Consumer complaint received 2019-09-11
Product: Mortgage — FHA mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage — 
Company: Freedom Mortgage Company (TX)

I am writing to inform you of the experience I had doing a streamline FHA refinance with Freedom Mortgage. I have been a customer since XXXX and have had on time payment history. I havent really had any issues ( outside of unpaid tax bills ), but I feel like Id be doing every other customer a disservice by not sending this letter about my customer experience. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I was called and emailed by a loan officer- XXXX XXXX XXXX review rates I could be eligible for to reduce my payment. I had a great conversation with him, and we set up a plan to move forward. He said this process is very easy and typical closing is about 21 days after initial contact. Since we are paying for a wedding and trying to reduce expenses, this made sense. He requested a few documents, which were sent within 24 hours as he requested. No problem. 
Afterward, I was assigned to a processor, XXXX XXXX. XXXX  first contact was asking for the same documentation I had already given XXXX. Maybe they didnt share information, but fineI sent it over within 24 hours again. She said I can log in at any time to track the status and someone will reach out closer to the closing date. The initial contact her was XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, she asked for a bank statement because the funds to close would be higher than anticipated due to the negative escrow balance. I sent it on XX/XX/XXXX. It took a while for me to get back in touch with her, which was concerning because by XX/XX/XXXX, I heard nothing. We still had a payment due for our XX/XX/XXXX payment, so I messaged her on XX/XX/XXXX to ask if we are closing and if not, we are going to pay the mortgage. No reply. On XX/XX/XXXX, she called to let me know underwriting needed a letter of explanation about when we moved it. It was provided the same day. She said it may be in my best interest to pay the mortgage, so I dont receive any late fees-which I did. I never spoke to XXXX again, nor has she or her manager replied to any correspondence via email. 

After this, I was moved on to XXXX XXXX via email stating Ill receive my closing disclosure and I need to acknowledge it by XX/XX/XXXX. I immediately replied stating I didnt have it. I told her I received an estimate that I signed over that weekend, but there were two different documents with two different amounts, so I wasnt sure which one was accurate. Same as with XXXX, I never heard from XXXX again nor has she replied to any correspondence via email. 

After emailing XXXX, she never replied, so I called. No answer from countless voicemails and attempts to reach someone, including managers. From there- it has been a whirlwind. I received a call from XXXX XXXX  that my new date would be XX/XX/XXXX. I still hadnt received the disclosure or any idea of what was due at closing. On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX, the notary called stating she never received the CD so unfortunately, we werent closing. This is after I made SEVERAL ( at least 15 ) calls to Freedom to get an update. I kept getting transferred around and NO manager would reply, take the call or even send an email. On XX/XX/XXXX I call back and I spoke with XXXX XXXX. He states its been handled poorly and he will make it right. He said since we were so close to being late again on our mortgage payment, since our original date was set for XX/XX/XXXX, it may be in my best interest to pay the XX/XX/XXXX bill due and we could close at the end of the month. So at this point, we have to understand that Ive already paid {$2100.00} for my mortgage and Im about to come up with another {$2700.00} to close on the loanwhen it couldve been handled in a timely manner and I wasnt out of pocket all of this in the same month. He set the expectation to call me Monday XX/XX/XXXX to let me know where we stand, and he scheduled closing for XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX. He also said most correspondence would come via email, which they havent. On XX/XX/XXXX, he didnt call of course, so I called him directly. He answered but had no clue who I was. He said he is still waiting on information. He said he had me down to call at XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. Again, he didnt follow through. I was scheduled to close for again and STILL didnt know how much, what my new payment would be, or honestly, is this even worth my time? As you could imagine, I was furious. Understanding that Freedom clearly needs to do some hands-on customer training, I called XXXX who gave me another managers number, XXXX XXXX whom I called and left a message for but never heard back. It was closing day at XXXX and I was told the funds needed at closing, however this is after I called a customer service rep who was nice enough to look it up and tell me verbally, even though she tried to transfer me to the closing team but they were unavailable. I still to date havent received a CD, but at this point, I wanted to get everything done so I left work early, went to the bank and got the check. I realized that what Freedom is doing is ILLEGAL. How can a lender not send someone a CD at least 3 days in advance per law? XXXX didnt receive the CD until the day of as well. This is unacceptable. I am shocked that a company this large doesnt have the right parameters in place to prevent any of this from happening and Im confident Im not the only one this is happening to. 

Furthermore, after finally getting through this totally unnecessary process, XXXX XXXX calls me on XX/XX/XXXX to confirm my closing. The closing that already happened the day prior. Which he would have known if he did his job and called me as scheduled like he was supposed to. Keep in mind, after signing over 200 pages of documents, the only COPY of disclosures I have was received at the time of signing. Freedom Mortgage should really be ashamed of how this account has been mishandled on so many different levels. I understand mistakes happen and people drop the ball, we are human. But from the loan officer to processing to scheduling to closing? I could not imagine being a first-time buyer and ever using Freedom Mortgage. Today is now XX/XX/XXXX and we still havent closed on this loan. I spoke to a manager over a week ago ( XXXX XXXX ) and he said he would follow up with me when everything was done and get closing scheduled. I received a call to schedule closing for XX/XX/XXXX. To date, I havent spoken to him about the CD and what was needed from me at closing, nor has he returned my email after 5 hours. This is now the 3rd month that this company has put me in a position to pay my mortgage late due to lack of communication. After this month, if we dont successful, Im forced to believe that not only does no one care about this, but its a blatant disrespect for my time and energy. 

As of today, XX/XX/XXXX, we are scheduled to close. I received a call from processing that my new closing cost are {$5000.00}. 2 weeks prior they were {$2700.00}. The rep said due to the time of year, I would have to provide 12 months of taxes paid since it's XXXX. This loan was set to close initially in XXXX, then XXXX and now XXXX due to unfair business practices.