Consumer complaint received 2019-09-26
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — 
Company: Onity Group Inc. (MA)

In XX/XX/2019, my loan was sold to PHH. I had already paid my XX/XX/XXXX payment to the original owner of the loan on XX/XX/XXXX. 

This occurred as I was in the process of refinancing my loan to take advantage of the lower rates. 

PHH improperly applied the XX/XX/XXXX payment to escrow on XX/XX/XXXX, making my principal balance higher than it should have been. I discovered this issue on XX/XX/XXXX, as I was working with the loan officer for the refinance. 

I called and spoke with supervisor at the time and was told they would put in a request to have it fixed in 7-10 business days, but that they would attempt to escalate it. 

After not hearing anything, I called back on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX, and was informed that no request had been submitted on my account. I was then transferred to the escalation department to work with a representative there named XXXX. 

I let her know that I work a job that doesn't allow me to carry my phone on my between 9 and 5, so communication would need to be after hours or via email. XXXX promised to send me an email with contact details that day, so I could call directly and she could send me updates during the work day. 

After not receiving any communication on the XX/XX/XXXX, I called back the esclation department the XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX, and after an hour on hold and learned that XXXX had not submitted the request or sent an email. 

After still not receiving any communication I called back on the XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX, and spoke with another representative that was unable to connect me to XXXX. It took 45 minutes on hold to reach anyone in the escalation department. I received a templated email with no account details at XXXX on the XX/XX/XXXX. I sent an email requesting information, of which I have yet to receive a response to upon writing this complaint on the XX/XX/XXXX. 

On the XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX, I called the escalation department again. The request had been submitted and should have been resolved on the XX/XX/XXXX. 

On the XX/XX/XXXX, I called at XXXX. The escalation department line sent me into a hold, and after an hour of waiting, I called the main line at XXXX. That line mentioned the office was closed and hung up after the message. 

On today 's date, the XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX, I checked online again to see if my principal had been updated. For the first time, the system said that I had not made any payments, and that my account details would be available after I made my first payment. 

I called the escalation department at XXXX, and spent another 30 minutes on hold waiting to speak to someone. I was told the request had not yet been approved, but that XXXX would email me when it had been approved, and let me know I was okay to request a payoff statement. I expressed my frustration with the lack of communication, and asked to speak with a supervisor. I was told that all supervisors were in meetings and could not be reached. 

I called back again at XXXX, today, on XX/XX/XXXX, and spent 2 hours on hold, with my call dropping twice, once after 30 minutes, another after 25 minutes, while trying to reach the escalation department. Once I finally had someone on the phone, they told me the process had been approved, but that I would need to call back on the morning at XXXX XXXX to confirm that changes had properly gone through. 

I feel like the lack of communication and transparency about my account, the long wait times, the inaccessibility to login to the website unless you are on XXXX XXXX or using a XXXX XXXX browser, and the lack of customer service, is deliberately in place to discourage people from being able to easily access information on their accounts. Unless you are as determined as I have been, calling 1-2x a day, spending 30 minutes - 2 hours on hold, you may not see any action to resolve your account issues. 

In their responses to customers on other sites, in particular the XXXX XXXX XXXX, they have indicated that their escalation department would be reaching out, but given my experience, and the lack of communication provided in my situation, this is likely to be a blatant falsehood. 

At this point, my refinance closing will be after the 1st of XX/XX/XXXX, meaning my mortgage will be {$350.00} higher than it should have if ( 1 ) the XX/XX/XXXX payment had been applied correctly ( 2 ) If my original request on XX/XX/XXXX had been processed in a timely manner.