Consumer complaint received 2023-04-05
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — 
Company: Shellpoint Partners, LLC (CA)

My Home Mortgage Company Shellpoint acquired my loan XX/XX/XXXX. They have placed me in an Escrow/Impound account for taxes and homeowners insurance and have refused multiple written and verbal requests to remove the impound account that I do not need or want. I have repeatedly asked them verbally and via email to stop paying my taxes and stop charging me Escrow funds and they have refused. My taxes are current, overpaid and double paid by me, and not due again until XX/XX/XXXX. My Homeowners insurance is current and paid by me annually and not due again until XX/XX/XXXX. My credit score is XXXX. I have owned my own home without an escrow/impound account since XXXX and don't need one now. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I sold my prior home and purchased a new home on XXXX XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX. I did not receive the XXXX  XXXX XXXX tax bill for XX/XX/XXXX and did not receive a duplicate bill until XX/XX/XXXX despite my multiple requests to the tax assessor. Likewise although I was eligible and filled out the paperwork for a Transfer of Assessment to a replacement property at the time of my home purchase, XXXX XXXXXXXX had not yet done a reassessment which would substantially decrease my annual tax payment ( Decrease from $ XXXX to $ XXXX ). Nor did they send me a tax bill ... although I was told by my realtor that it was not unusual for there to be a significant delay with the change of ownership. 

In XX/XX/XXXX I was in the process of obtaining a HELOC with XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX for some home improvement projects. They advised me that my XX/XX/XXXX tax payment was delinquent. I explained that I was unable to pay it without the PIN that is printed on the tax bill and had not yet received a duplicate bill despite multiple tries on the county tax website. I further explained that I had the funds in cash, in the bank and was ready to pay it. They told me that they would pay the tax bill during the close of the escrow for the HELOC - and that if I tried to pay it before that, it would likely delay closing of the HELOC. Unfortunately to my dismay, XXXXXXXX XXXX delayed closing the HELOC until XX/XX/XXXX and the TAX payment was not recorded by XXXX XXXX Tax Assessor until XX/XX/XXXX! ( XXXX XXXX is the Title company that transferred the funds from XXXX and XXXX XXXX to the XXXX XXXX Tax Assessors on XX/XX/XXXX ) BUT Shellpoint ALSO paid the taxes on the exact same date and it was recorded by XXXX  XXXX on the same day. On XX/XX/XXXX I called Shellpoint and explained the situation to them and they said they would have to wait until the taxes were refunded to them. Three weeks later XXXX XXXXXXXX refunded the taxes to Shellpoint. On XX/XX/XXXX Shellpoint was refunded the duplicate taxes they had paid on my behalf- but then 6 days later even prior to the next tax due date they paid the XX/XX/XXXX tax installment!! 

By this time I had finally received a tax bill and using the PIN was able to pay my XX/XX/XXXX taxes on time, online. I paid $ XXXX not knowing that Shellpoint also had paid the same amount again! Complicating this further, my taxes were already being overpaid ( as well as double paid ) as the County Tax assessor had not yet changed my tax basis due to my age XXXX and prior home ownership/lower tax basis. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I paid the lowered remaining taxes ( part 2 installment ) WAY ahead of the due date for part XXXX XX/XX/XXXX... Unfortunately, AGAIN Shellpoint paid the taxes that were not due until XXXX early as well. XX/XX/XXXX, I was able to get to the downtown office of the XXXX XXXXXXXX Tax Assessor and despite the Covid restrictions the tax office was open and I was finally able to speak to a person, get a copy of my tax bill and payment history. I confirmed that I was overpaid and double paid and asked if they could call Shellpoint and explain that I was overpaid and double paid but they advised me that the county takes awhile to process refunds and double payments and that I should have Shellpoint call them to speak to their supervisor ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX ) Although I requested Shellpoint do that, they did not attempt to do so as far as I know. 

XX/XX/XXXX I called Shellpoint again and they said they needed a signed, not just emailed request to stop the escrow account and that I should speak to the person who is contracted by them to pay the taxes for their accounts. I wrote this whole story up again and did both of those and was told they'd get back to me. XX/XX/XXXX they responded to my request but stated that my letter did not have any new information despite the docs and records I sent them and the answer was still NO. 

So as of XX/XX/XXXX I am supposed to be paying my usual mortgage of ~ $ XXXX plus the escrow extra funds $ XXXX ). When I last spoke to them the person at Shellpoint thought that this should be cleared up before the XX/XX/XXXX mortgage and impound payment was due. Since I have now heard NO from them again, two weeks ago in addition to my mortgage and my usual rounded up extra principal payments, I also sent them a check for the escrow payments for XXXX XXXX and XXXX ( {$6600.00} for XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX ) This is for the escrow payments for the taxes that are already overpaid/ paid in full thru XX/XX/XXXX and Homeowners insurance also not due again until XX/XX/XXXX. 

And lastly the XXXX XXXX Tax Assessor has just sent me a refund check for {$5400.00} for the remaining XX/XX/XXXX tax payment that I paid on XX/XX/XXXX since Shellpoint had already paid it! 

I can't make another payment to XXXX XXXXXXXX ahead of Shellpoint because they won't even have the tax bills ready or accept further tax payments until XX/XX/XXXX. Can you please please get them to close the escrow impound account? And I can go back to paying my usual rounded up mortgage, and continue paying my own taxes and insurance.