to check on the status of my previous request. I was advised that the work order had been completed, that the final tax payment would be made in XX/XX/XXXX, and that the tax bucket would be reset to {$0.00}. 

On XXXX XXXX, I received another form letter dated XX/XX/XXXX indicating that no updates were needed based on my inquiry, and to date, Weichert has not removed the additional {$76.00} from my monthly mortgage costs.

I do not believe Weichert has properly managed my account in that it took more than the 30 days they indicated was permitted by law to return any escrow overages. Weichert does not provide complete information about bills being paid on my behalf when the information is requested, and that they do not fully investigate issues that are brought to them. I am frustrated that with one phone call to XXXX County, I was able to find out why taxes are owed, though Weichert was unable to communicate to me what anything about the taxes. Rather, they send form letters only asserting that they are correct in their handling of my account with no detail as to what gives them claim to their rightness. I am also frustrated that they seem not to pay careful attention to detail with documents such as the fact that taxes have not been levied against the property since becoming exempt yet seem to think it reasonable to bill me at a rate of {$910.00} per year for taxes I do not owe.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation