Consumer complaint received 2020-10-24
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — 
Company: BSI Financial Holdings, Inc. (CA)

Complaint : BSI Financial Services has purchased our mortgage from XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX. At the time, they requested proof of insurance from us and my husband submitted it through the website XXXX, per BSIs request. On XX/XX/XXXX I received a collection call from BSI and since then I have spoken with numerous people in order to understand what they did to our account and make sure they correct their mistakes. Unfortunately, bringing customers accounts into default seems to be common place at BSI and I can only imagine how many customers have been victims of their unethical practices. I report our case below in details in hopes that you can help us by making sure BSI corrects their mistakes once and for all. 


History : Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX I received a collection call from BSI.  XXXX told me that they havent received payment for the last two months and wanted to know when to expect payment. I immediately checked my bank account and confirmed all payments have been sent on time, as usual ( we have autopay with XXXX XXXX XXXX ).  She then did some research and told me the reason the account was late was because the payments were lower than the amount owed and had been withheld. I asked why the amount had changed since we have a 30-year fixed mortgage and the amount should not have changed. She researched a little more and found out that BSI has paid insurance out of our escrow and that was the reason for changing our payment amount. I asked why they have paid insurance because we do not use our escrow account and have always paid our insurance and property taxes ourselves. She then  confirmed that it is true that we have paid XXXX. She said she was new and couldnt make the corrections, but a teller would call me back. 

Monday, XX/XX/XXXX Nobody called me to follow up on the corrections, so I called customer service to check the status of our account. XXXX was very helpful and explained that we needed to submit proof of insurance from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX in order to solve the problem, as BSI started withholding our  payments after they had paid ( duplicated ) insurance out of our escrow account. I told her we have submitted proof of insurance at the time, but I would send it again. 

Per BSIs request, I emailed XXXX proof of all 4 years of insurance the same day. 

Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX I received another collection call from BSI,  this time from XXXX. I explained the situation to her and she told me that no matter what I was behind one month on payments. She  asked if I wanted her to send me the payments history and I told her I needed BSI to correct their mistakes and bring our account current, as we have never missed any payments. I also told her I did not want to receive any more collection calls and wanted a confirmation when BSI has corrected their mistake and brought our account current, as it should be. 

Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX, BSIs Insurance Specialist, contacted Travelers asking for proof of insurance, even though I have already submitted proof to Customer Services on  XX/XX/XXXX. 

Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX I emailed XXXX and informed her I have already emailed proof to BSIs Customer Care and asked them to forward it to her. 

Friday, XX/XX/XXXX XXXX confirmed she received my file and was working on it. 

Monday, XX/XX/XXXX I emailed XXXX asking the status of our account. She replied right away saying she was in the process of fixing the account. She said she had received approval to remove the Force Place Insurance ( FPI ) and to refund all late fees. She also said it could take up to 5 days for me to see it on my end. XXXX was extremely helpful and reassured me she would make sure everything was correct in the end. 

Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX I asked XXXX if she was in communication with XXXX XXXX, from their Loss Mitigation Department, as I have received another letter from her talking about options to foreclosure. 

Friday, XX/XX/XXXX I followed up with XXXX because she didnt answer my last message and I needed to make sure XXXX XXXX was aware of BSIs mistakes and knew XXXX XXXX was making the necessary corrections. XX/XX/XXXX was the date BSI said they would declare all outstanding amounts under the Note immediately due if we havent cured the default by then. They were asking us to pay {$8800.00} in order to bring our account current, even though we have never missed any payments. 

XXXX replied to me the same day saying that currently our loan was showing due for XX/XX/XXXX. She explained there was a freeze on the account, so all the corrections could be made and that the freeze would be taken off when everything was complete. She ended saying she has done everything she could do on her end and she would send XXXX all her findings after she could see the full update on Monday, as they were still implementing changes to the account at the time. 

Saturday, XX/XX/XXXX I received another collection call from BSI, this time from XXXX. I explained the situation again and he said he was putting a hold on collection calls for a month in hopes BSI has corrected our account by then. 

Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX I called customer services to talk to XXXX, as she was the person assigned to be our contact, but they said she only helps customers who need help with getting credit. So, I spoke to XXXX and had to explain the whole situation once more. XXXX said the problem was that we made an extra payment on XX/XX/XXXX and this payment was applied to principal only. I told her the problem in our account was due to BSI mistakenly debiting our escrow for insurance and said this supposedly had already been corrected. She confirmed the insurance issue had been corrected, but when I said I havent made extra payments, she said she was looking at the wrong account ( which she wasnt ). She then said that we sent our XXXX payment late on XX/XX/XXXX. I explained this payment was XXXX, not XXXX, as XXXX XXXX XXXX always send our payments either on the XXXX of the month or the last business day of the month when the XXXX falls on a weekend or holiday. She then requested a research and said it would last 3 business days. I was told I could call on Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX, to get an update. 

Friday, XX/XX/XXXX I emailed BSI giving them an ultimatum and asking to be assigned a point person, so I dont have to explain myself again every time I call them. Even though I wrote URGENT on the email subject, nobody contacted me. In fact, I have never received answers to any of the three emails I sent them and the only calls they make are collection calls. 

Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX I called customer services again and, luckily, I was able to talk to XXXX, the first customer service agent I spoke to, the first time I called BSI on XX/XX/XXXX. She was not able to transfer me to a Supervisor, as I requested at the beginning of the call, but she was very helpful and was able to ask them to void an escrow check they issued by mistake in the process of removing the FPI from our escrow account. ( I knew it was a mistake to issue me a check instead of crediting our escrow account, so I didnt cash the check. ) XXXX also requested the correction of XXXX payment that has been wrongly processed as an extra payment and applied to principal only ( the same thing XXXX had mentioned, except she then said she was looking at the wrong account ). XXXX gave me her extension number, so I wouldnt have to repeat myself every time I call and also said she would let me know as soon as the XXXX payment was corrected XXXX they needed to credit back the {$44.00} that was sent to me via check in order to be able to apply the payment ). The supervisor that couldnt talk to me, but was communicating with XXXX in real time, told her the problem would be solved within 24 48 hours. I told XXXX that my husband and I learned today that BSI has ruined our credit score ( It went from  XXXX to XXXX ) and I needed BSI to contact the Credit Bureaus and correct their mistake urgently. 

Friday, XX/XX/XXXX After leaving multiple voice messages to XXXX, I called customer services to confirm if BSI had credited the {$44.00} to our account and applied the XXXX payment correctly. I asked to talk to a supervisor and supervisor XXXX assured me all the corrections were being finalized and once the account was brought up to date, BSI would be able to send letters to the Credit Bureaus explaining we were reported late and delinquent in error.  She estimated it to happen on Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX, due to the XXXX XXXX holiday. 

Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX I talked to supervisor XXXX again and she confirmed that all corrections were made and the credit letters were sent to the Credit Bureaus. I thought that BSI had finally fixed all their mistakes at this point. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I asked if the XXXX payment had been applied and she said it hadnt, probably due to post office delays. I checked with XXXX  XXXX XXXX the same day and they confirmed they had mailed a check to BSI on  XX/XX/XXXX. I emailed customer care to let XXXX know about it. 

Monday, XX/XX/XXXX I called customer service to confirm if the XXXX payment has been applied on time because the XXXX statement that I received was still showing XXXX as unpaid. I spoke with XXXX, who was very helpful, and he said the XXXX payment was applied on XX/XX/XXXX. I then asked him to explain a fee of {$34.00} charged to my account. I noticed that they charged our escrow account after all the corrections have been made and there was a negative balance of {$22.00} that I requested to be removed from the account. XXXX disputed the remaining {$12.00} and couldnt explain exactly what they were for, but said it was related to late payments. The statement listed it as a property inspection fee, even though my property has never been inspected. XXXX said that disputes take up to 5 business days to be resolved and he would get back to me. He assured me that the XXXX payment would be applied on time regardless of the fees, as I specifically asked about it. Now that our credit scores have been restored, the last thing I need is for BSI to withhold our payments  again and wrongly report us late. 

Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX Because Ive never received any calls to confirm that the charges have been removed from my account and the XXXX payment has been applied on time, I called customer service ( again! ). This time, I talked to XXXX. She said the escrow balance was XXXX, so the {$22.00} fee had been removed, but said the {$12.00} fee dispute was not resolved yet. She confirmed that the XXXX payment would be applied on time regardless of the fee. 

Friday, XX/XX/XXXX I called BSI at XXXX XXXX  and, after being on hold for 10 minutes, I was redirected to a voicemail. I left a message.

Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX I called BSI at XXXX XXXX  and requested a call back through their system, as they said the waiting period was 10 minutes. I called back one more time at XXXX XXXX  ( past the expected waiting time I was given of 10 minutes ), but was unable to talk to anyone again. I left a voicemail saying I would report BSI if I didnt receive a call back the same day. 

At XXXX XXXX, XXXX returned my call. She said the {$12.00} fee had been removed from my account, so I decided to ask her if the XXXX balance was {$2800.00} ( my 30-year fixed mortgage  payment amount ). She said yes. I then asked if there were any fees charged to my account and she said there was a late fee of $ XXXX. I told her the charges had to be removed. Her supervisor didnt talk to me directly, but told XXXX that the charges were made in error and would be removed. The call ended at XXXX XXXX  ( I was on hold for very long periods of time during the call and it lasted 30 minutes ). 

Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX I called BSI customer services at XXXX XXXX  because I received the XXXX statement and the late fee of {$56.00} ( {$22.00} Escrow + {$34.00} Late charges ) were still showing. The call once more went to a voicemail and I left a message. 

Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX I tried to call BSI again at XXXX XXXX, as nobody returned my call. After 10 minutes of wait, it went to a voicemail again. I left a message. 

Friday, XX/XX/XXXX BSI called me back at XXXX XXXX  and left a voicemail. I called again at XXXX XXXX  and requested a call back. I finally received a call back at XXXX XXXX. I spoke to XXXX ( the first customer service agent who called me on XX/XX/XXXX saying our account was 2 months late ). I realized it has been almost 3 months since this nightmare has started and it is hard to believe it is still not over. 

I explained to her that I was told on XX/XX/XXXX that the {$56.00} charges would be removed, but they were still showing in the XXXX statement and I was not sure if maybe the statement was issued prior to the correction. She said the charges have not been removed and couldnt be removed because they were late charges. She even mentioned the {$12.00} inspection fee again and at this point I said I wanted to talk to supervisor XXXX, as I have already talked to her a couple of times and she knew my case. After being on hold for a while, I was asked to leave XXXX a voice message because she was in a meeting. I told XXXX that BSI never calls me back when they say they will and asked to talk to any supervisor. After being on hold again, she said XXXX was now available and could talk to me. XXXX said she was requesting a research and someone was calling me back on Monday to let me know the status. I told XXXX BSI never calls me back and asked why she couldnt call me herself, so she agreed to call me back on Monday and make sure the charges are removed from my account. I told her I have XXXX confidence on BSI and said I do not know how BSI can still be in business. I also said I do not think these are mistakes, but intentional charges to make money out of customers. It is unethical and having worked 10 years in corporate banking, I have never seen anything even remotely close to what BSI has  been doing, not only to our account, but to hundreds of accounts ( based on online reviews and complaints ). XXXX might be able to remove the {$56.00} fees erroneously charged to our account and call me back on Monday as promised, but it has been almost 3 months since I started talking to BSI and every time, I thought it was over, there was another mistake the next month. I do not have the time or energy to be checking my statement every single month to make sure BSI didnt charge any fees to my account and applied my payment on time. I have a 30-year fixed mortgage with autopay, I do pay for insurance and property taxes on my own, and I have never  been late. Therefore, my loan should ALWAYS be current! There should be absolutely no extra charges or late fees of any kind. I want BSI to stop charging improper fees and keep our account up to date, as it should be.

*************************** In summary, BSI has debited our escrow account without permission to pay for insurance, even though we have always paid our insurance and property taxes directly. Because of this mistake, they added {$7.00} to our monthly  payments of {$2800.00} and started withholding our payments last XXXX because it was less than the total balance due of {$2800.00} ( {$2800.00} + {$7.00} ). They only applied XXXX payment when they received XXXX payment and kept doing that until XXXX, when they decided to apply the XXXX payment that we sent to principal only, making the account appear to be 60 days delinquent. BSIs Insurance Specialist XXXX XXXX started the process of removing the FPI from our escrow account, as well as all late charges after she received the proof that I submitted to Customer Care on XX/XX/XXXX. BSI then adjusted the way payments have been applied, so our account could finally be current. Once this process was finalized, BSI sent letters to the Credit Bureaus stating their errors in order to restore our credit, as we were never late sending payments and we were certainly not 60 days delinquent. Unfortunately, they did not stop the charges to our escrow account and have added other charges after they have finalized all the corrections on XX/XX/XXXX. This whole situation is unacceptable and any ethical company would be embarrassed and would have done something to compensate us from all the stress, time, and energy this whole mess has cost us. Instead, BSI keeps charging our account, never calls us back as promised, and lately it has been impossible to get through customer service. 

We have always had excellent credit and have never made any late payments to anyone. BSI reported us late multiple times, which ruined our credit scores. If that was not enough, we had to deal with the stress of receiving constant collection calls and a Notice of Default and Intention to Accelerate, even though we have never missed a payment. Our insurance broker has helped many of his customers facing similar problems with BSI, where they claim to have paid insurance on behalf of the customer, but can not provide any policy of such insurance. They have also charged customers for appraisals that were never performed. After talking to our insurance broker, Ive searched online and realized BSI has innumerous one-star reviews with Consumer Affairs and hundreds of complaints with CFPB. I tried to resolve the issue directly with BSI for almost 3 months, but I can not wait any longer. I need them to correct all their mistakes and never charge our account again for any improper fees. I do not understand how BSI is still allowed to operate, given their questionable actions against their customers that have been reported so many times already.