Consumer complaint received 2025-11-27 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — Escrow, taxes, or insurance
Company: Ocwen Financial Corporation
State: WI

Complaint narrative:
XX/XX/XXXXXXXX XXXX refinanced mortgage, title company had a notary come to my home to complete paperwork. At this time I verified I wanted to have my escrow pay my taxes in full by XX/XX/XXXX of every year. 

XX/XX/XXXXXXXX  - Mortgage company printed a letter asking how I prefer my escrow to pay the taxes. They required an answer by XX/XX/XXXXXXXX  ( I didn't even receive the letter until XX/XX/XXXXXXXX  ) I hadn't had a chance to check all my mail at this point was unaware of the letter as I had already filled out the same paperwork at closing in XX/XX/XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX - My insurance agent called as the mortgage company did not pay my annual premiums and my homeowners insurance was cancelled due to non payment. My agent contacted my insurance company and they had me sign an affidavit to state I had zero loses between XX/XX/XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXX/XX/XXXX to reinstate the policy with no lapse in coverage. I contacted PHH Mortgage multiple times during this to find out why they didn't pay the insurance. They had no answers. 

XX/XX/XXXXXXXX  - I emailed the tax form ( second submission to PHH ) via email requesting Option 1 - pay in full by end of the year each year for my property taxes. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I received a check for {$3300.00} for overpayment of escrow. At this time I also asked PHH why they sent me a check and didn't pay the insurance, I also realized my escrow balance was in the negative and I now owed PHH money due to them " borrowing '' me the money to finally send in my insurance payment to reinstate the policy. I deposited the check into my checking on XX/XX/XXXXXXXX  and once again contacted PHH mortgage and spoke to XXXX who is an escalation manager. He assured me I simply needed to make a payment specified to escrow to get everything back to speed. He stated he would follow up with me the following week. No phone calls or emails were received the following week ( so I assumed everything was up to speed. 

XX/XX/XXXX - XXXX then reached out and explained he was running a new escrow check to make sure everything was up to speed. He explained it takes 24 - 48 hours for the company to get him the numbers and he would email me on XX/XX/XXXX. No email was received so I contacted PHH again and spoke with the first available Customer service Rep. He said he did see that XXXX told me he would email me and doesn't know what that wasn't sent. I asked why I am seeing ANOTHER check coming to me for over {$2000.00} for escrow over payment. I told him I do not want the check as that is not correct as they need that money to pay my XXXX property taxes. He also confirmed that the tax department still hadn't updated the form I resent on XX/XX/XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I called and spoke with yet another XXXX at PHH Mortgage. She explained that the tax department has no record that I emailed the form to them on XX/XX/XXXX as they have not uploaded it into the system. She was unable to contact the tax department any way other than email. She had resent it to the tax department again asking them to update my request for option 1. I asked her to have management contact me regarding all of this. 
XX/XX/XXXX - I contacted XXXX at PHH who was my original loan processor. I asked if she hadn't received the tax form I filled out at closing in XX/XX/XXXX with the notary. She explained that they did have it and it shows Option 1 but she doesn't know why that wasn't entered. I then once again explain the issue of my insurance lapsing due to non payment, she said the insurance company didn't send them a bill. This is absolutely incorrect as my insurance agent confirmed that letters were in fact sent not once but twice to PHH letting them know payment was due for renewal and then a follow up that they hadn't paid the premiums and if they didn't the policy would lapse. PHH didn't send in payment either time and the policy lapsed. She once again told me this was the insurance companies fault. I asked her to have management call me to discuss all these mess ups and the time I have spent trying to fix them. I am also out the {$25.00} reinstatement fee that I was charged for PHH 's mistake. 

XX/XX/XXXX - A manager from PHH contacted me this morning and he also can not answer any questions as to why the tax form is still not completed. Why I received another check for escrow over payment leaving my Escrow balance at only {$950.00} which is not even close enough to pay the taxes and No estimate of when this will be fixed since it's been ongoing since closing back in XX/XX/XXXX. During this conversation I explained that this needs to be resolved by XXXX today or I would be contacting you to file the complaints due to money mismanagement and improper handling of forms. I also told him I do not want XXXX handling my mortgage from here forward as he has only made it worse. At XXXX XXXX called me to follow up on the email he sent to me finally on XX/XX/XXXXXXXX  by this point I already knew the escrow department was sending me the 2nd check. XXXX told me that I won't be receiving a check from the escrow department an confirmed that the tax department still has not updated the annual payment. At this point I interrupted him and told him I will not be sending in any escrow repayment money because at this point I will need my money to pay my taxes at the end of the year in full since they don't have the form updated and the billing won't take place by the time the billing is sent out. I also explained I will be filing complaints with Consumer Finance and other goverment agencies. That I will not be sending in a mortgage payment but setting it aside in my own accounts until the issues at hand are corrected as I will not be having my funds lost and incorrectly applied to the mortgage and escrow that they can't correct.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation