Consumer complaint received 2025-06-25 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem — Problem with personal statement of dispute
Company: Freedom Mortgage Company
State: NJ

Complaint narrative:
My mortgage was transferred to Freedom Mortgage corporation on XX/XX/XXXX from XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX. There was also a XXXX deferred amount passed from XXXX XXXX to XXXX ). 

I arranged to make payments of {$1300.00} every XXXX weeks. Each payment was deducted from my bank account automatically by Freedom Mortgage. There were no issues with this arrangement until the end of the mortgage when the final monthly amount owed was {$2.00} XXXX, resulting in XXXX payments of {$1200.00}. These were not applied to my mortgage, but put into an unapplied funds account. 

Subsequent to this, despite the monthly mortgage payments being satisfied, an additional bi-weekly payment amount was deducted from my bank account on XX/XX/XXXX for the amount of {$1200.00}. This amount was also put into unapplied funds. 

I called their Customer Care line to ask why an additional payment had been taken and was advised that this was probably a mistake and I should cancel my ACH Debit at XXXX XXXX XXXX to avoid any additional payments being made. 

The remaining forbearance amount was the only outstanding amount and I was told that the payment date for this was XX/XX/XXXX. 

To ensure that I made the correct payment, I requested a Payoff Statement on XX/XX/XXXX and paid the full amount on XX/XX/XXXX. 

An overview of events is as follows : The XX/XX/XXXX statement shows : XXXX ) A payment on XX/XX/XXXX for {$1300.00}. The first bi-monthly payment is put into Unapplied Funds until the second payment is received. 
XXXX ) A payment on XX/XX/XXXX for {$1300.00} then the Unapplied Funds is combined with this payment to make the regular mortgage payment of {$2600.00}. 
XXXX ) The Unapplied Funds is then set to XXXX. 

The XX/XX/XXXX statement shows : XXXX ) A payment on XX/XX/XXXX for {$1300.00}, which was applied as a curtailment ( a principal only payment ). 
XXXX ) A payment on XX/XX/XXXX for {$1300.00}, which was put into Unapplied Funds. 
XXXX ) A payment on XX/XX/XXXX for {$1300.00}, which was combined with the previous amount to make the usual mortgage payment. 

The XX/XX/XXXX statement shows : XXXX ) A payment on XX/XX/XXXX for {$1300.00}. The first bi-monthly payment is put into Unapplied Funds until the second payment is received. 
XXXX ) A payment on XX/XX/XXXX for {$1300.00} then the Unapplied Funds is combined with this payment to make the regular mortgage payment of {$2600.00}. 
XXXX ) The Unapplied Funds is then set to XXXX. 
XXXX ) Note that the amount due is {$2500.00} Note that there is no statement at the beginning of XXXX, because the mortgage principal was XXXX, so no payment was required. 

The XX/XX/XXXX statement shows : XXXX ) A payment on XX/XX/XXXX for {$1200.00} ( half the amount due on the XXXX statement ). This bi-monthly payment is put into Unapplied Funds. 
XXXX ) A payment on XX/XX/XXXX for {$1200.00} ( the other half the amount due on the XXXX statement ). This bi-monthly payment is also put into Unapplied Funds. 
XXXX ) Another payment on XX/XX/XXXX for {$1200.00}. This payment is also put into Unapplied Funds. 
XXXX ) Then a late charge of {$120.00} appears. 
XXXX ) Note that the principal amount due at this point is XXXX. 

A payoff statement on XX/XX/XXXX shows a late fee of {$120.00}. I disputed the late fee as all regular mortgage payments had been made on time and I was just waiting for the Payoff Statement. I waited to hear from Freedom Mortgage regarding my query. 

Apparently, Freedom Mortgage agreed with me because a subsequent payoff statement on XX/XX/XXXX showed that the late fee had been removed. 

In the period between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, on XX/XX/XXXX, Freedom Mortgage submitted a late payment report to all the Credit Rating agencies. This appears on my credit rating file and my wifes credit rating file ( it was a joint mortgage ). This late payment dropped each of our previously excellent credit ratings by well over XXXX points. Obviously, this has had a very negative effect on other accounts, for example, the credit limit on many of my credit cards has been reduced, several cards have been cancelled, loan interest rates have risen significantly, etc. In addition, our credit rating files show both a late payment and that the entire mortgage ( including the forbearance amount ) was fully paid off at the same time. 

If Freedom Mortgage still had unapplied funds in suspense on XX/XX/XXXX, why was my account determined to be delinquent? 

The amount in Unapplied Funds was greater than the Current Unpaid Principal and in addition, the Payoff Statement shows no Late Charges. 

Despite phone calls and letters showing payment had been made but not applied to my mortgage, Freedom Mortgage has failed to correct this error. 

After XXXX years of making all mortgage payments correctly, on time and as requested, Im shocked that Im being reported as delinquent. 

I would like this error corrected and the late payment removed from our credit rating file with all the credit rating agencies.

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