Consumer complaint received 2018-08-31
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — 
Company: MOUNTAIN WEST FINANCIAL, INC. (NV)

I am currently paying $ XXXX/month in mortgage insurance and was requesting to have it removed. I had been through the process and was told I was eligible to order an appraisal after my 24th payment and after I filled out the required paperwork. I did so and sent my check for {$470.00} that was cashed by Mountain West on XX/XX/XXXX. I had mailed the check on XX/XX/XXXX. After I saw my check was cashed, nobody reached out to me  regarding my appraisal for weeks. Upon reaching back out to Mountain West, I was told they would need another {$75.00} for the appraisal, which I put in the mail. This puts us towards the end of XX/XX/XXXX. I followed up again to see what the delay was and was told that I had a 30 day late in the month of XX/XX/XXXX and was no longer eligible to remove my mortgage insurance. I had no prior notification and my account had been reviewed prior to ordering the appraisal in XX/XX/XXXX/XX/XX/XXXX, because the PMI Administration employees told me there had to be a review prior to sending me the PMI removal paperwork. The issue with the XX/XX/XXXX payment was a nightmare. I had for months been trying to set up bi-weekly automatic payments and thought I had finally had that resolved in XX/XX/XXXX. I had filled out the required paperwork and copied a voided check and spent hours on the phone getting this set up. The last rep I had spoke with assured me that I was set up and that my first payment would be drawn the first Friday in XX/XX/XXXX. The payment did not clear my account that Friday, so I immediately called to try to figure out what had happened. I was on hold for hours, so I just called back in and made an automated payment over the phone. The following week, I could see neither my auto-draft nor phone payment had cleared, so I called back. After holding for an extended period of time, I went back to the phone payment menu and the automated system told me I was current and did not have a payment due until XX/XX/XXXX, so I assumed it was just taking time for the payment to clear my account. On the XX/XX/XXXX, I received a notice in the mail that my payment was delinquent and that I had been assessed a late fee of {$82.00}, so I had a balance of {$4200.00} XX/XX/XXXX. I immediately made that payment through my XXXX  XXXX XXXX bill pay, and it cleared my account XX/XX/XXXX. Mountain West did not process the payment until XX/XX/XXXX. My complaint is that n undue burden was placed on me to make my payment in a timely manner. The scheduled auto-pay failed, I had no access to live reps on the phone, my automated phone payment failed when I had plenty of funds in the bank, and the phone system gave me false information when I called a second time. I made efforts on four separate occasions to make payments and acted quickly upon learning payment had not been received to make payment and it still wasn't processed until XX/XX/XXXX. I should have been notified of the late which I disagree strongly with and my appraisal check should have never been cashed if they had properly reviewed my account and were not going to allow me to move forward with PMI removal. I also have been trying since XX/XX/XXXX  to have my appraisal payment returned. It was cashed and no services were rendered. I have emailed PMI administration and contacted Mountain West at least 5 time regarding the matter, and there seems to be a refusal to return my payment.