Consumer complaint received 2025-11-13 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — Trying to communicate with the company to fix an issue related to modification, forbearance, short sale, deed-in-lieu, bankruptcy, or foreclosure
Company: FIFTH THIRD FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: NJ

Complaint narrative:
Since Fifth Third began servicing my loan, my escrow payment has been adjusted multiple times due to large shortages that were caused by Fifth Thirds repeated underestimation of my property taxes and insurance obligations. These shortages were not due to changes in my payment behavior, nor late payments, but due to servicing errors. 

Specifically : XX/XX/XXXX escrow analysis : Fifth Third underestimated my property taxes by thousands of dollars, creating a substantial shortage that immediately increased my monthly payment. 

XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX : My monthly mortgage payments continued to increase even without new escrow analyses, solely because Fifth Thirds prior calculations were inaccurate and I was forced to repay their shortages. 

XX/XX/XXXX escrow analysis : Another shortage was assessed, again caused by tax underestimation. 

XX/XX/XXXX analysis : A third shortage appeared, despite no lapses in payment and despite substantial tax information being available to the servicer. 

Fifth Third has now issued XXXX consecutive escrow shortages in less than XXXX years each created by their own prior miscalculations. 
This has pushed my mortgage payment from {$3200.00} to {$3600.00}, despite stable principal & interest. 

Concerns and Violations I am requesting an investigation because : Fifth Third failed to accurately project taxes, despite tax bills being public record and available every summer. 

Fifth Third failed to update escrow projections appropriately, causing recurring shortages. 

Shortages were created by Fifth Third 's own servicing errors, but the financial burden was placed solely on me. 

The frequency of shortages is abnormal and well outside industry norms. 

I was not provided accurate or timely information to understand or prepare for these increases. 

These errors materially affected my affordability, and had the lender properly estimated taxes at closing and during servicing, I would not have accepted this loan structure. 



I respectfully request the CFPB require Fifth Third Bank to : Conduct a full escrow audit for all years serviced, including XXXX. 

Identify which portions of each escrow shortage were caused by Fifth Thirds failure to properly estimate taxes and insurance. 

Adjust or remove any shortage amounts caused by servicer miscalculations, as allowed under RESPA. 

Extend repayment of any remaining valid escrow shortage to a long-term schedule ( 6084 months or longer ), as permitted under RESPA for large shortages and as appropriate when shortages are caused by servicer error. 

Recalculate my current mortgage payment to reflect corrected escrow amounts and a fully compliant repayment structure. 

Refund any escrow funds that were over-collected because of incorrect projections or repeated mis-estimations. 

Provide documentation demonstrating compliance with escrow accounting requirements under 12 CFR 1024.17 and 1024.35.

Impact These errors have created severe financial strain. I purchased this home budgeting for the escrow amount disclosed at closing. The repeated miscalculations by Fifth Third have caused unsustainable payment increases, affecting my ability to remain in my home or feed my family. 

Please investigate this matter thoroughly. I am attaching ( or have provided to the servicer previously ) the escrow analyses and mortgage statements showing the pattern of servicing errors. 

Thank you for your assistance. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, NJ XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation