Consumer complaint received 2024-03-05
Product: Mortgage — FHA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — Escrow, taxes, or insurance
Company: M&T BANK CORPORATION (FL)

My loan was purchased by M & T bank in XXXX of XXXX. At the time of purchase, XXXX, the original lender/servicing agent had sent payment on XXXX of XXXX to my new XXXX XXXX  XXXX policy for the XXXX  year. M & T bank began sending me notices that my home was improperly insured and that I needed to purchase condo insurance. I called M & T with my insurance agent and we informed M & T that my home is a fee simple not a condo. M & T refused to change the desigation unbeknownst to me, and the forced lender policy continued in effect. My original policy for XXXX was {$5000.00} and the condo forced lender insurance was an estimated {$4000.00}. In XXXX of XXXX, M & T notified me that my escrow was underfunded and advised me that my mortgate payment would increase another {$540.00}, bringing the total amount of escrow being paid monthly on my account to {$1800.00}. My mortgate payment without taxes and escrow is {$2200.00} a month, making these escrow payments absurdly inflated and unjustifiably. I contacted M & T again to request that the improper property use classification be corrected and the representative on the phone filed an review paperwork and finally the classification was updated to signify that my home is a fee simply. I then requested that M & T remove the forced condo insurance policy from my account and refund my escrow account. M & T requested proof of insurance, which I then provided via email on XX/XX/XXXX, along with evidence of XXXX dispersement of the payment for the XXXX policy and my new mortgage insurance policy with a different provider for XXXX ( XXXX  ). I then called M & T back on XX/XX/XXXX to find out why my XXXX  XXXX policy was not verified and the representative advised me that he would verify the policy at that moment and indicated that he in fact did so. On Saturday XX/XX/XXXX I received notification via text from M & T that my XXXX  XXXX policy was not processed. I then called M & T back on XX/XX/XXXX to find out the issue, and was advised that the XXXX  XXXX policy which is no longer active, needs to reflect that M & T was the mortgagee lender and not XXXX my original service provider. I asked why this information needs to be updated as the XXXX  policy is no longer active and the new XXXX  policy reflects M & T as the loan servicer, and the M & T rep said, the expired XXXX  policy has to be updated for M & T to verify my XXXX XXXX  policy and refund my money ( escrow ) for the lender enforced insurance policy. This request makes no sense and I requested that the issue be escalated as the XXXX  policy has expired and M & T being listed as the Mortgagee has no impact on the matter of whether I carried proper home insurance in XXXX. M & T refused to verify my XXXX XXXX policy so the escrow amounts on my account continue to be distorted, resulting in my paying more than {$1000.00} more each month for my mortgage payments. 

Issue 2 : Back in XXXX of XXXX I made an online mortgage payment to M & T and then the next week I received a notification that an additional month and half of mortgage payments were being withdrawn from my account. I immediately called M & T to find out why this money was being withdrawn without my authorization. M & T rep advised that they could verify who authorized the payment but that it " must have been me ''. I then stated very clearly that " I did not authorize this additional payment '' and I asked for the payment to be stopped. M & T refused to stop the payment and advised me to contact my own bank to stop the payment. I again indicated that this request was absurd because it is the M & T system that unlawfully withdrew money from my account, and the M & T rep again refused to stop payment or do anything about this unlawful withdrawal. I then contacted XXXX bank 's fraud department and put a stop to the pyament. I then immediately went back to the M & T online page and removed my checking account information from the M & T system and decided to make all payments via XXXX via my chase account. Then on XX/XX/XXXX I went onto the M & T system to make a payment for the increased amount of my mortgage payment ( which I did not receive notice of prior to my mortgage payment due date ) and the system refused to allow me to make that payment. I then called M & T and a service rep indicated that the M & T policy is that you can not make a partial payment on a mortgage payment. I then advised that on XX/XX/XXXX I made a {$3200.00} payment not knowing that my mortgage payment had increased to approx {$3700.00} and so I needed to pay the difference. I called into M & T on XX/XX/XXXX and I was advised that my {$3200.00} payment was sitting in a suspended account since XX/XX/XXXX. I then inquired under what authority the bank had the right to hold on to my payment and not apply it against my mortgage, thereby increasing my interest because my principal was not reduced by the payment amount. M & T advised that their policy is that if a full payment is not made it sits in a suspended account for a period of time and then applied to any late payments first and then the principal. I advised M & T that this was not lawful but moved on to making a payment for the remainder of the mortgage payment for XX/XX/XXXX. The M & T rep then indicated that the M & T system did not process any payments but that she would as a courtesy take a one time payment for the remainder of {$540.00} and combine it with the {$3200.00} already paid for the XXXX payment. The rep asked if I wanted to pay the late fees which I said " no '' as M & T needs to waive those fees for failure to properly notify me of the increase in payments and they needed to fix my escrow and insurance matter which would net me a substantial refund, and then conduct a new escrow evaluation which would net me a substantial refund. On Saturday XX/XX/XXXX I checked my chase checking account and saw that XXXX payments were withdrawn by M & T for {$540.00}. I then on XX/XX/XXXX called M & T to request a refund of the second withdrawal which was not authorized. M & T refused to refund me the money they improperly withdrew from my account because my current XX/XX/XXXX payment is due. The M & T XXXX then advised that if I did not pay the remaining {$3200.00} that the unauthorized payment would be applied to the late fees on my account which I expressly advised I did not wish to pay at this time. the M & T rep then advised that her supervisor advised that there was nothing they could do and they would not refund the money unlawfully pulled from my checking account. I then checked my M & T account and saw that despite having deleted my checking account from their system back in XXXX of XXXX when the first unlawful payment was made, M & T added back my checking account information into my profile. This is fraud! I did not authorize M & T to re-add my checking account information back to my profile, nor did I give M & T permission to pull a second {$540.00} from my checking account. M & Ts refusal to refund my money, the placement of my partial mortgage payment into a suspended account which impacts my interest on my loan, and their absolute refusal to comply with their legal obligations as a bank and as my mortgage service provider is unlawful and I will also be filing a legal claim. 

At the end of all this, my mortgage payment of {$2700.00} in XX/XX/XXXX when I bought the home at a 3.5 % interest rate increased to XXXX, then {$3200.00} after the XXXX XXXX  policy and tax increase. Then as of XXXX of XXXX my rate increased another {$540.00}, so that I am payment more than {$1000.00} more for my mortgage payment each month and a total of {$1800.00} in escrow payments after only 2 years of owning this home. The numbers alone on their face are astronomical and make no sense and should have warranted an investigations, but instead, when I called M & T to account for this increase, and to correct their improper classification of my home and enforced lender insurance policies I have been given the run around with no relief. Instead, M & T bank has now repeatedly unlawfully, and with out authorization pulled money from my checking account and refused to refund those amounts and fraudulently added my checking account information back to my profile after I deleted it. 

Bottom line, M & T bank is operating fraudulently and is unwilling to fix the errors to my account after proper evidence has been provided to the proper insurance and escrow department. I have repeatedly tried to work with M & T to have them correct the escrow and insurance matters to no avail. I have been given the run around and their policies intentionally unlawful. This type of behavior borders on predatory and should not be permitted. As a first time homebuyer it has soured my experience and I am ready to sell this house before I make one more payment to a fraudulent and unlawful entity such as M & T. 

I am hoping CFPB can do something to address these matters and I expect to also file a lawsuit for the fraud committed against me.