Consumer complaint received 2025-03-23 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — Private mortgage insurance (PMI)
Company: SELECT PORTFOLIO SERVICING, INC.
State: NJ

Complaint narrative:
I am a co-borrower/co-signer on a mortgage loan. On or about XX/XX/XXXX my LTV was 36 % based on the remaining loan principle and value of my home. After inquiries about a past due balance that the loan servicer SPS ( Select Portfolio Servicing , Inc. ) sent to me that forced me to do deeper inquiries into the servicing of my account and other research, I recently learned that PMI should have been AUTOMATICALLY CANCELLED once my principal balance reached 78 percent of the homes value ; which was met on or about XXXX of XXXX. My account was current at that time and in that month, XXXX or XXXX, I actually had an overpayment of ( {$1000.00} ) on my account that I recently learned was held in my account as unapplied funds. In XXXX of XXXX, instead of Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc. reviewing my account for automatic cancellation of PMI, they instead presented an outrageously obscene increase in the monthly PMI that they wanted to collect from {$320.00} to what appears to be {$1400.00} on their Annual Escrow Disclosure. I submitted additional payments for the increase in statement amounts due for the months of XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX then because of the other co-borrower on the account that claimed bankruptcy for temporary hardship, I learned that the bankruptcy court issued some sort of order that reversed that outrageous amount of PMI, which I totally agree with. Now although I did not claim bankruptcy or have a bankruptcy file, because the " co-owned '' account was pulled under bankruptcy management because of my co-borrower 's bankruptcy case. SPS reallocated those extra amounts that they collected from me which resulted in a credit/overpayment in the amount of ( {$8500.00} ), which showed up on my XX/XX/XXXX Mortgage Statement as Unapplied Payments. From that point, I simply sent in monthly payment amounts according to what was on the monthly statements that I received, assuming that SPS would credit my overpayments over the next few months. When I received the XX/XX/XXXX Mortgage Statement, the payment amount requested was {$100.00} with a payment due date of XX/XX/XXXX ( skipping payment due for XXXX ). I assumed that this was due to the fact that in XXXX I had an Unapplied Balance of $ ( XXXX ) so it seemed sensible that a payment due for XX/XX/XXXX would be skipped when I received XXXX 's statement, and that the payment due for XX/XX/XXXX would only be a small amount, such as the {$100.00} that was requested on my XX/XX/XXXX XXXX  statement. Then the XX/XX/XXXX Mortgage Statement that I received also asked for the same {$100.00} that would be due again on XX/XX/XXXX, where that XX/XX/XXXX XXXX statement also showed an Unapplied Payment of {$2700.00}. The XX/XX/XXXX Mortgage Statement that Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc. sent me had {$0.00} in Unapplied Payments and was back to the usual {$2800.00} that I expected to see for my monthly mortgage payment with that amount due for XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I realized that PMI had not been automatically cancelled as was understanding should have occurred. I wrote a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX requesting removal of PMI pursuant to the Homeowner 's Protection Act ( HPA ). At the time of writing that letter my home was conservatively valued at {$640000.00} but likely has a higher value. Sometime after XXXX XXXX I received another Annual Escrow Disclosure dated XX/XX/XXXX and saw that PMI was still listed and not only that, but it was also estimated at {$1400.00}- which is again that outrageous number that is absolutely in no way affordable. How could it be reasonable and not illegal to expect a homeowner to pay a monthly PMI charge that is HIGHER than the Principal and Interest payment combined! - That is actually laughable and ridiculous. What makes matters worse is that a few days later SPS sent a Notice of Intent to Foreclosure dated XX/XX/XXXX, showing stating {$11000.00} is the amount of Default that includes {$280.00} in late charges. To reduce confusion, I'm confirming that payments were made for every month in XXXX and I have proof of those payments and submitted payment information to SPS after receiving their Notice of Intent to Foreclosure, as well as asking them, why wasn't a past due balance aggregating each month and adding up to {$11000.00} on the monthly Mortgage Statements that they sent me. It seems to me as though SPS does not want to simply remove PMI expense from my account, but is instead trying to collect an outrageous and should be illegal PMI charges that I did not agree to pay and would have had to pursue refinancing early XXXX to get out of an account that expected to receive {$1400.00} per month for a monthly mortgage payment not including taxes that is {$1400.00}. Landlords can only raise rents a maximum percent at each allowable time frame, but for some unethical reason SPS found it reasonable to dump a {$1400.00} PMI payment on an account that was previously paying {$320.00} in PMI. I've submitted a few certified mail letters to SPS, sent emails, and have spoken with their representatives and my inquiries about why PMI was not Automatically Cancelled in XXXX and my 1st and 2nd written requests to have PMI removed immediately and PMI charged in XXXX reversed, has not been resolved. My request is now over 60 days, and the delay is not only allowing SPS to continue to charge me PMI expenses every month, but the entire matter has caused mental and emotional distress affecting my wellbeing, and ability to concentrate at work. As a result of trying to have what should have been done already, fully resolved, I've also found that my Principal balance does not appear to be accurate, which is a compounding concern and issue in itself. I am not comfortable with SPS handling escrow for my account and am now revisiting my XXXX request to have their servicing my escrow account cancelled for property taxes and hazard insurance. I can do a better job at handling these responsibilities on my own and am adding that to my complaint along with the complaint that SPS failed to automatically cancel PMI but instead issued a percentage increase in payment of 335 %, which again on its own is an obscene amount, that should not have been considered as ethical, legal or allowable. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc. has still not cleaned this mess up. A Director or Company VP should simply order removal of the PMI backdated to XXXX and order cancellation of the escrow account if not only for the emotional distress inflicted on me as an account holder, but time costs also that I've spent with them communicating by phone, letters and emails, and expenses incurred.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation