Consumer complaint received 2021-03-14
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: NH
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
In early XX/XX/XXXX I sent sufficient payment to pay off the remaining principal balance of the mortgage. Bank of America ( which currently services the mortgage ) failed to apply that amount and instead put it in suspense ( " unapplied funds '' ). The check cleared my account on XX/XX/XXXX. The Bank acknowledged receipt of the funds on XX/XX/XXXX. When I contacted them ( I spoke with " XXXX '' on XX/XX/XXXX ) I was told that Bank of America would not permit me to pay off the mortgage this way, despite the original terms of the note and mortgage, which originated around XX/XX/XXXX. Those terms state that I can pay it off in part or entirety at any time. 

As part of my divorce settlement, I had agreed to transfer the property to my ex-spouse ; while my ex-spouse was never on the deed the loan originator had required that my ex-spouse sign the mortgage and note, thus the mortgage and note were in both of our names even though the actual property was only in my name. Bank of America has always mis-spelled my ex-spouse 's name, which further complicates this matter. 

As part of transferring ownership to my ex-spouse and my ex-spouse 's current partner, my attorney obtained a payoff quotation from Bank of America, which was for the amount of the mortgage not considering the suspense funds. Because those funds were not applied and not reflected in the payoff quotation, at closing I was required to remit the full amount remaining on the mortgage. The closing agent wire transferred that money to Bank of America on XX/XX/XXXX. When I attempted to verify the status of the mortgage online, I found that Bank of America had removed it from their website. When I contacted them On XX/XX/XXXX, I was advised that it is normal practice for them to remove my access. I complained because this means that I no longer have access to the forms. For example, they sent me e-mail telling me that the 1098 is available online, but it is actually not accessible! As part of the discussion on XX/XX/XXXX I was advised they would require 20 business days after the payoff to finish processing the paperwork. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called during their business hours but received an auto-attendant message stating it was outside their business hours. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called at XXXXXXXX XXXX PT ( which is also inside their business hours ) and was told they had opened an account to figure out why the overpayment had not been refunded. I was given a case number and an estimated completion date of XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX I called and spoke with " XXXX in XXXX XXXX '' at XXXX XXXX PT. After speaking with XXXX and a second person, Bank of America basically stated that I was being mistruthful and they had not received two payoffs for this mortgage. They advised me that to process this further they would need to have written documentation showing both payment and evidence that the original payoff had come from my personal bank account. That same day I sent a cover letter along with all of the requested documentation : the wire transfer acknowledgement, including XXXX reference number from the closing agent, as well as copies of my canceled check and ACH deductions, and my bank statement showing those were withdrawn from my XXXX XXXX bank account. In my cover letter I advised them that I would be taking further action if this matter were not resolved within 30 days. It has now been more than 30 days, they have not responded to me, contacted me, nor refunded the excess funds as I requested. It is my hope that CFPB can encourage Bank of America to complete this process without going to court.

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