Consumer complaint received 2015-04-20
Company: Ocwen Financial Corporation
State: CA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Loan servicing, payments, escrow account

Complaint:
SUMMARY : Adjust my mortgage payment to {$1000.00} - {$1000.00} by the following means : re-evaluating my escrow, removing my PMI and waiving the {$25.00} reverse fee. 
DETAILS : Ocwen 's motto is " Helping Homeowners '', I am living proof Ocwen is NOT helping homeowners. This is one of many formal complaints I have made about Ocwen/GMAC over the past 4 years. I have asked for loan modifications, fee reversals, re-evaluations and have been denied for everything multiple times. It is beyond frustrating dealing with Ocwen. After a 2 year battle, I am surprised they FINALLY accepted money from Keep Your Home CA, so that I could keep my home. My mortgage payment is {$1000.00}. I struggle with the payments, however I have consistently paid. Now my principle balance is less than 78 % of the original balance. I am eagerly expecting my payments to decrease by {$52.00} because I submitted a request to have the private mortgage insurance ( PMI ) removed over 3 weeks ago. I have not heard the verdict on that and it is almost time to pay the mortgage again for another month. In the interim of waiting for a response on my PMI, I happened to see on the Ocwen website I was charged a {$25.00} fund reversal fee and my new payment will now be {$1100.00} to cover escrow. I had a history of making incremental payments of $ 30- {$40.00} toward my principle on the GMAC website. It still links to Ocwen 's site for making valid payments on the home. I like the GMAC site because I can modify payments, cancel payments, make incremental payments of MY choice etc. This is something you can not do on Ocwen 's website. I have had my XXXX account for 15 years and the same account is what I use to make my house payments. I am told my payment was reversed because they were unable to locate my account. Ocwen must have a system glitch because before Ocwen officially merged the GMAC customer accounts to their database, the account was ALWAYS located and used to make payments toward my principle. Somehow my account information keeps getting wiped off the GMAC website, and now it appears I will NEVER be able to make incremental payments toward my principle ever again. This is garbage about my account not being able to be located. I explained to Ocwen and they still maintain the {$25.00} will NOT be waived. I am INSISTING the fee be waived. The money was in the account and still is. The account is locatable. It is not my fault. I also INSIST the monthly PMI is removed from my account. I received a letter via email in response to my escrow complaint : 'Total escrow shortage-based on the expected balance deficiency of {$0.00} and the minimum required balance/cushion of {$500.00}, an additional {$570.00} is needed for the escrow balance. ' EXCUSE ME BUT THERE IS NO PROJECTION FOR AN ESCROW SHORTAGE ON MY ACCOUNT! You also clearly state in the letter 'federal law ALLOWS additional funds to be held to prevent the escrow account from being overdrawn. ' ALLOW means it is permitted. ALLOW does NOT mean required or mandatory!! Federal law does NOT permit, require or mandate OCWEN to practice predatory lending on my account. Ocwen is illegally raising my mortgage payment for no apparent reason. CLEARLY there is NOT an escrow shortage on my account or are there any projected shortages ; therefore there is NO need to prevent the escrow account from being overdrawn. The taxes are the only item paid from my escrow. At this point Ocwen has placed me in an unjustified HARDSHIP and has made my home again UNAFFORDABLE and again, in danger of foreclosure/delinquency. If I do n't keep my home for the specified time frame under Keep Your Home CA, I will be made to pay back over {$80000.00} to the state. Obviously I do not have that type of money. Ocwen is CLEARLY ILLEGALLY performing this action! I do NOT approve of this adjustment and I want this and everything else I mentioned previously corrected IMMEDIATELY!!!

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation