Consumer complaint received 2017-05-15
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — 
Company: Onity Group Inc. (CA)

I currently have a mortg age with a variable interest rate ( ARM ) serviced by OCWEN Loan Servicing, LLC,  which happened to adjust around  XXXX  of   XXXX  increasing the total monthly payment amount by {$83.00} to {$3200.00}. Over the years on two separate occasions, Ive attempted loan modification thru OCWEN in hopes of a better fixed rate but to no avail. That said, in order to ensure my monthly obligation to OCWEN, I have an auto-pay setup thru   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   . Unfort unately, due to an extensive travel schedule in  XXXX  and  XXXX  I was away from home for most of those months. Unfortunately, I was unaware of the increase and consequently my payments for  XXXX ,  XXXX  and  XXXX  were each short by {$83.00}. Once I became aware of the oversight, I IMMEDIATELY made a payment for the balance and brought my account current. Why wasnt I notified? Why did n't  OCWEN  notify me by phone that my account was approaching delinquency ( 30 Day s Late )? A tri vial {$83.00} short? Consequently,  OCWEN  reported to the credit bureaus for all three months as MISSED PAYMENTS ( 30 Days Late ). The FACT is, those payments were NOT MISSED nor LATE.  OCWEN  accepted each paymentand even sent email confirmations acknowledging receipt of each PAYMENT ( note : the email confirmations did not specify PARTIAL payment but rather, PAYMENT RECEIVEDleading me to believe as I traveled, my affairs were in order ). Lastly, OCWEN chose to hold those payments in a suspense account rather than any number of other optionsall over an {$83.00} shortage.     I am a responsible business owner who relies unequivocally on my credit worthiness and am incredibly concerned at this point. I understand and furthermore respect the integrity and the basic underlying policy of servicers reporting those who blatantly disregard their responsibilities and under no unique circumstances, do not make any effort to bring their accounts current. However, this is not  one  of those situations.     According to the Consumer Financial Protection Burea u ( CFPB ), it appears two of   the  three  ( 30 Days Late ) reports to the credit bureaus (  XXXX  and  XXXX   ) are in VIOLAT ION of the CFPB Rule  XXXX  - Early Intervention Requirements for Certain Borrowers Live Contact Rule. The rule states as follo ws : 1024.39 Early Inte rvention Requirements for Certain Borrowers - Live Contact : A servicer shall establish or make good faith efforts to establish LIVE CONTACT with a delinquent borrower no later than th e 36th day of the  borrower 's delinquency and, promptly after establishing live contact, inform such borrower about the availability of loss mitigation options if appropriate.     Due to the unique circumstance, had OCWEN abided by the CFPB Live Contact Rule and in good faith contacted me via a simple phone call no later than the 36th day, I would have gladly brought my account current and made the necessary adjustments to my auto-pay. Therefore, at the most I would have been a few days delinquent past my  30-day  grace period. However, I received NO CALLS! I was not provided the REASONABLE and FAIR opportunity to be informed of the shortage in my payment. I was not made aware of the situation until early  XXXX . As a result, I am left to deal wit h ( 3 ) consecutive ( 30 Days Late ) ma rks on my creditresulting in a total drop of my  credit score b y over  XXXX  points. This is simply UNFAIR!!!.     Im hoping OCWEN will consider our long lasting relationship and realize Ive been faithfully making my monthly payments since   XXXX  . Consequently, I would ask OCWEN to forgive the mistake and have all thr ee ( 30 Days Late ) mark s removed from my credit report. The payments were made as scheduled. Had I received a simple live contact phone call as specified in the CFPB Guidelines, I would have appreciated the opportunity and paid the trivial {$83.00}. That said, at a minimum, both ( 30 Days Late ) reports for  XXXX  and  XXXX  are in VIOLATION of the CFPB Live Contact Rule and therefore not valid. I respectfully ask and hope  XXXX  will honor my request.      I imagine the CFPB Live Con tact rule was designed and put in place for this very reason. People travel much more these days for both work and leisure and therefore have come to rely more and more on technology including mobile phones as well as paperless statements, email notifications on account status and payments, etc. Its not only reasonable to expect mortgage servicers to adapt and to make these types of services available in order to better and more fairly communicate with its borrowers.     I appreciate your understanding and look forward to your reply.