Date Received: 2023-12-23
Issue: Trouble during payment process
Subissue: Escrow, taxes, or insurance
Consumer Complaint: Firstly, this is late Friday on a holiday weekend, so all that was left to me to " work things out '' was to use the message portal, which will not be seen until probably, Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX at the earliest. ( Email stated two business days to reply, ) A vague message was on my account in XXXX, possibly earlier, about escrow review. The first indication of my having an overage was by US mail. I used the message portal to inquire if " the check went out the door '' then heard nothing for two weeks. In the meanwhile, I received a paper check for the overage and a new monthly payment amount. After receiving the check, I figured I had already received my answer, it did go out the door, and then made plans for depositing. I have no car, so I use bank by mail with XXXXXXXX XXXX. I promptly mailed them the check, which has yet to be credited, and with the holiday coming up, used my money to effectuate a prompt principal payment, and wait on the check to reimburse myself. Without consulting me, I learned late on Friday of a holiday weekend, they voided the check without consideration of sticking me with a potential bank fee or that I needed the funds to cover other bills for the month. They also failed to check to see if the escrow funds, via a self-loan, had been used to apply to the principal. It was so late, they had closed.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: VT
Zip: 056XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-12-23
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-12-22
Issue: Trouble during payment process
Subissue: Escrow, taxes, or insurance
Consumer Complaint: After XXXX, I received a computer generated note from Freedom Mortgage that was dated XX/XX/XXXX, and their written notice regarded increasing my current hazard insurance that would be mandated to include " WIND '' coverage by stating that The insurance we will purchase : They used vague words like " immediately '' but did not specify any date of action, so I called several times and spoke to different customer service representatives and their insurance department as well as the Lender-placed insurance department. I have had the same hazard insurance coverage ( - WIND ) since the inception of my mortgage which was agreed upon years earlier. This same coverage was submitted to them every year and I was never informed of any hazard coverage shortfalls or the specific need to purchase additional " WIND '' coverage until after XXXX XXXX. Then I received the next notice ( dated XX/XX/XXXX ) on XX/XX/XXXX and reviewed my original mortgage docs, and their written notice stated that we have purchased Lender-placed insurance, along with additional documents. EVIDENCE OF LENDER-PLACED WIND INSURANCE ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) Amount of insurance : {>= $1,000,000} Annual premium : {$56000.00} + {$2.00} XXXX Provides dwelling/building protection against loss. ( Not land or complete property ) Subject to deductibles ( undefined ) not available from Freedom or XXXX XXXX. I called the insurance Dept at Freedom, and spoke to XXXX XXXX XXXX # XXXX. ***She stated that can not see when the lender-place policy was purchased but the effective date is XX/XX/XXXX. **Furthermore, the wind policy is subject to a deductible but that deductible amount is only available after a claim has been filed. *Finally, the amount of their WIND coverage is 80 % of my current hazard insurance on file, yet only provides coverage for building/dwelling - not the property as a whole. The XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX FL website lists the value of our building/dwelling at $ XXXX, but the value of our land is > $ XXXX and the Freedom mortgage is only $ XXXX yet they have taken out an insurance policy with coverage > $ XXXX. My hazard insurance has remained the same since I applied for and was offered an original mortgage which was sold to Freedom and no additional parameters were stated to me. Only late in XXXX was I notified that additional WIND coverage is now required, in addition to my current hazard and flood insurance coverages which are already in place. This additional cost is an impossible burden to me, requiring an additional $ XXXX in earned income subject to XXXX which would allow me to spend $ XXXX for this added cost, and I am unable to achieve this additional income annually. I have contacted XXXX different insurance brokers and dozens of insurance companies but am unable to bind coverage specifically for " WIND '' to be added to my existing hazard policy. XXXX agents have written to me that no company will even underwrite homeowner 's policies with " WIND '' in XXXX XXXX. I have discussed this with Freedom Mortgage and offered to payoff the entire loan amount in full within 7 days. They sent payment of {$56000.00} to XXXX XXXX XXXX ( not XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) on XX/XX/XXXX but retroactively applied an effective date of XX/XX/XXXX. They have added this bill to my existing Escrow account and will not let me payoff my mortgage without paying this additional full amount of $ XXXX. XXXX - Is it legal in the State of Florida to have a an effective date earlier than the purchase date? Can a company require a homeowner to purchase retroactive insurance coverage when there is a XXXX chance of a claim being filed since that time has passed? XXXX - Is it legal in the State of Florida to require a homeowner to be Overinsured for building/dwelling? Does an insurance company have the right to set an arbitrary value for such XXXX - Do the above actions represent some type of Insurance fraud??? XXXX - The results of their action without offering me a specified date when this would be charged/paid did not leave me any choices or alternatives. XXXX - I am forced to payoff the entire mortgage ( with added $ XXXX ) and incur an income tax reportable event by withdrawing the full amount from my IRA to get out from under this. This is an unreasonable mandated over-insurance coverage which has an annual payment more than twice my mortgage payments. My mortgage was $ XXXX per year but would jump to $ XXXX because of this action. This company has not given me an opportunity to discuss or obtain additional hazard insurance by a specific given date, and has charged me an additional $ XXXX per year which triples my costs to meet their new requirements. They will not release any specific information regarding the " WIND '' insurance purchased or how they determined the amount of insurance or deductibles, but state that these parameters will be disclosed only after a claim is filed. This represents insurance and mortgage fraud, waste, abuse, and misconduct.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: FL
Zip: 33040
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-12-22
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-12-21
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Subissue: Account information incorrect
Consumer Complaint: Freedom Mortgage is saying my payment is late and not been paid however it has been paid. It brought my credit score XXXX XXXX points.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: GA
Zip: 30114
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-12-21
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-12-21
Issue: Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem
Subissue: Their investigation did not fix an error on your report
Consumer Complaint: My mortgage was initiated with XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. I was told by the XXXX XXXX in XXXX my loan would be transferred to Freedom Mortgage so the payment I make would be transferred. I called to ensure I was paying in advance to get the option to pay every XXXX weeks split payment of XXXX. I made a payment to XXXX XXXX for my first month on XX/XX/XXXX. XX/XX/XXXX I received my payment disclosure showing a discrepancy which I contacted XXXX XXXX to discuss the transfer amount. I paid XX/XX/XXXX in full for XX/XX/XXXX which the account was due at that time. I contacted freedom mortgage which they said I pay in advance so I am always ahead. Moving forward, XX/XX/XXXX I have autopay in which the FIRST payment was MISSED, but I was already in advance. My next withdrawal occurred with no problem for that month. I checked my credit and it showed I was delinquent which in fact I was already paid in ADVANCE. I contacted Freedom Mortgage which a supervisor. Stated they would resolve this and you are not late. I then inquired about the option to safeguard my credit using forbearance but I NEVER SIGNED since I didnt want to use it since my credit was already impacted. I waited for the representative to contact me back after XXXX weeks I contacted them back with no changes and no documentation noted, I proceeded to mail all the documentation to the creditors and Freedom Mortgage on or around XX/XX/XXXX. I paid on time, the servicer then still reflected my credit inaccurate along with my payments applied correctly, stating they only see the escrow payment transfer from previous company. Please see my payment for escrow ( XX/XX/XXXX ) and payment for mortgage on XX/XX/XXXX. The company took my escrow and applied partial half payment to my payment for month of XX/XX/XXXX, then reported me as late for full month XX/XX/XXXX. I paid the balance XXXX for partial they stated was late asking them to have accounting contact my first servicer, XXXX XXXX and find why my payment is showing late if I could ONLY GET ON A BIWEEKLY PLAY IF YOU PAY IN ADVANCE A TOTAL OF 1 MONTH PRIOR. I paid over {$15000.00} for XX/XX/XXXX for next XXXX MONTHS. The company then said I was on a forebearance plan and would not report my credit as paid even though I PAID AND NEVER SIGNED ANY DOCUMENTS. My credit reporting accounts shows late indicator XXXX which is XXXX DAYS LATE. I never signed forebearance documents ; I paid advance 1 month prior to start of loan on XX/XX/XXXX but my credit now dropped XXXX to XXXX overall.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: OK
Zip: 74133
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-12-21
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-12-21
Issue: Trouble during payment process
Subissue: Fees charged
Consumer Complaint: Freedom Mortgage Corporation charged me {$110.00} in late fees when I have not missed any payments. They did not provide me with any late fee notifications or let me know they were charging me fees. My loan payment was paid regularly on the XXXX and XXXX each month as was set up by their auto pay system that they strongly encouraged. I filed a form and an online request that Freedom Mortgage picked the dates of the XXXX and the XXXX for payments. Now, they are stating my payment of the XXXX is late but I was only notified today on XX/XX/2023 rather than months ago when the auto pay was set up in XXXX. I can not believe they will not waive the fees as they never sent me any correspondence or statements showing a late fee until today I was sent a vague email to log on. In talking to customer service they said they would escalate it and never did. They never sent me any information or provided any reasoning of why their auto pay was causing me late fees. There are not late fees shown in my history attached.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: MT
Zip: 59405
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-12-21
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-12-20
Issue: Trouble during payment process
Subissue: Escrow, taxes, or insurance
Consumer Complaint: Freedom Mortgage sent me a bill for increased escrow charges, gave me the option to pay shortage or raise payment, I sent them a check for escrow shortfall, they did not credit it and raised my bill. after contacting them three times they fixed escrow lance and then charged me a late charge because they billed me for the higher monthly rate. I made my normal payment on time but they still show my bill unpaid on line. I pay through Bankers bill pay portal and I have two years of records of onetime payment to prove it. This firm is quite predatory and does everything it can to XXXX up payments!
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: IA
Zip: 503XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-12-20
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-12-20
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage
Subissue: Confusing or misleading advertising or marketing
Consumer Complaint: My mortgage was sold to Freedom Mortgage. After making my first payment to the new company. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX called to refinance. He told me he could save me {$48.00} a month. Of course the VA funding fee etc would be rolled into my mortgage so I didn't have to pay out of pocket. I told him {$48.00} was not going to help me {$48.00} is not what I would call a savings to restart my mortgage. He asked to write it up anyway. I said sure. He called me 2 days later and continued his push to save me {$48.00} a month after I told him no. He continued to try and push me after 2 other no 's and I final lost my mind and cursed him out. He refused to send me to his boss after requesting to speak to him and said he didn't have that ability and would not give me his bosses information. I didn't ask for my mortgage to be sold. I don't like the way they are trying to push me into more finance charges that they will collect. And {$48.00} a month wont offset the funding fee of the mortgage for 3 years or so. Poor business practice in my opinion.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: MO
Zip: 63033
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-12-20
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-12-19
Issue: Trouble during payment process
Subissue: Private mortgage insurance (PMI)
Consumer Complaint: We requested removal of PMI once we reached 20 % of the original loan amount paid off in XXXX of XXXX. We received a denial letter stating we had not met the principal required payoff amount, so the cancellation would require an appraisal to base it off of current value instead of the original loan amount. We then made additional payments in XXXX and XXXX to meet the requirements bringing as to more than 22 % paid on the original loan amount instead. When we requested the PMI removal in XXXX we received this response, " We are unable to honor your request to cancel the PMI for the following reason, an automated valuation model ( AVM ) for the property value is not available at this time. The investor, XXXX XXXX, requires that a valuation be completed to determine eligibility for early PMI removal. '' We are not requesting early PMI removal, we are requesting standard PMI removal once the 22 % paid on the original loan threshold was crossed. I called and spoke to a customer service representative at Freedom Mortgage ( who's ID # I retained for my records on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX ). After waiting on hold while she reviewed our account, I was informed that what the response " actually '' meant was they were sending a form for us to complete to request the removal of PMI. Part of this request would include an additional fee of {$150.00} to have a XXXX agent come out and assess the property. Freedom Mortgage stated that because our mortgage is a XXXX XXXX XXXX backed mortgage, which until now was not disclosed to us, that this was mandatory. What Freedom Mortgage will not explain at this time is why this process is necessary, even though we have met the original loan requirements and filed multiple formal requests. Both the Freedom Mortgage and XXXX XXXX websites outline this process, and Fannie Mae is not able to enforce more restrictions on PMI than standard mortgage lenders. Until now our requests have been denied without follow up, other than telling us of alternative options with the XXXX. The last movement on this process was that Freedom Mortgage stated They would send the form, we would have to return the form with the {$150.00} and they would schedule a XXXX agent to come out and assess the property.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: NY
Zip: 105XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-12-19
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-12-19
Issue: Trouble during payment process
Subissue: Escrow, taxes, or insurance
Consumer Complaint: I switched insurance carriers on the mortgage. I transferred from XXXX ending on XX/XX/2023 to XXXX XXXX starting on XX/XX/2023. Freedom Mortgage is trying to charge me {$7.00} dollars annually for insurance coverage for XX/XX/2023. Even though I already had insurance thru XXXX for that day. Coverage lasted until XXXX XXXX and at XXXX XXXX on the XXXX XXXX XXXX became effective. I tried to resolve this with Freedom Mortgage but kept getting g the response that the industry standard is to have overlapping coverage. Neither insurance carrier nor anyone else I have talked to has heard of having to have overlapping coverage. Nor is overlapping covers in my mortgage contract. There is no need from the document I signed stating that I have to have dual insurance for a 24 hour period if I change carriers.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: MI
Zip: 490XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-12-19
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-12-20
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage
Subissue: Applying for or obtaining a modification, forbearance plan, short sale, or deed-in-li
Consumer Complaint: -Contacted Freedom Mortgage early on- I initially contacted Freedom Mortgage in early XXXX I received a notice from the XXXX Tax & revenue Office about outstanding taxes. My mortgage went from {$3900.00} to almost XXXX XXXX which I am not able to afford. Research revealed that there were code violations from the previous owner. Just for background, my house is a historic home thats over XXXX XXXX XXXX and the previous owner has 30+ years of deferred maintenance. XXXX XXXX cited violations for the previous owner which is now showing on my tax bill. I contacted the title attorney and insurance company, and there is an ongoing complaint and possible legal action to remove these fines completely since those violations and fines should have been paid at settlement. XXXXXXXX referred me to a tax advocate ( XXXX XXXX ) who Ive been working with diligently to correct the matter. I contacted Freedom Mortgage to alert them to the issue at hand. I was proactive in alerting Freedom Mortgage to this issue. I am overall demoralized and exhausted which further stresses my economic hardship. The tax bill is outrageous and no reasonable person should have to deal with this in their first year of homeownership. -I never received a response to my hardship forbearance request - Records will show that I contacted Freedom Mortgage early on. I logged on to pay my mortgage and saw a link that offered financial assistance. I was taken to another website and filled out the application and did not receive a receipt or response so I called in. When I called I would always receive many conflicting responses to my situation and no further instructions advising me of my options and I found the process to be vague. Each week I called they would say my application was pending and the decision was under review. They never told me that they issued a formal response, and I did not receive any notice by mail or online. In fact, there are 5 returned mail notifications in the Freedom Mortgage portal. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. I became frustrated and browsed all over the website and finally found the portal with notifications. I spoke with 3 customer service reps and 2 supervisors and no one informed me. -Conflicting contents of the letters - I eventually found returned mail and denial letters in the portal. This was my first time seeing those letters after calling persistently for status updates to my hardship request. The letters themselves are conflicting. There are multiple denial letters which show that I indeed responded. The 1st denial letter dated XX/XX/XXXX states that I was not eligible for a formal forbearance because 100 % of my calculated surplus income is not sufficient to cure the arrearage on my account for 6 months. This defeats the entire purpose of a forbearance request for a hardship so it is very misleading and does not address my particular tax issue. The second denial letter dated XX/XX/XXXX excludes the forbearance option completely and only says I am eligible for a partial claim, which in my case doesnt make sense. Once the taxes are forgiven the claim wouldnt exist anymore. I feel my case was ignored and delayed just to deny me when I never received a notice of my rights they offered no solutions to my problems. My rights as homeowner are not being respected and they are steering me to programs beneficial to them and not to programs beneficial to the homeowner. Freedom Mortgage intentionally delayed their responses and made it further obscure to find the hardship application all while giving me conflicting answers on the phone. This is essentially a wild goose chase meant to waste my time.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: DC
Zip: 20001
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-12-20
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A