Consumer complaint received 2021-01-30
Product: Mortgage — VA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — 
Company: U.S. BANCORP (IL)

I secured a VA loan in XXXX for my first house through US Bank and have paid all payments within the allotted time monthly. In XX/XX/XXXX, I made my payment normally using the website that I have used several times in the past without problems. The payment was accepted and I received the familiar confirmation screen but did not write the number down. I also work two full time jobs so I'm unsure of the day that I logged in to make the payment, I just log in and pay my bills when they're due like most people do. My house payment is due on the 1st of each month but US Bank later contacted me on XX/XX/XXXX, and reported that they had never received the XXXX payment. I was confused why as I clearly had made it but offered to make the payment again on the phone to ensure the account was current. The representative refused to take payment on the phone and stated there was a fee. I asked her to wait on the line while I confirmed the payment through the website but she refused. I made the payment on the website on XX/XX/XXXX immediately after the worker ended the call. 

I later learned that US Bank had already negatively filed with the credit reporting agencies for a late mortgage payment prior to the call. Over the past 3 months, I have contacted customer service XXXX XXXX, spending over 23 hours of talk time on the phone with entry level, supervisors, and managers and no one is able to help and not one employee states they have the ability to change this once it's submitted to credit agencies. Several representatives asked for my email confirmation but I told them I've never received one of those over the life of the loan. I later learned on XX/XX/XXXX, this was because it was disabled on my account. A manager was able to fix this and I now receive payment confirmations monthly. US Bank has this call recorded. On that same day, I also requested an investigation into the website activity in an attempt to prove that I made the payment. I later received correspondence from US Bank dated XX/XX/XXXX, that stated they conducted an investigation and found that my payment was late. Nowhere on the correspondence did it state that they investigated the website activity, the original purpose of the investigation request. 

I contacted the company several more times requesting follow-up and all employees stated there was nothing that could be done. When I spoke with the collections department manager, she falsely documented on my account that I was purposely calling to " waste their time. '' I just want my account corrected. The company maintains that they attempted to contact me through several phone calls, text messages, email, and two written statements sent to my address telling me about the missing payment. Out of all of these methods of communication, I only received one letter from US Bank dated XX/XX/XXXX, a mere two days before the end of the month when the payment would be considered late. This obviously did not allow time to receive the notice and due to the current problems with USPS, I did not receive that letter until XXXX. I have never received phone calls or email. The company continues to report that they have records that show they attempted contact me when they did not. 

I was finally forwarded to the advocacy department, whom I was told would reach out to me to advocate on my behalf. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a call from a representative of the advocacy department who was calling to inform me of their findings and decision. At no point had I been contacted by the advocacy department prior to this. When I explained the situation, she seemed confused and asked if I would like a " thorough investigation. '' I said yes, unaware that there was any other type of investigation. I was told this would take around 10 days. She further stated that she would talk to her supervisor and " gave me her word '' to call me back the following day. I never received any further calls. I later received a letter from US Bank dated XX/XX/XXXX, the same day as my conversation with the advocacy representative that took place at XXXX. This letter outlines the results of the " thorough investigation '' which was conducted and documented within the remaining 30 minutes of the worker 's shift that same evening. This letter outlined the dates of the attempted phone calls and letters and included the email address that US Bank contacted. US Bank continued to state that their investigation found no errors on their part and late payment would stand due to the number of methods they had documented reaching out to me. Even more interesting, in a later letter from US Bank dated XX/XX/XXXX, they state that their records never show a call taking place on XX/XX/XXXX. If that call never happened, then advocacy never actually reached out to me at all then. I have a XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX and feel well versed in the field of advocacy and I still remain confused on how you advocate for a client without ever speaking to them. 

I called back again after looking at the dates and was told to email a second dispute. This time I emailed advocacy on XX/XX/XXXX, and detailed a complete breakdown of my issues. I included phone call logs from XXXX XXXX XXXX proving that US Bank 's automated phone system never called or left the documented voice mails. I further disputed the email correspondence because they sent the email to a XXXX address when my address on record is through XXXX. Even my current US Bank online account has no record of messages or letter/Correspondence listed. I requested electronic and written confirmation of their receiving the second dispute given that it was an email and the company does not appear to have a formal dispute service. I never received electronic confirmation. I did later receive a written correspondence dated XX/XX/XXXX sent to my home stating they would contact me within 10 to 15 business days with the results of their findings. I never received any further follow-up. I contacted US Bank again on XX/XX/XXXX, to follow up on the investigation. The customer service agent was able to send me an electronic version of the report but I still never received a physical one or any word of the findings from advocacy. They again denied the request stating that despite me referencing recorded conversations with customer service and providing proof that US Bank had not left voicemails, called, and had emailed the wrong address that was not on file ; their findings of the investigation would stand as I have " provided no new information. '' They did not respond to my statement about emailing the wrong email address in this investigation findings. 

At this time, the company has damaged my credit rating to the point that I am unable to secure a loan to fix plumbing in my home. My credit is also damaged to the point that I am unable to refinance through another company out of fear they will continue to mismanage my account. I have taken vacation from work to contact customer service due to their hours. I have talked with customer service for over 23 hours of recording phone calls and they remain unwilling to admit that something happened with the website payment and there are errors in the automated phone call system that did not complete calls or leave voicemail. Had I received calls or correspondence, like I did on XX/XX/XXXX, I would have promptly rectified the situation as I clearly did. Instead, US Bank has, in recorded messages, told me that I should " not worry about it, it will only be on my credit report for 7 years, '' they have encouraged me to call my bank every month and ensure the payment comes out in addition to calling their system after every payment to ensure the payment is received. They have also encouraged me to contact them every month and request additional statements that show proof of payment. This seems like an insane amount of work for me to do every month that I make a mortgage payment for the next 26 years -- especially if their records are so accurate. I worked extremely hard to get a credit score upwards of 800 only to have this company completely wreck my score when I made my mortgage payment and continue to make my mortgage payment. I have shown them proof that their automated system is not correct and I did not receive correspondence to notify me that the payment was not received correctly until after it was too late and now I'm stuck for the next 7 years paying a company and allowing a company to profit from me, that clearly has no interest in working with me. My interactions with US Bank since XX/XX/XXXX has been disgraceful and I'm embarrassed to be associated with them.