Consumer complaint received 2022-04-11
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — 
Company: U.S. BANCORP (NJ)

My pipes froze and burst XX/XX/XXXX. The plumber fixed the pipes quickly for {$390.00} but the flooding caused major damage rendering my house uninhabitable. My insurance is State Farm and my mortgage is US Bank. There is a financial relationship between these XXXX companies, but somehow not for insurance money. US Bank refuses to use electronic fund transfers or next day mail, and resists using email. As far as I can tell they have outsourced most of their loss draft work to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. I am far from the first person to have an issue with them - https : XXXX Mortgage banks can sell mortgages to other mortgage banks, but I can not take my mortgage to a bank I trust without completely refinancing my loan. I did not start with USBank but now I'm stuck with them and their terrible partner XXXX. Electronic banking is how things are done in XXXX. Today is XX/XX/XXXX and I have been unhappily living in a hotel for months. I blame US Bank. The first check I mailed them for water mediation ( removing damaged floors/walls/ceilings and drying it all out ) came back slowly via regular XXXX mail along with XXXX letter dated XX/XX/XXXX. It said to call them if I needed to send more checks, and I did have XXXX more checks so I called and the man said to use the same reference #. Now I know he was supposed to ask me about the total loss amount and tell me about their additional rules for losses over {$40000.00}. When they received the XXXX checks, XXXX for most of the loss and XXXX for {$390.00} to reimburse me for the plumber, they snail-mailed them back to me with no endorsement and a longer letter dated XX/XX/XXXX. This letter lies, because it says they are " committed to helping you get your claims as fast and as easily as possible. '' Electronic fund transfers are fast and easy and possible ; paper checks and snail-mail are slow and have more steps for error. I believe US Bank is more interested in maximizing profit by outsourcing work to other companies ( literally not servicing my loan by paying someone else to do it poorly ) and making sure they never mail anything priority mail ( to save money on postage? ). Now that I understood their additional rules about sharing estimates etc. I followed them. It did not do any good. They insisted they had not received only XXXX doc, the receipt for {$390.00} from the plumber, and according to XXXX they reversed their entire cumbersome check cutting process on XX/XX/XXXX because they didn't have that receipt. But they did have it, since XX/XX/XXXX, and I have the sent email to prove it. Plus it's XXXX separate checks, so if you have an issue with XXXX stop that tiny one not the other one for {$32000.00}. I filed an internal complaint with them XX/XX/XXXX. It still didn't do any good. I was told to call them XX/XX/XXXX to get my tracking # for the complete payment. XXXX told me everything was " completed '' but kept me on hold for XXXX minutes looking for the " priority '' tracking #. I thought the call dropped ( no hold music ) so I called back and XXXX said no they were still working on it. That call did drop and she chose not to call back. Every time you call them they ask for your # to call you back in case a call is dropped. This is another lie. They will not call you back. I've called them at least a dozen times so far and received only XXXX call back, and XXXX emails back. When you call there is an automated system that has never given me accurate information. " Representative '' is not a choice, but once it's done giving you false info and tries to get you to pick another choice if you say " Representative, '' listen to the menu start again and then say " Representative '' again, only then you will get to talk to a XXXX employee. To talk to someone at US Bank you need to tell whoever is not helping you that you need to talk to a XXXX. XXXX was pretty good on XX/XX/XXXX. She is the only XXXX who did anything helpful -- she even agreed to receive email! More typical is XX/XX/XXXX when XXXX didn't tell me that everything had been reversed on XX/XX/XXXX. It's probably not the fault of individual employees, but from my end it's impossible to tell. Today is XX/XX/XXXX. The automated response is still stuck on {$390.00} plumber XXXX and says it's pending an inspection appointment, and that my {$0.00} disbursement is on its way. I went through the menu and got XXXX somehow. He's a XXXX, the one I talked to on XX/XX/XXXX who told me everything was set and to call XX/XX/XXXX for the tracking number. This is the first time I've spoken to the same person twice, so somehow I was hopeful. This feeling was foolish. XXXX said he was looking at the check for the total amount, but still could not give me a tracking number. We enjoyed disappointed silence for awhile because their " teams runs very very slow. '' He said despite reported " approval '' for priority mail it had gone out snail-mail. How can I believe anything they say? He apologized, again. I asked what happens when I pay my mortgage late? Can I apologize and avoid fees etc.? Repeatedly? He did not answer but I'm pretty sure the answer is no -- I have to remit on time or pay penalties every time. As far as I can tell there are no consequences for when US Bank services my loan poorly, so they do.