Consumer complaint received 2025-09-03 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — Trying to communicate with the company to fix an issue while managing or servicing your loan
Company: Shellpoint Partners, LLC
State: SC

Complaint narrative:
Shellpoint Mortgage ( an affiliate of Newrez LLC ) is knowingly and intentionally requiring an erroneous additional payment in excess of {$500.00} per month, resulting in a paramount inconvenience to our family and our finances despite ample notice and opportunity to correct it. 
We closed on our home on XX/XX/XXXX. I am a closing attorney, and the closing was handled in my office. Prior to closing, the mortgage company was provided with several title documents, including a tax certification. The tax certification detailed, very specifically, what the property tax payment would be at the end of XXXX. It provided both a XXXX XXXX assessment ratio and a XXXX XXXX assessment ratio, the XXXX most common tax rates for the state of South Carolina. The XXXX XXXX rate applies to a homeowners primary residence, and the XXXX XXXX rate applies to investment properties, vacation homes, and any other real estate that is not a primary residence. This information is public record and was provided to the mortgage company before closing. My home is my primary residence, and I am assessed at the XXXX XXXX  tax rate. My mortgage company was aware of this and calculated my initial escrow payments accordingly. All this information was available to Shellpoint Mortgage Company when it purchased my mortgage in or about XXXX of XXXX, via the Authorization for Release of Information, which I signed at closing. All documents referenced in this paragraph are available for review upon request. 
On or about XX/XX/XXXX, I completed all necessary applications for the XXXX XXXX tax rate. Tax bills in my county are paid in arrears and due XX/XX/XXXX of each year. 
On or about XX/XX/XXXX, I spoke with a representative of Shellpoint Mortgage to discuss ( XXXX ) why the taxes were not yet paid as we neared the due date, and ( XXXX ) the amount they intended to pay. We discussed the XXXX XXXX tax rate again at length. 
On or about XX/XX/XXXX, Shellpoint Mortgage submits a late payment to the county treasurers office on my behalf, in the erroneous amount of {$7900.00} ( the XXXX XXXX tax rate ). This payment brought my escrow account into the negative. Because the county accepted the payment, I had to seek reimbursement from them directly. 
It was not until XX/XX/XXXX, that I received the refund for the difference. Shellpoint Mortgage had paid {$7900.00}. The actual tax payment amount was {$2400.00}. I received a reimbursement check in the amount of {$5500.00} for the difference. 
The following day, I spoke with an agent of Shellpoint Mortgage to discuss how to deposit the {$5500.00} into my escrow account so that the balance would not be negative. This agent assured me it was a simple process and helped me make the payment by phone. On XX/XX/XXXX, the {$5500.00} payment was withdrawn from my account and reflected on my Loan History Statement, bringing my escrow account back to positive. I thought this was the end of the issue, but this is only where this began. 
I heard absolutely nothing further from Shellpoint Mortgage. To my surprise, on XX/XX/XXXX, my monthly payment was over {$500.00} more than it had been for the last year. I called Shellpoint Mortgage on XX/XX/XXXX. The agent informed me that the increase was due to my tax bill going up. I explained in at least five different ways that my tax bill had not changed, I provided a tax statement from the county, and I reminded the agent of the reimbursement they had just received for the erroneous tax amount they sent. The agent told me they would have it solved by XXXX of XXXX. XXXX OF XXXX. In the meantime, I am expected to scrape together an extra {$500.00} per month, over {$6000.00} total, until they get around to fixing their mistake. In fact, the agent tried speaking down to me, explaining how this was just like waiting in line at the grocery store. When I asked how many times he had waited in line at a grocery store for XXXX XXXX, he digressed. I demanded that the issue be escalated, and the agent assured me it was. This was a blatant lie, as revealed by a later phone call. I recorded this call, and it is available upon request. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, after having heard nothing from Shellpoint Mortgage, I received my statement for XXXX. Again, it reflected the erroneous, increased amount due. I immediately called Shellpoint to inquire as to the status of my escalated issue. The agent I spoke with confirmed that since my call on XX/XX/XXXX, absolutely nothing had happened. There was no escalation, no resolution, not even a note in the file. I requested, again, that someone investigate the issue and escalate it. The agent assured me she would. I also recorded this call, and it is available upon request. 
I heard nothing further until XX/XX/XXXX, when I received a letter from Shellpoint Mortgage saying they needed additional time to investigate. This letter, dated 44 days after the XX/XX/XXXX call, did not state how much time they needed. The letter read as we-will-get-to-it-when-we-get-to-it. Further, this letter blatantly ignores the reimbursement they received, the calls made, and the documents provided. Instead, this letter was written as if this was the first Shellpoint had ever heard of it. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I replied to their letter as follows : Dear Sir or Madam, This letter is in response to your Escalation Response, dated XX/XX/XXXX, and attached herein. 
Notably omitted from your response was the acknowledgment of the escrow reimbursement in the amount {$5500.00} that you received on XX/XX/XXXX, for the prior erroneous tax payment. Also unmentioned are the XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX, calls in which the issue was discussed at length with Shellpoint representatives. To act as if any of this information is new is simply and unequivocally false. 
Further, all tax records are public records accessible to Shellpoint at any time without authorization or assistance from the homeowner. It is a mere three-click process on the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX link provided below ). Nevertheless, I am providing the tax bill, again. My name, address, and parcel number are shown on the top, left-hand side of the first page. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX : XXXX? XXXX & XXXX An additional, unexpected, and erroneous increase in our monthly payment in excess of {$500.00} is a paramount inconvenience to our family and should be a top priority of Shellpoint Mortgage Services, whose websites home page reads , The most important part of our business is you. We want to provide the best service and support right from the start, and claims their mission is to service loans with excellence and efficiency with highly responsive and courteous service. 
An eight-month-long issue that remains unresolved is neither excellent nor efficient. Further, the timeliness of your response would not meet even the most liberal application of highly responsive. 
With receipt of this tax bill, Shellpoint must expeditiously correct the escrow discrepancy. My next mortgage payment is due XX/XX/XXXX. That is XXXX days from receipt of this letter, and sixty-two days from the time Shellpoint claims it received its first inquiry. In no event should an additional payment at the erroneous amount be required by a company that prides itself on being highly responsive, after having sixty-two days to resolve the issue. 
If possible, I seek to avoid filing formal complaints and pursuing legal options. However, if this issue remains unchanged as of XX/XX/XXXX, I am prepared to seek all recourse available. 
As of today, XX/XX/XXXX, I have not heard back from Shellpoint, and the issue remains ongoing. In addition to this complaint, I am filing an injunction in XXXX XXXX.

Company public response: Company believes complaint represents an opportunity for improvement to better serve consumers
Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief