Consumer complaint received 2021-01-23
Product: Mortgage — VA mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage — 
Company: Freedom Mortgage Company (ID)

In XX/XX/XXXX, I purchased a new home, with the mortgage being held by Freedom Mortgage Corporation ( hereafter, Freedom ). From XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX, this mortgage was kept in good standing, and there were no late payments at any time during this period. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, I began the process of refinancing my mortgage to take advantage of new, lower interest rates. I applied with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( hereafter, XXXX ), and my application began processing. As the end of XXXX approached, it became apparent that the application process would not be completed prior to the XX/XX/XXXX due date for my mortgage payment with Freedom. XXXX advised me to refrain from submitting the payment, as it would complicate the closing process. When the processing was not completed by the second week of XXXX, XXXX directed me to not submit the payment, and XXXX would pay any resulting late fees that would occur if the payment was not submitted by XX/XX/XXXX. I was notified by XXXX that the mortgage had funded and closed on XX/XX/XXXX ( refer to Attachment # 1, XXXX Closing Notice ). At this time, I considered the matter to be closed. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, I received notice that my credit score had decreased more than 100 points, and quickly determined that the reason this occurred was that Freedom had reported a 30-day delinquency in the receipt of the XXXX mortgage payment. I immediately contacted XXXX, who directed me to contact XX/XX/XXXX XXXX. ( hereafter, XXXX ), who was responsible for remitting the full closing value ( including the XX/XX/XXXX late payment fee ) to Freedom. On XX/XX/XXXX, I spoke with XXXX XXXX at XXXX, who informed me that the payment had been made, and XXXX would investigate the situation and reply with an explanation. 

Having received no response from XXXX, I contacted XXXX XXXX again on XX/XX/XXXX, and asked for an update. On that same day, Apex responded ( refer to Attachment # XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX ) that : On XX/XX/XXXX, Apex contacted Freedom regarding the late payment. After speaking with a representative, Apex prepared and submitted a letter to Freedom which was delivered via XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX ( refer to Attachment # 3, Request to Amend/Remove Negative Credit Reporting ). I note that although the letter was submitted to Freedom on XX/XX/XXXX, the letter is dated XX/XX/XXXX I do not know if this was a typographical error by Apex, or if the letter was actually prepared and/or delivered prior to the XX/XX/XXXX date. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX contacted Freedom, who acknowledged receipt of the letter, and informed XXXX that a reply would be provided by XX/XX/XXXX. 

When XX/XX/XXXX failed to update me, I contacted XXXX XXXX again on XX/XX/XXXX, and she informed me that Apex had not received a reply from Freedom, but Apex would call Freedom and discuss the letter that day. XXXX XXXX informed me that she would follow up withXX/XX/XXXX management in one hour of her email to me to provide me a response. She failed to do so, but sent an email to me ( refer to Attachment # 4, XX/XX/XXXXStatus Email 1 ) the following morning, which stated that the letter was under review by Freedom, and that XX/XX/XXXXshould contact Freedom between XX/XX/XXXX XXXX for a response. 

After receiving no response by XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted XXXX XXXX again, who informed me that she would follow up. In the evening of XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX sent an email ( refer to Attachment # 5,XX/XX/XXXXStatus Email 2 ) which stated that XXXX at Freedom had informed XX/XX/XXXXthat the request sent by XX/XX/XXXXto Freedom on XX/XX/XXXX ( which I was told byXX/XX/XXXX had been delivered on XX/XX/XXXX ) had not been delivered to the dispute review team until XXXX, and would now not be responded to until XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX informed me that XXXX would be calling back to Freedom on XX/XX/XXXX to learn if Freedom had agreed to remove the negative entry on my credit report. At this point, I expressed my concern and frustration that I was being provided inaccurate and conflicting information, and expected to be notified by XX/XX/XXXX that the situation had been resolved, and the derogatory information would be removed from my credit report. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email from XXXX XXXX ( refer to Attachment # 6, XXXX Status Email 3 ) informing me that Freedom had rejected XXXX request to have the derogatory entry on my credit report removed, and that there was no further actionXX/XX/XXXX could take.