Consumer complaint received 2024-07-09
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage — Confusing or misleading advertising or marketing
Company: SELECT PORTFOLIO SERVICING, INC. (TN)

For context, we must go back to the beginning of our mortgage with XXXX XXXX XXXX around the year XXXX. We had taken out a mortgage and a second mortgage simultaneously that we later learned was a predator loan due to our home at that time being appraised around {$100000.00} and the first and second mortgage totaled around {$170000.00}. 

Sometime in the early XXXX, we approached XXXX XXXX XXXX after seeing a story on TV about predator loans. They agreed at that time to combine our two mortgages and reduce the interest rate from the second mortgage to about 10 % instead of the XXXX plus percent it was originally set up as. Years later, and after many requests, our interest rate was dropped to 7.999 % during the time of interest rates being one to two percent or so. Years later in XXXX, I remember reading where XXXX was fined nearly XXXX XXXX dollars by US federal regulators for money laundering. 

Not too long after that, they sold our mortgage. Not long after that, Select Portfolio Services ( SPS ) began servicing our mortgage. A couple of years ago and after we had repaired our credit with ten plus years of making no late payments on any of our obligations, we thought we would refinance our home to get away from SPS because we felt they never gave us straight answers to our questions. When I contacted SPS, they gave us a payoff amount and added we must pay an additional amount of {$18000.00} that they said was deferred principal. I called them many times after that trying to understand the additional {$18000.00} and the last SPS agent I spoke with said either pay it now or when your mortgage matures or lose your home. 

Very soon after that conversation, our mortgage was sold again to some entity called XXXX XXXX XXXX out of XXXX, MA. We have asked SPS on several occasions to speak with someone at XXXX XXXX XXXX and they said we couldnt. Finally, and after several relentless requests, SPS provided us with what they said was a phone number to XXXX XXXX XXXX. However, the phone number SPS provided is only a recording saying contact SPS. Selling the loan to whomever this is, not answering our questions, and not being totally forthcoming leads us to believe SPS is hiding the truth of our mortgage. With SPS being a collection agency, its possible most of their clients can not afford to push back on them, or are afraid to if they are behind on their mortgage leaving them defenseless. 

Around XX/XX/XXXX, we had to resort to hiring legal counsel to try and help us understand why SPS is trying to charge us an additional {$18000.00} above out current payoff quote of right around {$100000.00}. Our legal counsel is as confused as we are as to the additional amount SPS calls deferred interest.

SPS has managed our mortgage for more than one mortgage holder for somewhere around seven years or so and we have never paid them a late payment, and did not pay a late payment for many years before they acquired our mortgage. This is another reason we think our mortgage is being handled by SPS to hide any potential misdoings. I asked SPS to provide me with any document I signed stating I agreed to defer any amount of interest. SPS communicated to me and our legal counsel that it was a verbal agreement over the phone. I told the SPS agent who told me this that I never agreed to anything like that. The SPS agent said well your wife must have. My wife has never once spoken by phone to anyone at SPS, XXXX XXXX XXXX, or anyone else ever associated with our mortgage never once. The {$18000.00} is well over one years worth of monthly payments. If we were that far behind, I doubt we would be living in our home. 

SPS has communicated to our legal counsel and us by letter that their research says we were behind on our loan and the interest was deferred to the end of the loan. SPS says they dont have all of the data on our mortgage ( they are missing about four years worth of data they say they can not account for ) and the deferred interest they speak of does not add up to {$18000.00}, but in their assessment, they believe it to be true so we owe it. 

SPS has continually delayed responses to the data requests and response to questions of our legal counsel and us for the only reason I can figure is to frustrate us to pay the additional {$18000.00} because SPS knows we want to refinance our home to get away from them and their rather questionable business practices.

I did submit a complaint to the XXXX XXXX XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX ( case ID XXXX ) on this matter citing SPSs unethical business practices, retaliation, and bullying us for questioning their business practices. SPS denied any wrongdoing in their reply to the complaint and communicated to the different Credit Reporting Agencies ( CRAs ) that we were challenging the mortgage which caused our credit scores to drop XXXX points. We still had a good credit rating with the drop, but it will, according to the bank weve spoken to, cause us a higher interest rate. SPS stated in writing to the XXXX response that them reporting that could cause a negative impact on our credit, so we consider that either retaliation, bullying, or an attempt to damage our credit to prevent us from refinancing our mortgage. We have never paid SPS a late payment, so they had no reason to take actions resulting in damage our credit score.

Additionally, we paid additional principal each month on our mortgage for the past three years or so. Once we challenged SPS, they removed our ability to pay extra monthly principal with our monthly payments. The box on their website to pay additional principal was removed and it had always been there every month. I spoke to an SPS agent on the phone about this and he stated Ive never seen this happen unless a mortgage was not being paid on time. Youve never been late, so I do not understand. With that, we can only assume this is further retaliation by SPS for challenging them over the additional {$18000.00}.

I had been speaking with an SPS agent by the name of XXXX who seemed to want to help us get answers to our questions. XXXX made a statement on the phone the last time I spoke with him that he had heard of unethical business practices by XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX gave me his direct extension, but oddly enough, he never returned any future calls when I left messages, and I was not granted the opportunity to speak with XXXX again even after asking for him many times. I can only assume SPS prevented him from speaking further with us, but Im sure they will deny that and I can not prove it. If SPS records their calls as they say they do, my comments can be validated. 

I truly have zero recollection of verbally agreeing to defer over {$18000.00} of principal and my wife has never spoken to anyone about our mortgage, and she is the primary signature. Neither of us have ever signed anything relating to deferred interest. That amount would be more than 14 monthly payments. If that were true, I see no way we would be in our home.

SPS is a collection agency, and a very aggressive one at that even if youve never been late. SPS continually states they are not a collection agency even though they list their XXXX XXXX XXXX collection agency license number XXXX on their payoff quote. We are unsure how our mortgage ended up with SPS unless our mortgage is trying to be hidden due to improprieties from the beginning. Furthermore, as previously stated, weve never paid a late payment to SPS, or years before they acquired our mortgage, so why is a collection agency managing our mortgage? 

Finally, in the incomplete mortgage account reporting SPS provided, I see no reference to a couple of large payments totaling thousands of dollars in which I borrowed from my 401K way back between XXXX I believe to bring our mortgage current at that time. Also, there are many months in which no principal was counted for in payments. I thought at least some principal is applied from each monthly payment. 

We are not wealthy people especially to fight a company like SPS who has a legal team and funding to tie us up forever. This should not be permitted to happen if a business acts ethically in my opinion.