Consumer complaint received 2025-04-10 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC)
Issue: Trouble during payment process — Payment process
Company: TD BANK US HOLDING COMPANY
State: NJ

Complaint narrative:
I have a HELOC with TD Bank. Enough said, perhaps. 

On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX, I made my XXXX HELOC payment in the amount of {$660.00} at my local branch ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX NJ ). The finance charge was {$410.00}. I paid an additional {$250.00} to be applied to the principal. I used the payment slip attached to my statement. That slip has a designated area for " additional principal. '' I wrote the {$250.00} in that box. The {$250.00} was not applied to the principal. The entire {$660.00} was applied to the finance charge. I was unaware of that error at the time. 

On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX, I made my XXXX HELOC payment at the same branch in the amount of {$610.00}. That amount included an additional {$250.00} to be paid towards the principal. Once again, I completed the slip provided by TD which clearly indicates the portion to be designated toward the principal. Again, the entire {$610.00} was paid towards the finance charge. I was unaware of the error at that time. 

Last week, I received my XXXX statement. It indicates a finance charge of {$410.00} and a total past due amount of {$110.00} for a total of {$520.00}. I was alarmed - I had no idea where that past due amount came from, and so I called TD on XX/XX/XXXX. 

I spoke with a representative, XXXX, who informed me that the two {$250.00} payments I made towards the principal in XXXX and XXXX were not credited towards the principal. She also told me that she was unsure of what the {$110.00} charge was for the XXXX statement, and that she was going to look into it and give me a call the following week. She also told me that in the meantime, I should pay the {$520.00} XXXX payment. I have not done that yet because of the debacle of this whole situation. 

And of course, because of the incorrectly applied payments, I've accumulated interest on a balance that's higher than it should have been. 

When I checked my account earlier this week, those two principal payments of {$250.00} now appear as curtailments. 

I contacted TD via email indicating that I was going to report them to you because of this entire problem. This Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX I received a phone call from a representative who wanted to discuss my email. I spoke with her, XXXX, today. She told me that the {$110.00} on this month 's bill is an additional accumulation of interest, even though last month 's payment was made within the grace period. I was furious, lost my temper, and eventually hung up. 

Since opening the account a year ago, I've made payments by mail, was told to make payments at the branch, and have been told that I need to verbally indicate that I am including payment towards the principal. I have been told that whenever payments are made at the branch, only the entire payment amount shows on the receipt, even if I verbally indicate that funds in excess of the finance charge should go towards the principal. 

I want to make my payments and want to have them properly credited. I have not made this month 's payment yet out of concern that the amount of {$520.00} is incorrect. However, I also do not want to incur late fees. I'm at a total loss. I've never encountered anything like this with any bank I've used. It seems that no one knows what they're doing, and the customer is literally paying the price. 

Additionally, when I opened the HELOC, I was told that I would receive an access card for the account, and that I would need to go to my local branch to get one. The branch manager told me there is no such thing. She also told me that I could not have a hard copy of my HELOC documents. 

I am also concerned for others who have accounts with TD. I'm confident that TD 's ineptitude and dubious practices have affected many more account holders than me. 

As final note, I have my mortgage with XXXX XXXX and consistently make payments towards my principal with my monthly payment. They automatically credit that overpayment to my principal and clearly show that on both my online and hard copy statements. TD must do the same.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation