Consumer complaint received 2023-06-20
Product: Mortgage — VA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — 
Company: Movement Mortgage LLC (IL)

Movement Mortgage Contact XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX The complaint overview : I was lied to on multiple occasions when I was told multiple times I would be able to waive escrow as a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX exempt from property taxes in the state of XXXX and that a waiver form would be provide at closing for me to sign. At closing they refused to waive escrow, then told me that as soon as I submitted my application to the county and my deed recorded they would remove the escrow account and refund my money and lied about that as well. Furthermore, they violated CFPB by forcing a montly escrow payment that is way beyond what is reasonably expected to be paid from the escrow account. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I received a phone call from XXXX XXXX with Movement Mortgage. Movement Mortgage was my current lender of 3 years, and XXXX somehow saw that I was mortgage shopping. I was at the time in the middle of a loan processing with XXXX. XXXX wanted my business and told me that he could get me a lower rate ( based on what they were at that time ), and that rather than just a pre-qualification letter for me to take to sellers he would be able to do a pre-approval. I decided to give him my business as I had no issues with Movement up to that point. A decision I now very much regret. 
From the very beginning of the process I told him that I was XXXX XXXX XXXX with the XXXX and exempt from property taxes in the state of XXXX, and that it was important to me that I not have an escrow account. I was not required to have one with the current mortgage I had with them, for the past three years. 
Every time he sent me a revised good faith estimate I pointed out to him that it was showing amounts for an escrow account. Each time he assured me that it was just an estimate and that when it went to under writing and title it would be adjusted. I had no reason to doubt him. 
My closing was scheduled for XX/XX/XXXX. I had already closed on my home in XXXX  and all my household goods were in transit to XXXX. The evening of the XXXX I was sent closing documents to pre-sign. It included documents for an escrow account and added {$940.00} a month to my monthly mortgage payments. I emailed and called XXXX and told him I was not signing the documents until the escrow documents were removed and the docusign did not allow for partial signing. He said that was fine. He then sent two follow up emails telling me that an escrow waiver form would be waiting for me at closing. He even provided an example of what it was. Given everything that I had been through up to that point with this move and transaction I wasnt sure how closing would go and I had my realtor start looking for rental properties for me. I was financially invested, was at risk of losing XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX  XXXX if I had to rent and search for a new home, and the moving company was going to charge me {$1300.00} a day to hold my goods on the truck until I had a delivery location and date. 
I showed up at closing with my realtor and my attorney. There was no escrow waiver waiting for me, I was told I had to escrow. I was not going to sign the documents. I was extremely upset and told XXXX it felt like a bait-and-switch. I was repeatedly lied to and promises made were not being kept. 
XXXX was in communication with whomever he was communicating with, and my attorney called the XXXX XXXX tax office while at closing. The county stated the process was I could submit my application verifying my status as soon as I closed and my deed recorded. XXXX told me, my attorney, and my realtor that as soon as I did that I would be able to close my escrow account and get a refund. I foolishly trusted him once again. 
He made it worse by lying in an email after the fact saying that he didnt mean to deceive or mislead me that he thought I was talking about the seller taxes. He knew EXACTLY what we were talking about. I told him during multiple conversations that I understood I would either be credited at closing and responsible for the taxes or they would collect the money from the seller for XXXX and pay the bill directly. Whether it was the seller taxes or my taxes an escrow waiver is an escrow waiver. 
The XXXX bill owed by the seller was {$10000.00}. Instead of collecting it from the seller, what they did instead was reduce the amount of cash I had to bring to closing, then collected from me in settlement the first installment of {$4900.00} and paid it directly to XXXX XXXX, bringing the balance that would be due for XXXX down to {$1100.00}. They also collected an additional {$4100.00} from me to hold in escrow towards the 2nd installment rather than paying the bill in full. I have made one escrow payment of the {$940.00} with {$840.00} for taxes. That brings the balance down to {$340.00} for taxes. They show on the settlement statement that the estimated amount that will be due from the seller owned period for XXXX is {$3300.00}. 
In accordance with what was required of me from the County and Movement as stated at closing the escrow account was to be closed and I would be responsible for the XXXX bill of {$3300.00} or whatever it turns out to be. With the escrow account in place what is reasonably expected to be paid from the account would have been the remaining {$1100.00} for XXXX and the {$3300.00} for XXXX. This does not calculate out to {$840.00} a month for estimated taxes XXXX out at the next tax cycle. If they had not promised I would not have to escrow or were going to refuse to keep their promises the escrow amount would have been the uncollected {$1100.00} + the estimated $ XXXX {$4500.00} divided by XXXX = {$380.00}. But the fact remains they did not keep their promises made to me. They are continuing to blame the county. The county has no jurisdiction over escrow accounts. Escrow accounts are completely discretionary for lendersand there was no reason whatsoever for them to NOT KEEP THEIR WORD. 
They further collected a full year of insurance and a 4 month upfront towards XXXX. They tried to blame that on XXXX billing cycle. XXXX also could care less if I escrow. I paid a year up front and have been paying my insurance with them monthly for the past 4 yearsand monthly to other insurers prior to that. 
I even told them I would pay the balance of the bill upfront for them to send to XXXX XXXX. I even agreed to pay up front the estimated amount for XXXX to get them to take the monthly escrow payment off my monthly payment. They refused. 
The issue was escalated to XXXX XXXX. Who insisted that in all his years doing loans he has never seen or heard of an escrow account being waivedeven though it was waived on my previous loan WITH MOVEMENT. I also provided proof for him that on my last two homes I owned with different lenders escrow was also waived. I also told him that prior to that in XXXX I owned two homes one was rental with a XXXX loan and the other was my residence with a conventional loan. In both instances after 6 months of payments I was allowed to close escrowand paid my taxes and insurance myself. I would have to go back and pull my checking records to show I made the payments but I am prepared to do that. I had every reason to expect they would keep their word and I would not have to make monthly escrow payments or have an escrow account. 
The bottom line is, they made assurances in order to get my business and keep it. They made assurances in writing twice the day before closing, and then again verbally at the closing with my attorney and realtor as witnessesand Movement is NOT keeping their word and trying to collect {$940.00} a month from me all the way until next XXXX. They are violating Consumer Finance Protection laws that state they are only allowed to collect what they know is reasonably expected to be paid from the escrow account. They KNOW that based on XXXX state law I will not owe property taxes for more than the first 4 months. 
When I financed my home I put a {$200000.00} down payment and financed a larger amount in order to hold money back for home repairs. This resulted in a higher loan amount and monthly paymentand the added {$940.00} is putting an additional financial burden on me as I have XXXX grandchildren living with me that I support. Had I known they were going to do this to me I would have put more down and reduced my loan amount. It is LUDICROUS that they are putting me through this and refusing to just honor what I was told. There is XXXX risk of loss to them unless I stop making my monthly mortgage payment and am prepared to lose the {$200000.00} I put and into the home. I am permanently XXXX and unless the state of XXXX reverses their law exempting veterans form property taxes I will never owe taxes in XXXX as long as I submit the application every year as required. 
Over the weekend I submitted my complaint to the CEO and other leadership at Movement Mortgage. The response I got from XXXX XXXX was they are investigating why escrow was waived on my last loan with them and revisiting the XXXX XXXX tax filing process. I informed him that what was different on my last loan was the loan officer and the underwriter that understood STATE LAW. XXXX has the exact same exemption for XXXX XXXX and the exact same process with the exception that you only have to apply once. The county is not going to change their process and it stands to reason they do not provide a letter stating you are exemptit is the state law