Consumer complaint received 2025-01-11 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC)
Issue: Trouble during payment process — Lien release
Company: Shellpoint Partners, LLC
State: AL

Complaint narrative:
We owned a home at in XXXX XXXX that was secured by a Home Equity Line of Credit ( HELOC ). We sold this home on XXXX XX/XX/year>. Ahead of the closing we requested a payoff from the mortgage servicer ( Shellpoint ) that was received on XXXX XX/XX/year> and was valid through XXXX XX/XX/year>. The payoff letter said that upon receipt of funds, Shellpoint would send a lien release to the county and copy me within 60-90 days and refund per diem ( {$47.00} per day ) for the days ahead of the good through date when the funds were receive within 20 days. We closed on the home on XXXX XXXX and funds were wired by the closing attorney on the same day. 

The next week we received a letter dated XXXX XXXX stating that the home at XXXX XXXX required hazard insurance and the lender would purchase insurance if we did not provide proof of insurance. My wife called Shellpoint on XXXX XXXX and told them that we had sold the home and did not require insurance. The Shellpoint representative said that the HELOC could not be closed until a separate request for closure was received in writing ( despite the notes in the payoff instructions saying that the loan would be closed and the lien released ). We then sent a letter to Shellpoint via certified mail with return receipt requesting that the HELOC be closed, the lien released, per diem refunded, and any insurance requests cleared. We did not save a copy of this letter because we did not anticipate the level of difficulty getting the loan closed. We received the delivery receipt confirming delivery on XXXX XXXX with a signature by a XXXX XXXX. This receipt was received on XXXX XXXX. The next week received a letter, dated XXXX XXXX, acknowledging receipt of the correspondence and they were working to gather the requested information. We thought that Shellpoint was now going to work the release and began waiting to receive the lien release. We received an additional letter dated XXXX XXXX acknowledging receipt of correspondence and saying additional time was needed because of the complexity of our request. 

The next correspondence we received was dated XXXX XXXX and stated that because we had not provided proof of insurance, Shellpoint had purchased lender placed insurance and would charged to an escrow account that they had created ( this mortgage never had an escrow account previously ). It should be noted that the insurance was back dated to the date of the sale of the home. 

I called Shellpoint to work resolution to this and spoke to XXXX XXXX on XXXX XXXX. She told me that Shellpoint did not have a record of the request for closure despite the certified mail delivery. She did confirm that XXXX XXXX, who signed for the correspondence, was a Shellpoint employee. After some discussion recapping the information above, she told me that a supervisor ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ) would contact me within 24-48 hours. I did not receive any call. 

I called on XXXX XXXX and spoke to an XXXXXXXX XXXX. She referred me to a supervisor XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX who said he had elevated it and gave me a call back to say that he would call me back we he had it resolved. In the process of our discussion I sent him the receipt from the certified mail request to close the loan. He said he could not find a record of that communication on his system. I emailed him another request that was signed the same day. He said he would continue to work the issue and would be in touch. He called me back that night and said he was still working it and would contact me in two business days. I did not hear back from him for some time and emailed on XXXX XXXX to requested an update. He responded to say that he had moved out of that department and would ask somebody there to get back to me. I did not hear anything back from him or anyone else. 

I called on XXXX XXXX to get an update. I spoke to a XXXX who referred me to a supervisor who only identified herself as XXXX. She said she would look into it and would give me a call back that day. I told her that I had been promised callbacks multiple times that did not come. She said she would give me her extension ( XXXX ). She did not call me back and the next day when I called that extension, the recording said it was an invalid extension. 

When I was unable to get back in touch with XXXX, I called the line again and was connected to a XXXX XXXX. XXXX told me initially that the loan could not be closed because there was an escrow balance. I told him that there should not be an escrow balance because there was no escrow account and insurance was placed by Shellpoint after the home was sold. I recounted the items above and, after a lengthy hold, he told me that it had been elevated and the payment processing on the payoff had been incorrectly coded. He then said that Shellpoint would correct the coding, clear out any lender placed insurance that was purchased after the home was sold, refund the per diem on the home payoff, and send the lien release to the courthouse. He said that we would see this in the online account in a few days. 

I spoke to XXXX XXXX on XXXX XXXX. She said that a written request for payoff that has the front and back of borrowers drivers license was required ( new information! ) to close a HELOC. I responded that a written request has been submitted twice and neither time was that included in the instructions. I also asked why this was not stated in the payoff instructions. I also asked to get a status on the update on the promises made in the conversation from XXXX XXXX. I was placed on hold so that XXXX could talk to a supervisor. She then told me that she could get it closed if I sent her a photo of my drivers license to her email ( XXXX ). She confirmed that she received the drivers licenses while still on the phone. She said that it should be worked by Tuesday of the following week ( XXXX XXXX ) and I should be able to see the account closed in the online portal. If it is not closed by then I should call back to check. 

On XXXX XXXX, I received an alert that an adverse report had been provided to credit bureaus for an overdue balance. The balance reported was the same as the amount charged for the lender placed insurance that had been ordered in error. On XXXX XXXX, I received a letter from Shellpoint saying that my loan was delinquent and Shellpoint has not been able to contact me. This is particularly frustrating given the regular cadence of phone calls over the previous 3 months. Additionally, this will require Shellpoint to provide corrected information to credit bureaus once they have corrected their errors. 

I checked the website on Wednesday XXXX XXXX and the loan still showed a balance. I called Shellpoint on Thursday XXXX XXXX and was connected to XXXX XXXX I requested an update on the actions that were promised on the XXXX XXXX phone call. She said that there was an autodraft of {$840.00} in XXXX. We do not have any records of that draft. She said that they would get it closed out after they received proof that I had insurance for the date before the home was sold. This was the first request for this information. She said that otherwise the lender placed insurance was not refundable. I asked for a supervisor and was connected to a XXXX XXXX XXXX ( the same person who was supposed to call me back on XXXX XXXX ). After recounting the history of my engagement with Shellpoint, XXXX XXXX said he had reached out to XXXX XXXX and confirmed that no further action was required on my part and he would ensure that it would be resolved. XXXX XXXX said that he would call me back before the end of the day to give me an update on the status and confirmed that he had my correct cell phone number. He did not call me back that day or any time since then. 

At this point Shellpoint needs to complete the following actions. 
1. Close the HELOC 2. Release the Lien associated with he HELOC and send documentation to the XXXX County Courthouse. 
3. Return the per diem ( {$650.00} ) described on the payoff for the 14 days between receipt of the wire transfer on XXXX XXXX and the Payoff date of XXXX XXXX. 
4. Correct any escrow charges that were erroneously generated due to lender placed insurance after the property was sold 5. Correct any adverse reports to credit bureaus that were generated after the property was sold.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation