Consumer complaint received 2021-12-09
Company: LoanCare, LLC
State: NY
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
The company discussed here is LoanCare , LLC on behalf of XXXXXXXX XXXX  XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX  XXXX, VA XXXX ). 

Background : In XXXX 2021, my current loan servicer ( XXXX XXXX ) sent a statement to me saying that a new company ( LoanCare , LLC ) would be taking over my loan servicing. About a week later I received a mailing from LoanCare with information about this loan servicing change. 

Issue : There was a long delay ( approximately 10 days ) between the time my loan became unavailable with XXXX, and available with LoanCare , LLC. For about 10 days, my loan status and information went " dark '' and I couldn't access my loan from either party. LoanCare was not available to contact by phone, because the customer service line required my loan number or SSN, but when both were entered, my account could not be found, because my loan had not been transferred yet. 

By the time they did recognize my account ( XX/XX/XXXX ), the payment date for my mortgage was past due. Additionally, auto-draft of loan payments must be created before XX/XX/XXXX, leaving just 1 day to do so. 

Fortunately, I've been ahead of schedule and my payments were not late. Also, fortunately, I'm a " digital native '' and so navigating confusing and unclear online platforms is something I am accustomed to. I was ultimately, after much persistence and trial and error, able to figure it out and log in. 

The real concern I am addressing is for people who were not in my position : paying their mortgages closer to the due date, and for people who may be older and/or may not be as " digitally native '' as I am. For someone ( like my grandma, or my elderly neighbors ) who does not know how to navigate confusing online platforms, they could still be in a situation today where they can not access their mortgage information, and may be at risk for failing to pay their mortgage on time. Calling does not help because the automated phone system does not recognize the new loan until you sign up online. 

Given the interruption in auto-payment and the payment schedule, this could be a serious issue for many people as they manage their budgets, and the withdraw of their mortgage payments could be untimely and disruptive to their lives. 

Given that the change in loan servicing company was not optional and was mandated by both XXXX and LoanCare , LLC, it seems reasonable that they would make this process more transparent, and give more options for their customers to ask questions about how the transfer works and the timelines surrounding this change. 

Altogether, allowing someone's home loan status and information go " dark '' for multiple weeks, as well as failing to provide adequate options to contact someone about the status of this loan seems unacceptable. It also seems as though this process is unduly abstruse in order to confuse the customer and create late payments and/or other fees.

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 explanation