Consumer complaint received 2021-11-01
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — 
Company: Mr. Cooper Group Inc. (DC)

Summary : My mortgage servicer -- Mr. Cooper/Nationstar -- made a duplicate property tax disbursement from my escrow account. I reported it to Mr. Cooper ; they had me reach out to their tax payment agent ( XXXX ), who sought, and was quickly issued, a refund. But despite multiple calls, I haven't been given a corresponding credit on my escrow account, any assurances of when that will happen, or a provisional credit in the interim. So my servicer has been made whole for its error and I'm left holding the bag. 

Detailed complaint : I'm a new homeowner and a first-time homebuyer. I closed on my home on XX/XX/2021. During settlement, my title company ( XXXX XXXX ) collected money from me to cover my upcoming property tax payments for the second half of 2021. That property tax line-item was listed in my Closing Disclosure, so my lender would have been aware that my title company had already received money from me to pay these taxes. The same should have been true for any subsequent note holder/servicer. 

In XX/XX/2021, when my tax bill came out, my title company paid those taxes as instructed, in the amount of {$2200.00}. The District of Columbia XXXXfice of Tax and Revenue received that payment and credited it to my account on XX/XX/2021. Around that same time, I received notice in the mail that my mortgage servicer would be Mr. Cooper/Nationstar. 

Shortly after I made my first mortgage payment to Mr. Cooper/Nationstar ( on XX/XX/2021 ), I noticed that my escrow account was in the negative. On or about XX/XX/2021, I called Mr. Cooper to ask why my escrow account showed a negative amount. The agent I spoke with explained that the only thing being paid out of the escrow account for my mortgage is property taxes, so the negative amount likely was the result of a property tax payment. I was surprised to hear that, because I had escrowed money for taxes already during my settlement. So I reached out to my title company just to confirm that I wasnt misunderstanding who was responsible for paying those taxes. On or about XX/XX/2021, I spoke with my post-settlement processor with my title company, who explained that XXXX XXXX had already paid those taxes, and that any payment by Mr. Cooper would have been in error. I asked my post-settlement processor to put something in writing so that I could provide it to Mr. Cooper/Nationstar. She sent me an email explaining that the title company had already made the tax payment and attaching proof that the payment was made. Attached is a copy of her email ( XXXX- PROPERTY TAXES ) and its attachments. 

At this point I reached back out to Mr. Cooper. The agent I spoke with told me that a separate company by the name of XXXX makes tax payments on their behalf, and directed me to reach out to XXXX directly. So, on or about XX/XX/2021, I emailed XXXX to ask them to investigate. In that email, I included the confirmation email Id received from my title agent regarding this payment, along with a copy of my XXXX Statement highlighting the escrowed amount, and a copy of the payment history with the DC Office of Tax and Revenue showing the payment received from my title company. 

I then waited a few weeks but did not hear back from XXXX or Mr. Cooper/Nationstar. So I reached out to my local taxing authoritythe DC XXXX XXXX XXXX and Revenue. The agent I spoke to there confirmed that a duplicate payment had been made, and told me that XXXX had reached out to request a refund. The DC tax agent told me a refund had already been approved and was issued on XX/XX/XXXX. She provided me with the check number, and confirmed that the check had been mailed to XXXX 's address in XXXX, Texas. 

I have since contacted Mr. Cooper/Nationstar 3 times to request an update. On or about XX/XX/2021, I spoke with an agent named XXXX XXXX, who told me that she could see the refund in her system and that it would be credited back to my escrow account by XX/XX/XXXX. I did not receive a credit by this date, so on or about XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted Mr. Cooper/Nationstar again. The agent I spoke with that afternoon told me she was not sure why the refund had not yet been posted, but that she would ask, and then call me back the following week, on or before XX/XX/XXXX. I did not receive a callback from the agent. 

Today, XX/XX/XXXX, I reached back out to Mr. Cooper/Nationstar, again requesting an update. This time, the agent I spoke with said that refunds take 4-8 weeks to process, and that the clock started from when XXXX opened a ticket to investigateon XX/XX/2021. This was the first time I had heard about a 4-8-week timeline. The agent acknowledged that even by that measure we were in the 7th week of an 8-week timeline. I then asked if there was anything else she could do, and raised the possibility of provisionally crediting back my account, since we all seemed to agree that Mr. Cooper/Nationstar had made this payment in error. The agent said she could not do that, and that my only choice was to continue to call in and ask for status updates. 

So, to summarize again : Mr. Cooper/Nationstar made a duplicate tax payment in error and billed my escrow account. When I pointed out the error, they had their tax payment agentXXXX. XXXX apparently did determine that this payment was made in error, because they reached out to the DC Office of Tax and Revenue to ask for a refund. That refund was granted very quicklyDC issued a refund to XXXX on XX/XX/2021. I, however, am still on the hook for the payment from my escrow account in the full amount of the duplicate payment -- {$2200.00}. Mr. Cooper/Nationstars explanation seems to be that they are waiting for the refund to process. Ive asked them to provisionally credit my account back with the amount they paid in error, since they seem to have already determined that that happened. But Mr. Cooper/Nationstar refusedthe tax agent I spoke with said this was not possible, and that I would continue to show liability for this amount unless and until XXXX processed the refund check it received from the DC Office of Tax and Revenue. So Im stuck, waiting for XXXX to credit my account with a check that was issued back in XXXX. Mr. Cooper/Nationstars only solution is to tell me to continue to call in, wait on hold, walk a new person through this issue, and ask for an update. 

Im hoping this issue is resolved for me soon, but my main reason for submitting this complaint is because I want others to know that Mr. Cooper/Nationstar has been totally unwilling to fix a problem it created, to give a consistent timeline for when it would be resolved, or to reach back out to me when they receive any updates. Everything has fallen on methe responsibility to prove they made an error, the responsibility to cover the liability until they investigate, and the responsibility to keep calling back in to move this process along. Thats just not acceptable standard operating procedure. I want my problem resolved and for Mr. Cooper/Nationstar to change the way they handle important issues like this.