Consumer complaint received 2022-04-05
Product: Mortgage — FHA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — 
Company: AMERIS BANCORP (MD)

Good Afternoon, I am reaching out to you today hoping for some assistance with my current mortgage lender Ameris Bank. Unfortunately, due to Ameris Banks negligence I am now being impacted in a very negative way and may miss the opportunity to refinance my 6.5 % interest rate with Ameris Bank into a 3.75 % mortgage through a new lender. I am currently in the process of that application and my interest rate of 3.75 % is locked in. My fear is that this issue may cause me to miss this opportunity and now rates are soaring higher and higher. I have been very frustrated with Ameris and in my search for help it was recommended that I reach to the CFPB to find resolution. 

The current loan I have with Ameris Bank is a construction to permanent loan. When we settled on this property everything was fine. I was all set up using their online portal to make my regular monthly payments. The trouble began during the covid pandemic, Ameris Banks servicing department actually closed and then went thru drastic changes without notice. I found that I could no longer make my payments via the online portal and tried to contact them repeatedly with very little success. When I did get in touch I struggled to work through things with them. No one seemed to be the right person to help me with this and I grew very concerned about who I could actually rely on regarding my mortgage account. It took quite a while and made me extremely uncomfortable. I ended up sending checks through the mail which added to my angst because of all the questionable things from Ameris and a recent experience I had with check theft. I lost thousands of dollars and spent 8 months getting that resolved. I didnt realize how prevalent that is and during the construction of my home I learned the hard way. The checks Ive sent were via XXXX next day mail once Ameris paid for the shipping and sent me the label with a guarantee against any loss. The mortgage is up to date, had no late fees and all the interest only payments have been paid. 

There seemed to be no issues with the current mortgage other than the difficulties Ive experienced with the servicing of my loan. This loan does not report to the credit bureaus and I was never made aware that my pay history would be impacted because of these issues caused by Ameris. As a matter of fact Ameris offered to refinance my loan and made no mention of any pay history issue. It wasnt until I started this refinance process with my new lender that this came to light. They requested a payment history for my refinance application and for the first time I learned that Ameris is inaccurately disclosing my payment history. I have always prided myself in being very mindful of my credit and responsibilities. I have strong credit scores and do not carry any debts beyond my mortgage. Ive tried to discuss this with Ameris Bank but I have been having extreme difficulty getting any response out of Ameris thus far. Im grateful to have an avenue like the CFPB to seek help. As a consumer I feel taken advantage of and at a loss because of the undue hardship Ameris has created. I look forward to your guidance. Thank you for your time and consideration.