Consumer complaint received 2024-07-16
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — Trying to communicate with the company to fix an issue while managing or servicing your loan
Company: Shellpoint Partners, LLC (GA)

In XX/XX/XXXX, I attempted to pay off my mortgage held by Newrez LLC dba Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing via wire transfers, following the wiring instructions Newrez provided on the payoff quote. All three attempts on XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX resulted in the funds being returned with a {$40.00} deduction each time. Despite multiple calls to Newrez Customer Service seeking advice to rectify the problem, the wire transfers were unsuccessful. Upon realizing I had incurred a total of {$120.00} in fees that XXXX had silently deducted each time the funds were returned and having no clarity from Newrez regarding the problem, I discontinued the wire attempts. 

I tried several times to bring the problem to Newrezs attention, but Newrez neither satisfactorily acknowledged the problem nor investigated sufficiently to provide the answers to the questions I asked What exactly was wrong with the wires and what was the fee for? ( Refer to Attachment-XXXX ) The letter I received in response to my XX/XX/XXXX follow-up letter referenced Shellpoints records and though it was printed on Newrez letterhead, it was delivered in an envelope printed with Shellpoints address. Recent calls to Newrez Customer Service have played messages stating Shellpoint is a debt collector ... in place of Newrez is a debt collector ... that I thought I remembered from earlier calls I had made. Maybe I would have had better results if I had started with Shellpoint instead of Newrez to being with? When I called for advice, the CFPB representative I spoke with suggested submitting complaints for both Newrez and Shellpoint because it was unclear which would be better able to respond. 

As a result of Newrezs and/or Shellpoints refusal to investigate the cause of the problem, I investigated it myself culminating in a CFPB complaint sent to XXXX requesting the reason the wires were returned and an explanation of the fees. XXXX findings match the reason for return that my bank suggested when the last wire attempt failed on XX/XX/XXXX The account number Newrez provided in the wiring instructions was not a valid account number. Comparing the format XXXX requires for successful payment against the actual wire details that were sent revealed that both match the format of the Newrez wiring instructions. ( Refer to Attachment-1_NewrezCreditAccount.pdf ) All of the details from the attempted wires can be verified as correct or unrelated to the return reason except for the Newrez account number. That account number has been identified as the beneficiary account referenced in the return reason XXXX reported : Need Valid Beneficiary Account to XXXX. I believe if Newrez/Shellpoint investigated the reason wiring funds per the instructions that were provided was not possible, it would be found that the specified account number was incorrect. If not, then what was the problem? Everyone I talked to who was willing to help with my investigation attested that the wires were formatted correctly for the information provided. 

Regarding the fee, XXXX explained that " returned payments due to client error are assessed a standard {$40.00} Return of Funds fee. '' This is not a fee I would have encountered if Newrez had provided correct wiring instructions. Therefore, " client error '' is a direct result of Newrez 's errors in the wiring instructions and Newrez and/or Shellpoint is ultimately responsible for the information they provided. 

The XX/XX/XXXX letter I received from the Newrez Compliance Department in response to my initial inquiry explained that " Newrez is not responsible for any fees that XXXX be incurred when attempting to wire a payment from an outside source to cover your mortgage obligations. '' I believe that should mean Newrez is not responsible for fees one would reasonably expect to incur for a working process during the course of a normal transaction, XXXX. a wire fee for a successful wire transfer. I argue that the fees I incurred were an exception because I incurred them due to a fault in the wiring instructions Newrez provided. The faulty instructions caused {$120.00} in XXXX Return of Funds fees plus additional unnecessary costs. I paid a {$25.00} wire fee and still had to pay for costs associated with sending a cashiers check and several days of interest accrued while Newrez denied any problems with the wiring process. It is inconceivable that wiring funds to pay off a mortgage should be such a difficult task and it wouldnt have been if correct instructions were available.