Consumer complaint received 2024-11-24 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — Fees charged
Company: RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing LLC
State: DC

Complaint narrative:
In late XX/XX/year>, I dropped a check in a blue public XXXX mailbox to pay my property taxes. The check was made using my Credit Union checking account. Around the same date, I scheduled a mortgage payment for {$1900.00} for XX/XX/year> the last date that I could make my payment without incurring a late fee. 

A few days later I left the country for a nearly month-long trip overseas and I would not return until XX/XX/year>. While I was traveling, my bank 's fraud department attempted to contact me to inform me that someone cashed a suspicious check against my bank account and as a consequence they would be rejecting all future payments scheduled from that account and removing online access to my account. The bank rep did leave a voice message on my phone, but since I was overseas and using a different phone number, I did not get the message right away, but once I realized that some of my online payments were being rejected by my bank, I took measures to access my home phone number and was able to receive the voice message. I then called my bank and learned that someone had made a fake check using all of the same information on my original property tax check - even the same amount- but for a different recipient, and had cashed that check. Presumably, whoever did this managed to steal the check from the public XXXX mailbox I dropped the check into. 

The result of this was that my bank rejected a couple of credit card payments and my RoundPoint mortgage payment. I was unable to resolve the situation until I returned home from my trip. Once I did, I immediately went to the bank ( on XX/XX/year> ), where I opened a new account and signed an Affidavit attesting to the fact that I did not write the check that was cashed against my account. I am able to provide copies of the signed and notarized Affidavit, a copy of the fake check, and a blank original check from the same checkbook as the check that was stolen, so that one can validate that there are differences between the fake check and the original check. 

On XX/XX/year> after setting up my new bank account, I made my missed payments, but in the meantime I had incurred late fees, including a {$99.00} late fee from RoundPoint mortgage. I proceeded to contact my various creditors to explain the extenuating circumstances and detail that my bank rejected these payments because of suspected ( and later confirmed ) fraudulent banking activity against my account. All of those creditors have either waived those fees or are still in the adjudications process to determine if the fees will be waived, except for one : RoundPoint mortgage. 

When I contacted RoundPoint on XX/XX/year>, they directed me to request a late fee waiver via email to XXXX and recommended that i provide a copy of the signed and notarized Affidavit attesting to the check fraud. When I filed the request on XX/XX/year>, I explained in detail what had occurred and included a copy of the Affidavit in that request. 

On XX/XX/year>, I received a response from RoundPoint denying my request to have the late fee waived. The only explanation provided was : " Fees will only be waived in the event of a RoundPoint error ''. 

On either XX/XX/year> or XX/XX/year>, I called RoundPoint again to complain that they had denied my request and informed that if they were unwilling to remove the fee, I would be filing complaints with the CFPB and the Better Business Bureau. They informed me that they would take a second look at my complaint and get back to me. On XX/XX/year>, I still had not received a response, so I sent another email to XXXX explaining that was still awaiting a response to my second request to have the fee waived. Finally, on XX/XX/year>, I received an email response, once again denying my request to have the fee waived stating the following : '' Please note that your request for a late fee waiver has been denied, as we have confirmed that the late fee was applied accurately. '' As a result, I am now going to CFPB, in the hopes that you are able to help get this fee waived, and also to help spread the word that RoundPoint Mortgage is unsympathetic to customer 's that are victims of financial fraud.

I went through a big ordeal as a result of the fraud committed against me, but my other creditors have all been understanding of the circumstances and have agreed to waive any resultant late fees. Only RoundPoint has been more concerned with collecting their fee than in doing the right thing to help ensure that customers are not victimized by fraud. 

Please feel free to contact me if you would like more details.

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