Consumer complaint received 2017-07-13
Company: Castle and Cookie Mortgage LLC
State: CO
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage

Complaint:
The short version is that when I went to refi my home mortgage, the company tried to insert a last minute brand new fee of {$990.00} for " 0.500 % of Loan Amount ( Points ) ''. I indicated I was not longer interested in the transaction. They removed the fee. I reluctantly proceeded but in the meantime, I was up against the deadline for my existing mortgage payment which I made in the amount of {$1300.00}. This payment did not affect the payoff terms ( one would think the payoff amount would be reduced by the payment ). When I inquired, the agent said : " This will be refunded to you within 30 days of closing. It typically does not take 30 days and it typically sent within a couple of weeks. Expect a check from XXXX for the payment. Per RESPA a customer cant make a double payment on a loan at the time of the payoff. I hope this answers your question. Thanks and have a great day! '' I have never received this reimbursement. I sent a certified letter to the CEO of Castle and Crooke on or about XXXX XXXX, 2017. In response to this letter, yet another representative of the company called and made false promises. XXXX XXXX called on XX/XX/XXXX and said she would call the following week. To my knowledge this never occurred. here is a copy of the content of the letter to XXXX XXXX, CEO of Castle and Crooke : " XXXX XXXX, 2017 XXXX XXXX President and CEO XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, UT XXXX Dear XXXX XXXX, Representatives of your company have misrepresented information, failed to answer questions, attempted to charge more for a mortgage than was agreed upon, obfuscated the mortgage financing process and failed to return my phone call. <P/>I had done a home mortgage with Castle and Cooke in the past so when it was time to refi I contacted the local office to initiate the process. Although the person I had previously worked with was no longer with the company I assumed I would receive the same honest and straightforward customer service I had received before. This was not the case. <P/>When I was provided with the electronic documents to sign to lock in on the deal, your company tried to insert an unapproved {$990.00} fee for 0.500 % of Loan Amount ( Points ) at the last minute. Fortunately, I caught it. <P/>Unfortunately, due to the delay caused by this attempt to overcharge me for my loan, I had to make an additional payment on my existing mortgage to avoid penalties. This additional payment did not change the payoff amount on the new loan. <P/>I presented this situation to XXXX XXXX, the Castle and Crooke agent handling my refi ( see emails attached for documentation ) : I had made a mortgage payment last week when it looked questionable as to whether we were going to get the deal done ( there was that last minute {$980.00} points fee added on ). Anyway, it looks like that payment just went through according to my bank app. This was not considered in the final calcs for the refi. How will this be handled? <P/>XXXX XXXX replied : This will be refunded to you within 30 days of closing. It typically does not take 30 days and it typically sent within a couple of weeks. Expect a check from XXXX for the payment. Per RESPA a customer cant make a double payment on a loan at the time of the payoff. I hope this answers your question. Thanks and have a great day! <P/>I have yet to receive this reimbursement as promised by your employee. <P/>Attached you will find a fairly thorough email transcript of communications between myself and representatives of Castle and Crooke, LLC. You will find documentation that shows that questions were not answered, promises were not kept, etc. <P/>Finally, I received a voice message from XXXX XXXX, Compliance Director, on XXXX XXXX, 2017, after I emailed XXXX XXXX indicating that I was still not satisfied and was interested in escalating the matter ( to you specifically ). I returned the telephone call on XXXX XXXX, 2017, requesting that XXXX XXXX return my telephone call. I have not heard back. <P/>I was told by a representative of your company that I was to be reimbursed for the payment. He even cited federal law as some sort of assurance that this was to be the case. Although I have received an escrow payment, an insurance reimbursement and a mysterious refund for a discount point fee that was apparently misapplied to my transaction, I have not received a reimbursement check. <P/>I look forward to your response. It would be my preference to avoid having to take legal action regarding this matter. <P/>Sincerely, XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation