Consumer complaint received 2021-02-19
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — 
Company: MONEY SOURCE, INC., THE (CA)

I refinance my mortgage with XXXX  in XX/XX/XXXX and The Money Source ( TMS ), which better describes as a " sub-servicing partner ''. 

I have an escrow account with TMS and they are responsible for paying property taxes to XXXX XXXX County as well as my homeowner 's insurance premium. 

As the deadline, XX/XX/XXXX, of my property tax payment approached I grew concerned that TMS might not pay in time. I called up TMS on XX/XX/XXXX and asked them about the timing of my property tax payment. TMS told me that " had the projected amount from last year in their system '' and that after speaking with me they updated their numbers to {$3200.00} ( my property tax payment ). The rep assured me that property taxes would be paid on time, i.e. at that time they had not made a disbursement. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I still had not seen the property taxes paid on the county website ( I realize things are processed late ) and out of caution called up TMS again. I spoke to several reps on this call. I finally reached someone from the tax department who expressed surprise that the payment had still not been sent out. In her words " it says here clear as day '' that TMS is responsible for paying taxes and homeowner 's insurance. She told me to call back in 10 business days to check ( for a third time ). At this point I had been penalized 10 % by the county for a late payment of {$320.00}. 

I continued to check on the county website for several more weeks to check if my tax payment was received. 

I called into TMS again on XX/XX/XXXX to check on once again on the status of my tax payment. The rep told me that it was " paid on XX/XX/XXXX '' for the exact amount. They did not pay for the late fee but opened a case to " investigate '' whether they were responsible for the late fee. I faxed in a letter to them the next day. That fax was never received as I found out a week later, since the rep on XXXX gave me the wrong fax number. I sent a second, identical letter to the second fax number TMS gave me a day later. I also decided to mail in a personal check to pay the interest to avoid yet another penalty. 

The country returned my check with a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX saying they could not accept my {$320.00} check because they still had not received the original {$3200.00}. 

I called TMS again on XX/XX/XXXX and asked them to confirm, again, that the tax payment was complete. The rep told me once again that it was. I asked them for proof XXXX again XXXX and after a lot of waiting they finally decided to provide me with a tracking number. The rep told me first that the payment was electronic and that it was " bundled '' with other payments. I asked for the total so that I could speak with XXXXhe county and after another long hold the rep told me she was mistaken and that the tax payment was actually made, one, by check and, two, by the exact amount of {$3200.00}. The rep could not provide a tracking number. The rep, again after a lot of imploring, looked up the check and confirmed that the check was never cashed. The rep told me they would open a second investigation into my situation - this investigation to determine what happened with the delayed check which they ( purportedly XXXX sent which was never cashed or perhaps never arrived at XXXX XXXX County. The rep told me that it would take until at least XX/XX/XXXX to finish their investigation. XXXX XXXX County would assess me another 10 % penalty on top of my existing 10 % penalty on XX/XX/XXXX if they did not receive the original funds plus {$320.00}. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I sent in to XXXX XXXX County an electronic payment of {$3600.00} XXXX the original property tax payment plus the 10 % penalty XXXX to avoid a second penalty. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, TMS notified me via email that they are transferring my account to another mortgage servicer. I am concerned that they are retaliating against me for trying to hold them responsible for doing their job and possibly transferring me to another provider to make it more difficult for me to get a resolution to my two cases.