Consumer complaint received 2025-06-01 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — FHA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — Trying to communicate with the company to fix an issue while managing or servicing your loan
Company: Freedom Mortgage Company
State: PA

Complaint narrative:
I purchased a new-construction home in XXXX. The sale of the home was contingent upon a XXXX abatement such that I would not be taxed on the structure of the home until XXXX ( a tax-incentive program designed by the city of XXXX to encourage new XXXX in the city ). My taxes were to be a total of {$340.00} per year ( because the tax assessment only encompassed the land itself ) until XXXX. 

In XXXX of XXXX, Freedom Mortgage informed me that my escrow account was severely in the negatives ( approximately {$33000.00} ). They were unable to provide me a rationale, despite the fact that I'd paid all of my mortgage payments on time leading up to that date. In the midst of my confusion, it took me approximately XXXX week to discover the underlying reason for this deficiency. The seller falsely informed me that the home had a tax abatement, despite having been denied that same abatement XXXX ( XXXX ) months prior to settlement. He'd claimed that it was already approved and he was just pending documentation. 

The mortgage company apparently should have been aware of this because they are required to run a tax assessment yearly ( as admitted by a Freedom Mortgage representative on a recorded phone call in XXXX of XXXX ). The mortgage company informed me that I'd have to pay the shortage back in XXXX months, in addition to my regular mortgage. The advised that there was no other option and that the shortage payments could not be spread out any longer than that. On XX/XX/XXXX, I learned that was not true. Teller ID # XXXX ( XXXX ) informed me that this should have been spread across XXXX months, at the least. Those payments would have been manageable but when I pleaded for more time in XXXX, I was denied that option. 

Prior to this egregious escrow issue stemming from a misrepresentation, I had never defaulted on payments. I nonetheless fell behind on my shortage payments in XXXX, and Freedom Mortgage agreed to a loan modification. The re-payments were still just as high and I was again denied any option to spread the escrow shortage out. My options were ( XXXX ) lose the house in foreclosure or ( XXXX ) agree to pay an amount that is higher than my net income. I agreed to begin paying again on XX/XX/XXXX of XXXX. I signed the agreement but received a denial from Freedom Mortgage because the XXXX notary left his middle initial " A. '' out of his signature. Freedom Mortgage agreed to begin the underwriting process again thereafter. They sent me a second agreement which required me to begin payments on XX/XX/XXXX of XXXX ( XX/XX/XXXX deadline ). Freedom Mortgage accepted that documentation and I began paying as promised. 


I specifically made the agreed upon monthly payments, beginning on XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, after confirming with a representative that I could pay XXXX and XXXX simultaneously to get ahead of my pay schedule, I made a payment in the amount of seven-thousand five-hundred sixty-one dollars and forty cents ( {$7500.00} ). After making the double payment, I discovered that Freedom was still expecting me to pay per the schedule outlined in the first agreement, which was ultimately rejected and deemed void by Freedom.

Since Freedom had not recognized the second agreement in their system, my credit score and report have been significantly adversely affected. My account was consistently marked delinquent despite making payments in accordance with the approved and fully executed loan modification. 

In XXXX of XXXX, I contacted Freedom on a recorded telephone line to inquire about the payments I'd made and why they were considered delinquent when I paid them according to the approved agreement. During the phone conversation, Freedom stated that they failed to appropriately enter the approved agreement into the system and confirmed that payments received would apply to XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX in accordance with the agreement. The representative acknowledged that documentation of the approved agreement reflected a payment schedule beginning on XX/XX/XXXX, and that since I was current with payments in accordance with said schedule, the credit report would be remedied in no more than XXXX ( XXXX ) weeks. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, Freedom amended the credit report to remove past due reporting and to reflect a neutral comment D. However, immediately after the amendment, Freedom reinitiated delinquent reporting despite on-time payments by me. I have been trying to resolve this issue since XXXX of XXXX, without success. Freedoms failure to lawfully recognize the approved agreement as the governing agreement has resulted in severe harm to my credit and livelihood. 

I began withholding payments ( for XXXX months ) because Freedom had been willfully and predatorily harming my credit score in spite of on-time payments. The credit harm led to continual reductions in credit line availability and increased interest rates. Because I was paying Freedom more money than I had available, I relied on credit cards to pay for necessities. The longer they took my money AND harmed my credit, the deeper into hardship I was forced. I did all this while knowing that nobody would be willing to rent to me if I lost my home, because my credit was now so poor AND I didn't have any money saved. I withheld that money out of necessity. After withholding payments for XXXX months, my property was entered into foreclosure. 

Please review the loan modification uploaded. When I discovered the issue and requested a copy of the full modification agreement, Freedom Mortgage sent it to me while omitting a crucial page : the pay schedule signature page. While the pay schedule is missing, the loan modification signature nonetheless reveals a key fact : that it was signed on XX/XX/XXXX of XXXX. If the agreement was signed on that date, it follows that the XXXX  payment could not have been due on XX/XX/XXXX ... a standard that Freedom Mortgage wrongly held me to.

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