Consumer complaint received 2026-03-18 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — USDA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — Escrow, taxes, or insurance
Company: Shellpoint Partners, LLC
State: LA

Complaint narrative:
This complaint is made against our previous mortgage servicer Shellpoint Mortgage/ Newrez ( Formerly XXXX XXXX by Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing ) and our current servicer XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX . Both companies neglected to assist in resolving our issues regarding improper and back dated lender forced placed flood insurance and canceling/ refunding an improper escrow disbursement for said insurance. My wife and I purchased our home in XXXX, LA and closed on XX/XX/XXXX. At the loan origination, the underwriting reflected the property as being in XXXX XXXX XXXX, and flood insurance was not required or in effect at closing. After closing, our mortgage was transferred from XXXX XXXX to XXXX, and later to XXXX Shellpoint and currently we are with XXXX. XXXX Shellpoint sent a letter dated XX/XX/XXXXXXXX ( received XX/XX/XXXXXXXX ) stating that the property was in a Special Flood Hazard Area ( SFHA ) and that we had 45 days to obtain flood insurance or lender-placed flood insurance would be imposed. Within this 45-day period, we obtained voluntary flood insurance through XXXX XXXX XXXX issued XX/XX/XXXX. We then received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXXXXXX ( received XX/XX/XXXXXXXX ) that was our second notice that we needed to get a flood insurance policy, or we would be placed under a lender place with 15 days. We then verified by phone that XXXX XXXX would notify XXXX Shellpoint of this coverage and that we have an active policy before the deadline of XX/XX/XXXX. Despite this, XXXX Shellpoint issued a letter dated XX/XX/XXXXXXXX stating that a lender-placed flood insurance policy had been imposed, the policy showed a retroactive coverage period of XX/XX/XXXXXXXX through XX/XX/XXXX. This letter came with another document titled " Lender Placed Insurance Evidence of Flood Insurance '' that shows the back dated coverage that was placed with XXXX XXXX XXXX with an annual premium of {$7500.00}. We then received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXXXXXX stating that the lender-placed policy was canceled effective XX/XX/XXXXXXXX due to our having provided adequate coverage. Notwithstanding the cancellation, a mortgage statement dated XX/XX/XXXXXXXX shows that on XX/XX/XXXXXXXX an escrow disbursement of {$6200.00} was taken from our escrow account with no description, that was taken for the lender-placed flood insurance. This disbursement occurred without prior notice to us, and no funds were ever provided to us at this point. Our escrow already separately disbursed for taxes, hazard insurance, and flood insurance. This improper disbursement caused a significant escrow shortage that went unnoticed until our loan transferred to XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, at which point our monthly payment increased to {$2200.00} beginning with our XX/XX/XXXXXXXX payment. On XX/XX/XXXX, I submitted a written Notice of Error under RESPA, 12 C.F.R. 1024.35 ( a ), to XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. I requested a full escrow investigation, identification of the improper disbursement, a corrected escrow analysis, reimbursement or account correction, and written confirmation of all corrections. Within the notice of error I provided all the original letters sent to us, all of our mortgage statements and escrow analyses, and a written statement. Additionally, it should also be noted that before this point I also tried to contact Shellpoint/ Newrez several times and they said they could not help or provide information as they were no longer our servicer. I had requested our policy for the forced lender placed insurance as well as all letters related to it and was told by a rep on the phone that they no longer had that information and would not provide anything. I also tried to contact our original lender XXXX XXXX for our underwriting info and flood cert and did not hear back till much later. XXXX acknowledged receipt of the Notice of Error on XX/XX/XXXXXXXX and stated that a substantive written response would be provided by XX/XX/XXXX. After not receiving anything on XX/XX/XXXX I called and spoke to a very unhelpful and rude service rep named XXXX who informed me that they sent a letter and that it was in the mail. XXXX informed me what was in the letter. A letter was sent to us dated XX/XX/XXXX ( received XX/XX/XXXX ) and it stated, " Upon review of the account history, the enclosed notices were generated by the prior servicer on XX/XX/XXXXXXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, requesting evidence of flood insurance, as the property was located in a Special Flood Hazard Area ( " SFHA '' ). Flood insurance coverage was required as of XX/XX/XXXX, which the prior servicer had no evidence of. If sufficient evidence of insurance was not received, a lender placed insurance policy would be purchased. '' The letter also stated, " It is essential to note that flood insurance was not included with the escrow account at the time the account originated on XX/XX/XXXX, as shown on the enclosed Initial Escrow Account Disclosure Statement. Therefore, any disbursement for flood insurance would result in a shortage in the escrow account, as the flood insurance requirement was established after the escrow account had been funded. '' These two statements show that XXXX is aware of the back dating of the policy as well as the loan origination did not require any flood policy at the time of closing ( this is due to our home being zoned flood x as according to our SFHDF/ underwriting ). Additionally, the letter went on to say, " Based on this review of the account, we have determined that the current accounting of the escrow account balance is accurate, and no changes are required ''. After seeing that there were no changes being made or assistance given, I then pressured our original lender Premier Lending again for our underwriting info and flood cert, which they then sent us our original SFHDF as well as a contact within XXXX. The contact was XXXX XXXX with XXXX and she informed me that XXXX is no longer connected with Shellpoint/ Newrez. Despite this XXXX XXXX listened to our situation and sent correspondence to her contact with Shellpoint to attempt to resolve our issues with the improper disbursement that we never received back. After receiving the SFHDF I sent a fax to XXXX Escalation Dept. with all of the information from the notice of error, the SFHD Form, and a written statement explaining the situation and requested the following : 1. Written confirmation explaining the legal basis for the {$6200.00} escrow disbursement for lender-placed flood insurance 2. Proof of all notices allegedly sent prior to force-placement, including dates and delivery method 3. Removal of any escrow shortage, payment increase, or negative balance resulting from this disbursement 4. Reimbursement or credit for all escrow payments made as a result of this error 5. A corrected escrow analysis reflecting only valid, properly noticed disbursements 6. Written assurance that no negative credit reporting, fees, or penalties have occurred or will occur related to this issue. On XX/XX/XXXXXXXX we received a check from Shellpoint/ Newrez of the amount {$5100.00} which is a direct result of XXXX XXXX XXXX correspondence with Shellpoint/ Newrez . This amount is {$1100.00} short from the original improper disbursement of {$6200.00}. XXXX then sent a letter of response dated XX/XX/XXXXXXXX that stated, " After a thorough review of your most recent correspondence, XXXX is unable to identify any new issues that have not been previously addressed in detail by XXXX, as your recent correspondence appears to be substantially similar, or even identical to, correspondence previously addressed by XXXX. Accordingly, no further response from XXXX is required. '' After again seeing no change or assistance from XXXX I then called Shellpoint/ Newrez and recorded the call. I spoke with a rep named XXXX and we spoke for over an hour and 45mins in which she confirmed that Shellpoint/ Newrez does still have my documentation despite previously being told otherwise as well as acknowledged the improper disbursement and back dated lender forced placed policy. I then asked the rep to send me the related documents via email ( which I still have yet to receive ). Additionally, it should be noted that XXXX XXXX stated that she is filing a complaint with the insurance dept at Shellpoint/ Newrez and gave me the case number : XXXX. After giving all my contact info to XXXX XXXX she told me she would send the documents and that later in the week I should expect a call from the insurance dept ( I never received a call since then ). It should be noted that the FEMA flood elevation for my area has not changed since XXXX and both our original SFHDF and a new SFHDF as of XX/XX/XXXXXXXX for refinancing our home with XXXX shows the property as being in a flood X zone. The retroactive placement of lender-imposed flood insurance covering a period prior to notice and prior to any failure to maintain coverage raises serious concerns under RESPA servicing rules and federal flood insurance regulations.

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