Consumer complaint received 2026-07-06 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage — Closing disclosure or other related disclosures
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
In XX/XX/XXXX, I refinanced my mortgage with Citibank , N.A . ( Loan Officer : XXXX XXXX, NMLS ID XXXX ). The closing date was XX/XX/XXXX, with loan disbursement on XX/XX/XXXX, paying off our prior lender XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Citibank 's Escrow Failure at Closing Our Closing Disclosure, dated XX/XX/XXXX, designated property taxes as IN ESCROW : YES on Page XXXX, with an estimated escrow payment of {$1200.00} per month. Citibank also paid a {$70.00} Tax Service Fee to CoreLogic ( Page XXXX, Section B ) a service that exists specifically to monitor borrower property tax obligations. Despite this, Section F-04 ( Prepaid Property Taxes ) on Page XXXX of the Closing Disclosure was left completely blank. Our XXXX XXXX installment LA County property tax of {$6700.00} was due XX/XX/XXXX XXXX days before our closing date and was never collected or addressed at closing. XXXX 's Failure to Honor Written Commitment Prior to closing, Citibank ordered a payoff statement from XXXX dated XX/XX/XXXX. Page XXXX of that payoff statement explicitly stated : " We will continue to pay escrowed items between the date the payoff quote is issued and the date the payoff funds are received as required. '' The tax was due XX/XX/XXXX within the period covered by this written promise. XXXX did not pay the tax as promised. On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX refunded our escrow balance of approximately {$14000.00} with a letter stating : " No action is needed from you at this time. This letter is for informational purposes only. '' There was no mention of the outstanding {$6700.00} tax obligation or the approaching XX/XX/XXXX delinquency deadline. We received a {$14000.00} check and were explicitly told no action was needed with an urgent tax deadline XXXX days away. The Delinquency and Its Consequences Because neither Citibank nor XXXX informed us of the outstanding tax obligation, the XXXX installment went delinquent on XX/XX/XXXX, incurring a {$680.00} penalty ( XXXX % ). The total amount due became {$7400.00}, which we paid out of pocket. Because we were never informed of this obligation, we committed to approximately {$7000.00} in home improvement work on our property that we would not have committed to had we known the tax bill was outstanding. This work has already begun and can not be reversed. Combined with the tax bill itself, Citibank 's escrow failure created an unexpected financial burden exceeding {$13000.00} at an extremely difficult time for our family. Citibank 's Admission of Fault On approximately XX/XX/XXXX, we sent a formal demand email to Citibank requesting reimbursement of the full {$7400.00}. Citibank reimbursed the {$680.00} penalty without requiring us to sign any release implicitly acknowledging their liability. The accompanying letter dated XX/XX/XXXX deliberately described the payment as " certain upfront fees collected to process your application '' and " a refund issued as part of your loan closing '' making no mention of the property tax penalty in what appears to be a deliberate attempt to avoid creating a paper trail connecting the payment to their escrow failure. When we escalated our demand for the {$6700.00} base tax amount, Citibank 's Mortgage Client Advocate XXXX XXXX responded in writing on XX/XX/XXXX with the following explicit admission : " Those taxes should have been collected at the time of closing with Citibank on XX/XX/XXXX to satisfy the past due tax installment. That unfortunately did not take place. '' XXXX XXXX further confirmed in the same email : " XXXX did not initiate the tax payment from your existing escrow account with them as referenced on their XX/XX/XXXX payoff statement. '' Despite this written admission of escrow failure, Citibank refused to reimburse the {$6700.00} base tax amount, citing the Closing Disclosure language stating " your lender may be liable for penalties and interest '' as a cap on their liability. Why Citibank 's Position Is Legally Insufficient The Closing Disclosure language Citibank cites " your lender may be liable for penalties and interest '' uses permissive language ( " may '' ) and describes XXXX category of potential liability. It does not constitute a contractual ceiling on all damages arising from admitted escrow mismanagement. Under RESPA Section 10, which governs escrow account management, a lender 's liability for escrow failures is not limited to penalties and interest alone particularly when that failure causes documented consequential financial harm. Furthermore, Citibank paid a {$70.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX specifically to monitor our tax obligations. Their own tools identified the outstanding tax. Their own document required them to manage it. Their own team admitted they should have collected it at closing. Their attempt to limit liability to penalties while acknowledging the broader failure is directly contradicted by their own Closing Disclosure, their own XXXX monitoring service, and their own written admission. Actions Taken XX/XX/XXXX : Refinance closed with Citibank taxes not addressed at closing XX/XX/XXXX : Received RoundPoint escrow refund of ~ {$14000.00} with " no action needed '' letter XX/XX/XXXX : Tax went delinquent {$680.00} penalty incurred XX/XX/XXXX : Formal demand email sent to XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX at Citibank XX/XX/XXXX : Citibank issued {$680.00} reimbursement check without release XX/XX/XXXX : Citibank letter describing penalty reimbursement as routine " closing refund '' no mention of property taxes XX/XX/XXXX : Citibank Mortgage Client Advocate XXXX XXXX responded in writing admitting taxes should have been collected at closing refusing base tax reimbursement

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 monetary relief