Consumer complaint received 2026-05-26 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — VA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — Escrow, taxes, or insurance
Company: Freedom Mortgage Company
State: SC

Complaint narrative:
Good afternoon, I am writing in hopes that I may receive assistance regarding a dispute between my mortgage lender and myself. Freedom Mortgage ( FM ) is forcing me to pay an escrow spread for an overage of which they have been refunded but refuse to apply to my account. I purchased my first home in XXXX, SC, XX/XX/XXXX. In XX/XX/XXXX, I made my first mortgage payment, which included an escrow for home insurance and property taxes. From XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX, I made monthly payments of {$1600.00}. My monthly payment breakdown was as follows : Total monthly : {$1600.00} {$1100.00} interest on a home loan XXXX home loan XXXX homeowner 's insurance and property taxes At the conclusion of the first 12 months, my escrow accumulated {$2000.00}. For my XXXX property taxes, XXXX XXXX assessed my tax debt at {$8100.00}, but this amount did not calculate my residency exemption because I misunderstood the requirements and thought that I had to be in the home for 1 year prior to applying for residency exemption. In XX/XX/XXXX, I applied for residency, and my application was accepted by the XXXX XXXX XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX, thus reducing my XXXX property tax burden from {$8100.00} to {$2300.00}. On XX/XX/XXXX, I paid a total of {$2900.00} ( {$1000.00} interest for the loan, {$430.00} for the home loan, and {$1400.00} for escrow ). On XX/XX/XXXX, I paid a total of {$2900.00}, which included {$1000.00}. Interest for loan ( XXXX home loan, {$1400.00} escrow ). On XX/XX/XXXX, I paid a total of {$2100.00} ( {$1000.00} interest for the loan, {$430.00} for the home loan, and {$670.00} for escrow ). On XX/XX/XXXX, I paid a total of {$1700.00} ; since this amount did not include the non-existent escrow shortage, nothing was applied to my account, and I was charged an {$87.00} late fee for my XXXX payment. On XX/XX/XXXX, I initiated a call at XXXXXXXX XXXX and was disconnected twice while being transferred between the FM XXXX department and the FM escrow department. I finally reached a tax department representative around XXXXXXXX XXXX, who stayed on the call with me for an additional XXXX minutes before a representative from the escrow department took over. The escrow department representative then told me to call back first thing tomorrow morning when there are fewer customers. After waiting an additional XXXX minutes and adamantly refusing to restart the call and waiting process, an escrow supervisor came on the line. She informed me that she would see what she could do about getting an updated escrow analysis completed, removing the late fee charged in XXXX, and addressing my request to close the escrow account. The resolution is still pending, and I am concerned about making any further payments until this issue is resolved. Additionally, the extra payments I made in XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX prevented me from applying money directly to the principal, resulting in interest accrual that I am now stuck with. This has been a frustrating experience.

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