Consumer complaint received 2026-04-13 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem — Problem with personal statement of dispute
Company: Freedom Mortgage Company
State: AZ

Complaint narrative:
COMPLAINT REGARDING INACCURATE CREDIT REPORTING DURING APPROVED FORBEARANCE AND TRIAL LOAN MODIFICATION I am filing this complaint against Freedom Mortgage for inaccurately reporting my mortgage payments as late to the credit bureaus during an approved forbearance period and a servicer-offered trial payment plan, causing severe and ongoing financial harm. BACKGROUND In XXXX of XXXX, I entered into an approved forbearance agreement with Freedom Mortgage on my mortgage loan ( Account # XXXX ). The forbearance was approved by the servicer and lasted approximately XXXX months. At the conclusion of the forbearance, Freedom Mortgage offered me a trial payment plan as a pathway to a permanent loan modification. The servicer presented this plan as a preview of what my new modified loan terms would look like, contingent on my completing three consecutive on-time payments at the reduced trial amount. I accepted the trial plan in good faith. During the trial period, I made all three payments on time and in the exact amounts specified by the servicer. Critically, when I logged into my mortgage account on Freedom Mortgage 's online portal during this period, the reduced trial payment amount was displayed as my " payment due. '' There was no indication on the portal that a different, higher amount was expected, nor any warning that making the trial payments as instructed could result in negative credit reporting. I successfully completed the trial period, and my permanent loan modification was finalized. I have been current on my modified mortgage payments since the modification was completed. THE PROBLEM Despite the fact that I was on an approved forbearance and then made every trial payment on time and as instructed, Freedom Mortgage reported multiple late payments to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX during both the forbearance period and the trial modification period. The servicer 's justification is that because the trial payments were less than the full original mortgage payment amount which they claim was " technically still valid '' until the permanent modification was executed the payments qualified as partial and therefore late. This reporting is misleading and harmful for the following reasons : 1. The servicer approved the forbearance and offered the trial plan. I did not unilaterally reduce my payments I followed the servicer 's own program. 2. The servicer 's online portal displayed the reduced trial amount as my payment due during the trial period. A reasonable consumer logging into their account would conclude that paying the amount shown as due constitutes an on-time payment. 3. At no point did the servicer clearly disclose in the trial plan offer, on the portal, or in any communication I received that making the trial payments as instructed would result in late payment reporting to the credit bureaus. 4. The trial plan was presented as a pathway to modification, not as a period during which my credit would be damaged. Had I understood the credit reporting consequences, I would have sought alternative arrangements. DISPUTE HISTORY Upon discovering the late payment entries on my credit reports, I filed a dispute directly with the servicer. They denied my dispute, claiming the reporting was " accurate '' because the original loan terms technically remained in effect until the modification was finalized. I believe this response fails to account for the misleading nature of the trial plan offer and the portal display, and does not reflect a reasonable investigation of my dispute as required under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. FINANCIAL HARM The inaccurate late payment reporting has had severe, concrete financial consequences : - My credit score has dropped significantly. My current score is approximately XXXX, whereas prior to the forbearance and trial period it was substantially higher. - I have been denied a home equity line of credit ( HELOC ) specifically due to the reported forbearance and late payments, despite having significant equity in my home and strong income ( {$140000.00} annual salary plus approximately $ XXXX in rental income ). - As a direct result of being unable to access home equity lending, I remain unable to consolidate approximately {$50000.00} in credit card debt that I took on because of unexpected medical issues, much of which is accruing interest at rates exceeding 25 %. Had I been approved for a HELOC at typical rates of XXXX %, I would be saving thousands of dollars per year in interest charges. - The damaged credit profile is limiting my financial options and prolonging a debt situation that my income would otherwise allow me to resolve efficiently.

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