Consumer complaint received 2019-07-06
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — 
Company: U.S. BANCORP (WA)

This complaint regards US Bank/US Bank Home Mortgage/US Bank Escrow US Bank employee XXXX XXXX packed my mortgage with mortgage escrow services without informing me that the low rates he was quoting were contingent upon the loan having escrow services. He did this despite my informing him that we wanted a conventional mortgage with no added fees or escrow services. He concealed that fact that he intended the loan to have mortgage escrow services until I was fully engaged in a contract to purchase a home. Once I discovered that XXXX XXXX intended my loan to have escrow services, I immediately informed him in writing that I did not want escrow services. A conversation ensued, and I was told by Mr. XXXX that escrow services would be removed from the final loan paperwork. Despite my withholding of the signed mortgage application, Mr. XXXX authorized the ordering of an appraisal for the contract to purchase my home. I asked that the appraisal be postponed, but US Bank did not stop the appraisal. I identified multiple factual errors in this appraisal to Mr. XXXX, and he and US Bank refused to nullify the appraisal. The loan processing was not complete by the first closing date, and it was not complete by the extended closing date, and we were forced to either waive all contingencies to our earnest money or possibly loose the right to purchase the home due to these delays. A third closing date of XX/XX/XXXX was agreed upon by the sellers. XXXX XXXX did not send me the final loan documents for review prior to closing. He sent the documents to the title insurance company one day prior to closing on XX/XX/XXXX. My closing appointment on XX/XX/XXXX was my first opportunity to review the documents, including the new GFE that he had dated XX/XX/XXXX. I observed that Mr. XXXX had setup the new GFE to include escrow services despite our agreement that it would not. At closing, prior to signing the documents, the closing officer and I called and spoke to the loan processor, XXXX XXXX. My wife was also present for this phone call. I informed XXXX that my loan was not supposed to have escrow services attached. She told us that the GFE could not be changed without further delaying the closing date. I asked if we would be able to cancel the escrow account after the loan was processed, and if there would be any fees for cancelation. She informed us that the escrow services could be canceled/waived after the loan was active for 12 months. She stated that there was not fee to waive the escrow services. Her comments were supported by the loan documents, which also did not state that a fee would be required to cancel escrow services. We felt like we had no other choice but to proceed with the loan which included the GFE that Mr. XXXX had prepared despite this being against our wishes. I believe Mr. XXXX deliberately caused us to enter into a loan with escrow services for his own benefit, despite these services not being required or requested. We signed closing documents and paid our loan as agreed. In XXXX, XXXX I was told by a US Bank customer service/escrow representative that a fee of approximately {$1100.00} would be necessary in order to waive escrow services. I was told that the fee amounted to an interest penalty of 0.25 %. I told them that I had a no-penalty loan and that this fee was not enumerated in any agreement that I was given or signed at closing. I also told them that I had not been pleased with the accounting of the US Bank escrow department and provided a few specific examples. They told me that I could write or e-mail US Bank a complaint to seek a resolution. In XXXX, XXXX I wrote US bank to cancel my escrow account without a fee and explained how I was lead to believe by Mr. XXXX that escrow services would not be part of my final loan documentation, and that I was further told by Mr. XXXX loan processor after discovering the error at closing, that there would not be any fee associated with closing/waiving the escrow services. This e-mail was received by US Bank, but I did not receive a timely reply, so I contacted customer support. Customer support reviewed my loan history and submitted letter, and determined that I should not have been required to have escrow services, and that escrow services would be waived from my account without a fee. This phone call was on XX/XX/XXXX. I followed up with US Bank to make sure that this process was proceeding, and it was. I later discovered that the US Bank escrow department overturned this customer service decision and was still demanding I pay a fee to waive my escrow. US Bank failed to inform me of this decision until after they reported my account delinquent for under-funding their escrow. US Bank reported my account as delinquent to the credit bureaus despite my on-time payment as agreed by their decision on XX/XX/XXXX and specified in my mortgage note. The errors committed by US Bank have caused me significant consumer and personal harm. I have obliged to their process to resolve my compliant, yet US Bank has provided me with no resolution to remedy the harm they have caused. 

Here is the timeline of events since being told by US Bank that I owe them a fee to waive my escrow account in XX/XX/XXXX : XX/XX/XXXX : I sent the letter to US Bank complaints to cancel my escrow account. Following the letter, I kept receiving phone calls from USB that I was late for my payments. I used US Banks secure messaging system to inquire about this, and received a response from a US Bank customer service supervisor. I have saved a copy of this dialogue. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX I received a phone call from US Bank XXXX and when I returned the call the agent claimed that I had not made my XXXX, XXXX payment. I explained that I had made the payment on XX/XX/XXXX and that I had written to cancel my escrow account and was waiting for confirmation for that to happen. When I got off the phone, I sent an e-mail through US Banks secure messaging system. I received a reply from US Bank employee XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. I replied to Mr. XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. The next day, after not receiving a reply, I called US Bank and asked to speak to a supervisor in the customer service department. I spoke to US Bank employees Briar ( ID # XXXX ) and XXXX ( ID # XXXX ) on XX/XX/XXXX. I explained everything above and pointed the agent to the XX/XX/XXXX letter I sent to cancel my escrow services. XXXX  and XXXX put me on hold for a long time, and then came back on the phone and apologized for the inconveniences this had caused me, and that my letter had been responded to on XX/XX/XXXX, but that the response was incorrect and that I was indeed not required to pay a fee to cancel my escrow service, that I was eligible to cancel the escrow services, and that he had made the appropriate changes to cancel my escrow services according to my written request while I was on the phone with him. He confirmed that the XXXX taxes would be paid out of escrow, the late fee would be reversed, and that my new payment amount for XXXX, XXXX and thereafter would be the principle and interest amount of {$2000.00}. After this lengthy phone call, I logged into the bank where I keep my checking account and made the change to my scheduled mortgage payment for XX/XX/XXXX and thereafter to be {$2000.00}. A few days later I received a copy of the referenced incorrect US Bank letter that was dated XXXX XXXX, XXXX. This letter and its conclusions was disregarded, because the customer service agent had reviewed its findings and overturned its outcome during my XX/XX/XXXX phone call. On XX/XX/XXXX I logged into US Bank to verify that the late fee had been reversed and that my property taxes were scheduled to be paid as promised during my XX/XX/XXXX phone call. Both things had happened, but I did not observe that my payment due amount had been changed to {$2000.00}, so I secure messaged Mr. XXXX to inquire when I should expect to see this change. On XX/XX/XXXX Mr. XXXX replied to my message saying that the The task to adjust the current payment is set to be complete by XX/XX/XXXX, however, these are normally carried out well before the expected due date. I understood this to mean that the matter was closed. I have a copy of Mr. XXXX secure messages. Multiple US Bank customer service employees have since corroborated these facts after reviewing my account notes. 

XXXX, XXXX through XXXX, XXXX I received no further written correspondence from US Bank through secure  messaging or mail. I received one phone call from US Bank from this period, which I returned or answered. The customer service agent calling me asked me about my payments. I informed them that US Bank canceled my escrow account on XX/XX/XXXX and asked that they refer to the information on my account and update their records. They apologized for the inconvenience and the call ended. Sometime following this call I decided to go by a local US Bank branch ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, WA ) and I spoke with an employee named XXXX. I asked that she confirm that the changes from XX/XX/XXXX had taken place and that my account was updated. XXXX said that she saw where the changes were supposed to happen, but said they were not updated. She made a call and said that she would look into the matter further and get back to me once she had more information. 

XXXX, XXXX : I receive a letter in the mail from US Bank. The letter accused me of being delinquent on my mortgage payments and at risk for foreclosure proceedings. The document provided a phone number to call. I called the phone number immediately. I spoke to US Bank employee XXXX ( ID # XXXX ) who I reference in my XX/XX/XXXX response letter to US Bank. XXXX said that I had been reported to the credit bureaus, and that I should not have been reported based on the information he reviewed on my account. He said that US Bank did not take measures sufficient to insure contact with me during the prior months. He stated that a different department within US Bank should not have reversed the decision of the XX/XX/XXXX US Bank supervisor ( XXXX   or XXXX ) who had authority to make final changes to my account. This was a very long phone call. He said that I was not immediately in jeopardy of foreclosure proceedings, despite the letters warnings, and that I need to contact the US Bank escalation center in writing to state the errors that US Bank has made and that I had been harmed by US Banks failure to follow through with the promised of the XX/XX/XXXX customer service agents. XXXX did not advise me to change my monthly payment amount from the principle and interest amount. On XX/XX/XXXX I sent a complaint/error letter to the US Bank escalation center by e-mail. On XX/XX/XXXX I mailed a copy of the XX/XX/XXXX letter to the USB Escalation Center XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, MN XXXX. I asked the counter clerk to certify the letter, but he said that he could not certify or do delivery confirmation for that PO box because the zip code was for XXXX XXXX. I did not receive a response from the mailed letter. 

Early XXXX, XXXX : I received calls from USB every other day while I was at work. Each call I answered, I informed them of the details of the conversation with XXXX, and told them that a letter had been sent to the US Bank Escalation who had not yet responded. US Bank sent a debt collector to my house on a Saturday XX/XX/XXXX. My XXXX children were in the living room just off the foyer and could hear the entire conversation the man was having with me as he accused me of not paying my mortgage. I informed him of the US Bank error details, and told him he was trespassing, he left. It was very menacing of US Bank to send a debt collector to my house given my payment history, credit worthiness, and the fact that at least two US Bank departments were in receipt of my letter stating I was disputing this delinquency. I wrote a subsequent complaint to US Bank which was e-mailed and I wrote a letter to MrXXXX XXXX urging him to correct this matter. 

XXXX XXXX, XXXX through Present : I have sent and received multiple letters to and from the US Bank complaint/escalation department. I have spoken to numerous US Bank employees whom have called or I have called back in response to a letter. I attempted to speak to a Complaint/Escalation center supervisor so that I could review the recycled nature of each of the letters I was receiving. I asked multiple times for US Bank employees to substantiate where I was every informed of a fee required to cancel me escrow service, or to substantiate why Mr. XXXX would have packed my mortgage loan with escrow services when I was placing 20 % as a down payment, had very good credit, and had directly told him that I did not want escrow services, none of the people I spoke with or received letters from would substantiate this. What several US Bank employees did substantiate was that the escrow account waiver should have been left in place following my XX/XX/XXXX phone conversation, and my account should have never been considered delinquent since my payments were made on-time every month based on the confidence that the US Bank employees would perform as promised following my XX/XX/XXXX encounter. I was sent a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX by US Bank that informed me that no further decision would be made regarding this compliant. I received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX that stated I needed to pay thousands of dollars to US Bank in order for US Bank to release back to me the thousands of dollars that are in the escrow surplus. US Bank said in the same letter that I am no longer eligible to cancel my escrow service because they consider my account delinquent. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I sent the following letter to US Bank and have received no response : US Bank Home Mortgage XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, MN XXXX Re : Account # XXXX US Bank Escalation/Error/Escrow Department, Regarding your XX/XX/XXXX certified letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, please read the following correspondence : I received an Annual Escrow Account Disclosure Statement dated XX/XX/XXXX in the mail one week ago. It contained the following errors : 1. My XXXX hazard insurance was paid in full {$600.00} ( on XX/XX/XXXX, see enclosed XXXX receipt ), and US Bank made a duplicate payment of {$600.00} ( on XX/XX/XXXX, see enclosed XXXX receipt ) from funds that were allocated to satisfy my mortgage principle and interest. The US Bank agent that sent the duplicate funds to XXXX was reckless in their disbursement of my money, and they failed to perform the escrow analysis judiciously and correctly. Further, I have informed multiple US Bank customer service agents verbally and in writing that my XXXX taxes and insurance have been paid by myself as agreed by US Bank and myself in XX/XX/XXXX. I have returned the {$600.00} to US Bank Home Mortgage by check # XXXX. This amount is to be applied directly to my principle an interest payment. Any late fees that may have been caused by this error need to be reversed. 

2. My property taxes have been paid through XXXX, XXXX since XXXX of XXXX. There is no payment due in XXXX, XXXX. Again, the US Bank agent that prepared the Annual Escrow Account Disclosure Statement was reckless in their preparation of this statement dated XX/XX/XXXX. They have proposed to overcharge me in their miscalculation of the amount necessary to fund my taxes and insurance over the next 12 months. ( See the enclosed property tax receipt ). 

3. US Bank escrow account services were canceled for my mortgage account in XXXX, XXXX. The cancelation was for two reasons, 1 ) I did not ask for and was not required to have escrow services in the first place, and 2 ) The US Bank escrow service agents were hostile towards me regarding their errors. My cancelation was confirmed verbally and in writing in XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX by US Bank customer service agents. Following that time, US Bank has recklessly misapplied my principle and interest payment of {$2000.00} which has been paid on-time beginning in XX/XX/XXXX. I have not been delinquent with a single payment for my principle and interest or my taxes and hazard insurance. The continuation of US Bank taking money from my monthly principle and interest payment for the purpose of funding their escrow holdings represents a continuation of predatory lending practices by US Bank. I request that you immediately release any of my money that has been placed in suspense or that has been placed in the US Bank escrow account to fund my principle and interest balance of my mortgage. US Bank has had full knowledge that every payment I have made to US Bank since XX/XX/XXXX, was for the expressed purpose of funding the principle and interest of my home mortgage. 

My XX/XX/XXXX principle and interest payment of {$2000.00} has been sent to US Bank Home Mortgage by check # XXXX. My mortgage account is fully funded. I request that you send an updated statement reflecting this fact and correct the US Bank errors. 

NAME SIGNED HERE ***end letter*** Even though I was explicit in my letter about how to apply this XXXX, XXXX payment, and I documented that no taxes or insurance were due until at least XXXX, XXXX, US Bank escrow removed over {$600.00} from my payment and placed the funds in their escrow account to further add to the surplus. They currently are holding over {$2200.00} in a suspense account and over {$4100.00} in an escrow account that should have never existed in the first place and was properly cancelled in XXXX, XXXX. 
Washington State has specific laws ( WAC 208-620-551, RCW 19.144.020, RCW 31.04.027 ) that prohibit financial institutions from treating consumers in a predatory and deceptive manor. The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions states  that Lending and mortgage origination practices become " predatory '' when the borrower is led into a transaction that is not what they expected. US Bank was and continues to treat me in a predatory manor. 

US Bank has continued to site the findings of their complaint department investigators as factual, when they are not. What MrXXXX XXXX represented internally to US Bank is not what he represented to me as a consumer. If a consumer calls a car dealer to ask about the price of a specific car, and the salesman then sends a written memo to his manager that the customer is going to come in and buy the upgrade package, that is just wishful thinking on behalf of the car salesman. The memo is not an agreement between the potential customer and the car dealer ; its just the car salesmens idea of what he hopes happens. In this case, Mr. XXXX intended to trap me into the escrow package by filling out GFE forms to his benefit, and he did not have my consent or agreement. 

If I had been a consumer that needed or wanted escrow services, and I definitely was not, US Bank is still required by Washington State law to grant me a waiver of my escrow account without a fee as was decided on XX/XX/XXXX. I have reviewed the entire copy of the closing documents that US Bank mailed me this XXXX, XXXX, and there is no instance in which the document mentions that a fee is required to waive an escrow account. WAC 208-620-551 prohibits mortgage loan services from requiring or encouraging a borrower to : Agree to pay charges not enumerated in any agreement between the borrower and the lender, servicer, or owner of the loan This is just one example where US Bank is demanding a payment from me in violation of a law. 

I have documentation of the e-mails, signed agreements, and complaint letters mentioned in this statement.