Consumer complaint received 2021-07-07
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage — 
Company: CMG MORTGAGE, INC (CA)

I am filing a complaint against CMG Financial as they have charged me unnecessary miscellaneous fees on the pay-off of my mortgage loan. 

I had recently refinanced my mortgage loan with CMG Financial. My loan was paid off on XX/XX/XXXX. My escrow papers showed that a check in the amount of {$430000.00} ( see attachment # 1 ) was sent to CMG Financial to payoff my loan. CMG showed the amount to fully pay off my loan was {$430000.00} ( see attachment # 2 ). Minus the {$30.00} payoff statement preparation fee, there remains a balance of {$190.00} that they should have rightfully refunded to me, but instead they have kept my money for miscellaneous reasons. 

Payoff Amount received from Escrow {$430000.00} Less full amount to pay-off my account ( {$430000.00} ) Less Payoff Stmt Prep Fee for XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX ) Overage that should be refunded to me {$190.00} After my loan was paid off on XX/XX/XXXX, I was expecting to receive a check in the mail for the refund of {$190.00}. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a check in the mail for {$44.00} from CMG ( see attachment # 3 ). However, it came with no explanation whatsoever on the breakdown on how they came up with that amount. On XX/XX/XXXX, I called CMG Financial at XXXX and spoke to XXXX, ID # XXXX, of the Escrow Analysis Department to inquire about the payoff payment overage to my account that has not been fully refunded to me. 

In doing her research, XXXX found that the {$190.00} overage was put in by someone in their payoff department as MISCELLANEOUS REPAYMENT. She said it was applied to previous Payoff Statement Preparation Fees in the amount of {$150.00} that were charged to my account. 

I explained to her that I had already paid the previous Payoff Statement Preparation Fees of {$150.00} when I made my mortgage payment on XX/XX/XXXX ( see attachment # 4 ). Because the entire process to complete my refinance took longer than expected ( from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX ), the loan company processing my refinance had to keep requesting CMG Financial for the latest payoff amount. Each time they did, CMG then added the statement preparation fees to my loan account. The total amount of {$150.00} showed on my monthly mortgage statement. Instead of waiting for my loan to be paid off, I just went ahead and paid it myself to cover all those Payoff Statement Preparation Fee. Therefore, I DO NOT owe CMG any MISCELLANEOUS REPAYMENT FEES! 

XXXX was able to find my additional payments in their system that covered the payoff preparation fees and confirmed the above facts with me and that I am entitled to receive the payment overage of {$190.00}. She went ahead and added these notes to my account. However, she indicated that because my account is already closed, the only way I can get the refund of {$190.00} that was mistakenly credited to CMGs MISCELLANEOUS REPAYMENT account is to request it in writing. 

So, on XX/XX/XXXX, I went ahead and sent an official letter in the mail to CMG requesting them to send me the refund of {$190.00} representing the payoff overage to my loan. I sent the letter via certified mail with a request for receipt confirmation to the address : CMG Research, XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, NJ XXXX. My tracking # XXXX shows that CMG had received my letter on XX/XX/XXXX ( see attachment # 5 ). 

I waited for a few weeks for a response but never got one. Three weeks later, I gave them another call and inquired about the response to my request for a refund. The representative that I spoke confirmed with me that they have received my letter requesting my refund and indicated that CMGS Escrow Analysis Department has sent me a response by mail. When I asked the representative if their records show that the {$190.00} refund has been sent out to me, he said no. When I asked him the reason why, he said that he can not see the reason on the system and to just wait for their response in the mail. Unfortunately, as of this writing, I still have not received a response from them. 

So, I am sending you this letter of complaint to seek your assistance in getting my refund of {$190.00} from CMG Financial. It is an amount that is rightfully due to me and not to their Miscellaneous Repayment account. As Ive stated, I have contacted them, sent them a written request for refund of the {$190.00}, followed up again by phone, but they have not responded to me or sent me the money that is rightfully mine. 

Here is the summary of events : 1. XX/XX/XXXX : My mortgage loan with CMG Financial was fully paid. As a normal procedure, the escrow company sends in a payment that is more than the amount needed to payoff a homeowners existing mortgage loan. It is then the responsibility of CMG Financial to refund the payment overage to the homeowner. 
2. XX/XX/XXXX : I received a check from CMG Financial for {$44.00} with no explanation or breakdown of how they came up with the amount. 
3. XX/XX/XXXX : I called CMG Financial and discussed with a representative from the Escrow Analysis Department the error they have made in crediting my payment overage to their Miscellaneous Repayment account. I was instructed to send a written request to get my refund of {$190.00} 4. XX/XX/XXXX : I sent a CERTIFIED letter requesting refund of the payment overage on my loan. 
5. XX/XX/XXXX : CMG Financial received my CERTIFIED letter. 
6. 2-3 weeks after XX/XX/XXXX : I called CMG Mortgage again to follow up and I was told I should receive something in the mail 7. As of XX/XX/XXXX : No response, no refund of my payment overage.