Consumer complaint received 2019-07-18
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: CA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
I am filing a complaint against my mortgage holder JP Morgan Chase Bark, N.A. and their Mortgage Escrow Department. 

I notified the Escrow Department that I was cancelling our property tax Escrow Account which is in effect to pay my County of XXXX XXXX Property Taxes, and I have been repeatedly told NO for unsubstantiated and false reasons. Chases Escrow Department has informed me that my Loan-To-Value ratio is too low to qualify for canceling my Escrow Account, which is false! Chase refuses to acknowledge their own Mortgage Department Equity Line appraisal completed in XX/XX/XXXX , County of XX/XX/XXXX-Office of the Assessor XX/XX/XXXX Assessed Value, nor the current real estate market value. 

Chase Escrow Department insists on using their Mortgage Departments Re-Fi appraisal completed in XX/XX/XXXX during the real estate market down-turn ; and will not acknowledge or accept any other documents verifying the current real property valuation from any source. However, they acknowledge the reason they mandated an increase my Escrow Account deposits is because they accept the increase in my property taxes as a result of an increase in assessed valuation. 

Chase can not have it both ways ; they can not insist on using an old out-of-date appraisal from six ( 6 ) years ago, refuse to accept current verifiable value documentation, and yet acknowledge an increased real property value by raising my Escrow Account deposits! 

Based upon current documentation, my current Loan-To-Value ratio is in the 70 % -to-74 % range ; well below the State of California required 90 % ratio and the Federal requirement.

Chase Mortgage Department representatives lied to me on multiple occasions, blamed their denials on mandated requirements by both RESPA ( Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ), the California DRE ( Department of Real Estate ), insisted my Loan-to-Value amount was wrong, refused to acknowledge Chases own Appraisal Of Real Property of XX/XX/XXXX, refused to acknowledge my increased Real Property value resulting in XXXX XXXX County raising my Property Taxes for the first time in four ( 4 ) years, and refused to acknowledge current real estate market valuations. They did not offer any recourse and only insisted that I must continue to deposit Escrow funds to their advantage and use. 


Following is the sequence of events that have occurred since I notified the Escrow Department : I received a Chase Mortgage statement and an Annual Escrow Analysis dated XX/XX/XXXX that stated my Escrow Account was projected to be short for the next property tax year XX/XX/XXXX and that my Escrow Account deposits and subsequent monthly mortgage payment was being arbitrarily increased a total of {$230.00} a month. I already knew that XXXX XXXX County increased my property valuation for the first time in four years because of rising real estate values, so I anticipated some increase in the Escrow Account for taxes. 

However, I was shocked at the Chase increase when I realized that the resulting Escrow Account new cushion total was more than required to pay the Property Taxes. In fact, the amount of the Escrow increase is more than twice the amount of monthly increase required for the Escrow Account balance to be able to pay the two property tax installments. 

First, I then called the XXXX XXXX Tax Assessors office to confirm my property tax amount, twice yearly payment dates, and my increased property valuation which caused my property taxes to increase. 

Then I calculated the amount of Escrow Account increase I would need to deposit to be able to pay my property taxes. Since my property tax increase resulted in a new yearly total of {$6400.00}, I need to increase my Escrow deposit an additional {$100.00} for a total of {$530.00} per month. Instead, I found that Chase quoted a monthly increase of {$230.00} for a total of {$660.00} per month. That is an additional {$120.00} per month with NO explanation provided!

I then called the Chase Escrow Department to ask for clarification about the excessive increase. After a lengthy and tense conversation, I was told the additional increase was mandated by Chase as their cushion in case of an additional property tax increase! I explained that the increase only needed to be an additional {$100.00} per month and I was told that the new Escrow total was calculated by Chases Escrow formula for all mortgage holders that had Chase Escrow Accounts. 

I then informed the Chase Escrow Department that the increase was not approved by me and that I was cancelling my Escrow account and would be paying my property taxes myself. My comments fell on deaf ears and I was told that I would have to submit my cancellation request in writing to their Chase Research Department. 

My further telephone conversations with Chase Mortgage occurred as follows :XX/XX/XXXX Talked to XXXX and then XXXX XXXX. I stated that I was cancelling my Escrow Account. There was no acknowledgement that Chase would cancel the account. 

XX/XX/XXXX @ XXXX Talked to XXXX . Again stated I was cancelling my Escrow Account and why was Chase refusing to do so? 

XX/XX/XXXX @ XXXX Talked to XXXX . Transferred to XXXX @ XXXX. 
I was told that I had to submit my Escrow Account cancellation request in writing to the following Chase Department : Chase Research Department XXXX XXXX XXXX . 
XXXX, Ohio XXXX FAX ( XXXX I was told to include a cover letter, information about property valuation and appraisals, and Loan-To-Value information. I asked for a telephone number and was told I could only contact that department by FAX or letter. I researched all the necessary information and wrote a cover letter with attachments and faxed it on XX/XX/XXXX. 

I did not receive any acknowledgement of receipt other than my FAX machine transmission record. I faxed another request for an acknowledgement of receipt on XX/XX/XXXX, and did not receive a reply. 

XX/XX/XXXX Received a Chase form letter dated XX/XX/XXXX stating : Your loan-to-value ratio needs to be lower for us to remove your escrow account. Further, it stated : Right now, you LTV is 105.4 %. Please resend your request when your LTV ratio is 80 % or less. 

XX/XX/XXXX - Received a Chase form letter dated XX/XX/XXXX stating : We cant complete your request at this time because California law requires an escrow account for loans that have a loan-to-value ( LTV ) ratio greater than 90 %. Further, it stated : Your LTV ratio is the percentage of your loans current outstanding valance and your homes original or current value. Right now, your LTV is 105.4 %. Please resend your request when your LTV ratio is 90 % or less. 

Note : Obviously, Chase never researched or verified any details regarding their documented appraisal of my property valuation, or current verifiable property valuation, or that my property is actually in the State of California, where I reside. Also, the first letter was dated XX/XX/XXXX, the same date that I faxed my written request to them. Even though their FAX address is stated as the Chase Research Department, they obviously did nothing more than generate a form letter because they had NO intention of researching anything and demand that I continue to deposit money into my Escrow Account for their ongoing investment purposes until tax payment time! 

XX/XX/XXXX @ XXXX XXXX Talked to XXXX. Transferred to XXXX ( XXXX ) @ XXXX XXXX. XXXX told me that my point of contact was XXXX who is the Case Manager. XXXX told me he would contact XXXX and have him call me. Then XXXX gave me his own contact number and extension ; XXXX # XXXX, and that he is available Tuesday thru Saturday from XXXX to XXXX EST. Then XXXX gave me XXXX contact number ; XXXX # XXXX. That conversion lasted 50-minutes without success in getting our Escrow Account cancelled. I had never heard of a XXXX. 

Note : After no success in having Chase Mortgage agreeing to cancel our Escrow Account, and being told that their refusal was based upon requirements, regulations and mandates from both RESPA and California DRE, I decided to research those requirements. I was not able to find any specific rules or regulations or that mandated Chase to refuse my Escrow Account cancellation on any grounds other than LTV. I already knew that Chase refused to acknowledge or accept any updated or current appraisal documentation on my real property because it is more important for Chase to keep any and all Escrow funds flowing to them for any unsubstantiated reason. 

XX/XX/XXXX @ XXXX Finally received a call from XXXX ( who I had never heard from previously ).  During our conversation, he told me that the reason my Escrow Account could not be cancelled is because my Loan-To-Value was higher than allowed. He then told me that my property was appraised at {$360000.00}??? I was shocked as our current property value by market value is between {$530000.00} and {$550000.00} ; and that XXXX XXXX County-Office of Assessor has my valuation at {$570000.00} before exemption. Further, the Chase Mortgage Department required an updated appraisal before updating my Equity Line of credit. Their appraisal total was {$520000.00} dated XX/XX/XXXX. Still, my Chase Case Manager XXXX insisted the Chase mortgage Re-Fi appraisal amount of {$360000.00} from XX/XX/XXXX. He also told me that Chase Escrow Department doesnt know anything about a XX/XX/XXXX Chase ordered appraisal that the Mortgage Department required  because of updating my Equity Line. He told me they are separate departments and do not have access to each others documents? What, am I dealing with two different companies or is Chase trying to deceive customers and refuse requests so they can maximize their escrow deposits for their own banking bottom line? 

The conversation with XXXX resulted in no solution and no path to resolving my cancellation request issue. The call ended at XXXX. It was obvious that any further attempts to convince Chase to use current financial, tax, and real estate values would continue to fall on deaf ears. 

XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX I researched all of my records and documents to confirm the source of the XXXX stated property value of {$360000.00} from XX/XX/XXXX ; and our copy of the newer Chase ordered appraisal dated XX/XX/XXXX. I only have a copy of the Chase XX/XX/XXXX appraisal because I repeatedly insisted to both the Mortgage Department and to my Personal Banker at my Chase Branch Bank to provide me a copy. Now I realize that Chase never wanted to provide their valued customer a copy of Chases appraisal on my real property. Obviously it is a very good thing I have a copy of that appraisal in my possession, or Chase would state that it never existed! 

Summary : Chase has made it impossible to cancel my Escrow Account, and any further recourse with them. They have left me no choice but to file formal complaints with both the Federal Consumer Finance Protection Bureau and with California Department of Business Oversight for Chases purposeful denial, mishandling and refusal of the financial facts for my Escrow Account cancellation request. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, JPMorgan Chief Executive XXXX XXXX and Chase agreed to a {$13.00} XXXX settlement with the U.S. because of the overstated quality of mortgages it was selling to investors in the run-up to the financial crisis. My Escrow Account cancellation refusal by Chase is just another ongoing example of mortgage abuse because they can and will continue their same devious policies and procedures to enhance their profits at their customers expense.

Does the Chase refusal to acknowledge and accept verifiable real property values and to cancel my Escrow Account, signal that Chase will continue to resort to any means to falsely collect Escrow Account funds from their unsuspecting customers? Does Chase use the same refusal strategy for their customers who also have Insurance Escrow Accounts and want to cancel those accounts? I am sure they do!

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation