Consumer complaint received 2025-02-15 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — Escrow, taxes, or insurance
Company: Mr. Cooper Group Inc.
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX, we got an escrow statement from Mr. Cooper ( our lender ) indicating that we had a surplus in our escrow account. So they were reducing our monthly payments by {$200.00} and cutting us a check for {$6100.00}. The new payment became effective in XX/XX/XXXX. We originally paid our first property taxes since purchasing the home as we didn't know that escrow was supposed to pay for it. The check of {$6100.00} was communicated as being extra money ( property taxes paid by us ) that was being refunded. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, a new escrow analysis was conducted by Mr. Cooper and we received a statement indicating our payments were increasing and that there was an escrow shortage. Our new payments, beginning in XX/XX/XXXX, would increase by {$470.00} and that our shortage in escrow was {$2900.00}. 

We reached out multiple times to Mr. Cooper to speak to representatives to understand the situation we were in. The first few representatives did not have any understanding/knowledge to explain why our payments changed initially in XXXX, and why in just 3 months, it was increasing drastically. 

We finally were able to get through the escalations department, and the first agent we talked to was able to explain that the escrow analysis done in XX/XX/XXXX, was incorrect as they had inputted the wrong amount for the property taxes. We inquired on how that was possible to have such a huge margin of error within the analysis, and the agent didn't have an explanation as to why it happened. The agent did confirm that our taxes at closing when we purchased the home in XX/XX/XXXX, was accurate to the same value of what our property taxes were in XX/XX/XXXX. However, the agent confirmed that they did not understand why such a low amount was entered for our property taxes during that initial analysis in XX/XX/XXXX. We were told that this shortage issue and new payment increase, was due to this error and now we were responsible in making up the difference. This error was not due to an increase in our property taxes, but merely a wrongly inputted value for our property taxes by our lender. 

We then called again to another Mr. Cooper agent in the escalation department, this time this agent was able to provide more information. The agent explained that when we were transferred to Mr. Cooper as our lender, the property tax given to them was inaccurate. We were transferred from XXXX XXXX Mortgage to Mr. Cooper in XX/XX/XXXX. The agent stated that XXXX gave them the wrong property tax information, and Mr. Cooper has an automated system that conducts the escrow analysis. Since the information passed over to them was inaccurate ( from XXXX ), Mr. Cooper did not verify and conducted that analysis in XX/XX/XXXX based on a wrong property tax amount, which led to our payments changing. Our projected property taxes at closing in XXXX and the actual property taxes in XXXX, did not change at all. So we do not understand where these lenders ( XXXX and Mr. Cooper ) were basing their analysis in XX/XX/XXXX from. 

We were unaware of how the whole escrow analysis system works, as we are new to being home owners. When we asked Mr. Cooper, how a major error like this can happen with no liability, they just said it happens, and us the homeowners are responsible for the repercussions of those said errors. 

We are already just making it by with all the expenses of being a homeowner in XXXX XXXX, and having " experts '' who work for these lenders make a significant life changing error, is unacceptable. 

Being unable to afford this new amount that is taking effect in XX/XX/XXXX, we asked Mr. Cooper what our options would be. They indicated there is nothing Mr. Cooper can do, and we had to either pay the shortage upfront, or split it over the year. Regardless of what option we pursued, our payments were going up as it never should have originally changed to begin with. After further inquiring, the agent indicated that we could spread the shortage over a max of 60 months which would increase our new monthly cost by {$280.00}. We explained to the agent that this still does not solve the problem that was created by Mr. Cooper, and the possibility of a similar error repeating again in the future, was likely. For the time being, we opted for the shortage to be spread over the 60 months while we worked on getting further resolution. We were told that we would be getting a new escrow statement reflecting this 60 month spread in the following week. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, we received a new escrow statement that showed the spread over 12 months and not 60 months as was communicated to us over the phone. We pursued this new issue with an agent through Mr. Cooper 's chat feature, and the agent stated that the max spread option for the amount was 24 months. Once we explained that we were promised a 60 month spread on a recorded line, then they said they " ... escalated the issue and will create a request to spread the shortfall into 60 months ... ''. This means that they have the option but didn't want to do it and were trying to lie to us and say only the 24 month option was available. 

We are reaching out to you at CFPB, as it is completely unacceptable for lenders with this much leverage and authority to make such errors that affect their clients ' lives. We hope we are able to hear back and understand what we can do to survive as first time home owners, because currently, these kind of companies and their incompetence, make it difficult. We are asking to ensure someone is held liable for creating these drastic issues for homeowners. These kind of mistakes should not be " common '' within the homeowner communities.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation