Date Received: 2023-07-17
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: Hello, I am trying to have my mortgage lender process a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. My lender is Freedom Mortgage. Freedom Mortgage is not acknowledging that this process exists, providing in anyway. I believe they are deliberately denying my requests in their own interest. A release of liability for an existing XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX mortgage is my legal right as a XXXX My lender is violating my rights and not upholding the laws and procedures of XXXX XXXX Mortgages.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: RI
Zip: 028XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-07-17
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-07-17
Issue: Trouble during payment process
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: Hello. I am having 2 problems with this company. 1 ) They reported to the credit agency that I am not paying on my mortgage. It is delinquent and I have missed payments when I have never missed a payment. My loan was just sold to FM by XXXX XXXX. XXXX reported correctly and I was green on my credit report. FM reported wrong causing to negatively affect my credit score. 2 ) They are refusing to give me a payoff statement when they have the permission documentation from my attorney to release the information to me. I feel like they are discriminating against me because I filed for XXXX and providing me with subpar service. They said if i didn't file for XXXX typically I would be provided with the documentation within an hour. Every time I call the date to provide me with the documentation is moved further and further in the future.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: VA
Zip: 22401
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-07-17
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-07-17
Issue: Closing on a mortgage
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: Personal home on a VA mortgage went under contract on XXXX XX/XX/2023. VA loan assumption application was filled out and mailed to Freedom mortgage on XXXX XX/XX/2023. Loan application was received and loan application processor reached out in early XXXX. Phone meeting was setup to review required documents and documents were mailed via postage as required by Freedom mortgage within 2 days. Documents were verified received by postal service. Freedom lost buyers ' documents with identifiable information resulting in a stolen identity issue that was necessitated extra work. In XXXX, loan assumption application was finally approved and assigned to another processor. XXXX stated that he was overloaded with assumption applications. The process of getting to underwriting took over a month. In XXXX, the assumption package was finally submitted and after several weeks was returned and required a second contract extension. Underwriting required that contact terms be changed regarding land purchase for cash as part of the contract in order to make the assumption go through. After making the requested changes, the inundated loan processor missed or avoided several voicemails and emails regarding title work as well as several inquiries from both buyer and seller regarding the timeline for completion. After several iterations of submitting work to title and having it sit idly for several weeks, requiring more contract extensions, I requested to speak with a manager. It took weeks just to get a manager to respond. When the Freedom Mortgage phone is called an operator answers but has no extension or transfer to a loan assumption department. Additionally, throughout the process, I received dozens of calls and letters asking me to refinance my loan which seemed both out of touch, distracted from the assumption, and offered no hope of progress. Finally, after nearly threatening to call continuously until progress was made, I received a call from the loan assumptions manager. She was apologetic and completely unaware of our extended timeline for the assumption. Additionally she offered to put a rush on our assumption package and later that day, we received the cleared to close. This process with Freedom mortgage was disjointed, far from seamless, antiquated, a security risk, stovepiped, negligent, criminally slow, and seemed intentionally so. I relaize an assumption offers little to no benefits for Freedom over a new loan but there is an obligation for VA loans and to the consumer. This I feel strongly is where they failed in their negligent execution of the entire process. This resulted in significant delays, multiple expenses, additional mortgage payments, and delay in executing a military PCS move for a family on orders.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: GA
Zip: 30269
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-07-17
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-07-12
Issue: Trouble during payment process
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: Mortgage Company continues to make false claims. They are charging me illegally for an Escrow and refuse to credit the refunded funds from the Insurance Company plus additional funds sent to them in error totally the cost of the insurance plus my deposit money to the insurance company refunded to them in error. They refuse to apply my payments to my mortgage and continue to charge me late fees and put my monthly payments into suspension. They also charged me {$500.00} twice the year before for an unknown reason for who knows what. While they claim I owe them {$3400.00} they actually owe me over {$1600.00} plus the interest on the loan from their misapplying my payments. My complaint to the XXXX XXXX XXXX yelled no results. Freedom Mortage just made the fake claims that I was late on my Mortgage. The Counseling support from a Hud Housing Counselor also yielded no results because Freedom Mortage Continues to Stonewall and make Paper trails of Late payments and Phone calls where they refuse to remedy the issue.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: CA
Zip: 923XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-07-12
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-07-12
Issue: Trouble during payment process
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: I Bought my home in XXXX and set up auto payments with my Bank XXXX for Freedom Mortgage. Beginning XXXX of this year I contacted Freedom Mortgage and informed them that I was changing banks to XXXX XXXX XXXX going through the process of setting up the new service first by calling Freedom Mortgage and giving all information to the agent I received a call from a senior member of the company informing me that they could not accept the information over the phone and was given a web site where to fill out the information. This I followed up on immediately only to receive a notice in the mail that I must fill out the same form and send it in. During this time period XXXX sent a payment and Freedom mortgage also took a payment in the same amount of my mortgage double payment. It took XXXX days for Freedom Mortgage to return my money. I went through the process of filling out the form and sending it to Freedom mortgage and again they attempted to take the funds from XXXX. Once again I contacted Freedom Mortage and was informed that I failed to change XXXX small thing on the form which actually was changed and written in on the second line. Requesting to speak with a supervisor. which I did and she had me go to the Website where she walked me through the process informing me that I was all set, and that the problem was solved. Again, this month they attempted to take the money from XXXX account now closed. Causing a minus on my account, late payment to Freedom all of which is going to affect my excellent credit score of XXXX That I have worked so hard to accomplish. Yesterday XX/XX/XXXX I contacted the office Freedom Mortgage requesting to speak to a supervisor again only to be told not available and some clerk who informed me he was working from home informed me he was sending in a request for me to receive call back.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: NV
Zip: 89131
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-08-10
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-07-12
Issue: Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem
Subissue: Problem with personal statement of dispute
Consumer Complaint: XX/XX/XXXX Dear representative of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, I am submitting a complaint on Freedom Mortgage, my current mortgage company. I am a single mother of XXXX XXXX who has dealt with extraordinary difficulties over the last decade. Despite these, I have worked incredibly hard to keep my financial world solid and stable. I have continuously held a good to excellent credit score and no late payments, etc. I have my own personal system for managing my finances and paying my bills which includes ALWAYS opting for hard copies and mailed hard copies of all financial documents and billing statements. This past year I filed my XXXX taxes early, and paid off and paid down debts to position myself for a home refinance or HELOC, etc. At the end of XXXX my father passed away unexpectedly leaving me solely responsible as successor trustee for the clearing, cleaning and sale of the family home, a huge storage unit, final arrangements, all of his personal and business accounts, etc. Throughout this same time, a family member with a substance abuse/addiction has been living with us to gain stability and enter a treatment program. Of course, that is all in addition to continuing working and taking care of my kids and household. In the month of XXXX ( XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX, to be exact ) I decided to check my Freedom Mortgage phone app for a convenient look at my account. Unbeknownst to me, this action automatically changed my billing statement preference to Paperless. The change was made late enough in the month of XXXX that I still received a statement in the mail for the month of XXXX, XXXX. The first electronic paperless statement was generated in XXXX for the month of XXXX. During this time I had also begun the application process for a home refinance. Due to my hectic life and without a hard copy mailed billing statement for the month of XXXX ( my regular, tangible reminder ), I paid my XXXX mortgage late. I honestly thought I had sent the payment. I sent the payment as soon as I realized the lapse, along with the next payment for the month of XXXX. I have attached the correspondence with Freedom Mortgage, including my first message and their response and my second message. I do not have a response to my second message, yet. The larger portion of this effort was made in the recorded phone calls to Freedom Mortgage. I do not have those but FM should if requested to produce them. I only have copies of messages from their online message center. In the first message I was trying to figure out how I had possibly missed the payment and requested Freedom Mortgage to remove the late payment mark from my account and credit reporting. At that time I did not know my billing statement preference had been changed to Paperless. In my phone call, they said if I could show my preferences had been changed by Freedom Mortgage, and not by me, they would be able to justify removing/redacting the late report to the credit union ( paraphrase ). My second message to Freedom Mortgage is after I had learned that the Paperless option for my account had been changed via the Freedom Mortgage phone app in XXXX. This was after placing no less than XXXX phone calls to Freedom Mortgage on Monday, XXXX, and speaking with several customer service representatives and their supervisors. I pushed for them to review their electronic records to find out exactly where/when/how my preference had been changed to Paperless. I have attached photos of the screen shots of the FM phone app and print outs of the same screen shots with notes. Upon opening the phone app, the first screen that comes up is the default for the Paperless option. It has the XXXX XXXX already set for the Paperless option but it appears that XXXX is supposed to actively select the Enroll Now button to the right to make the change. It also states very clearly below that ... To enable/disable the paperless option, go to Statements. Any changes made will be visible ( they misspell it as visible ) within the next 24 hours. This leads you to believe that for any change to preferences, one would have to go to the Statements area of their account to change to paperless. The reality is, the app changes your preference to Paperless without your actively choosing. It changes your preference setting when you leave the app page. THIS IS Freedom Mortgage changing my preferences, not me! It is easy to see how deceptive this is making it incredibly easy for consumers to end up with late fees or worse. Freedom Mortgage has no phone app or otherwise, giving the customer the benefit of the doubt. I am extremely concerned this event will ruin my ability for a refinance. This is obviously time sensitive, even more so now with interest rates climbing. I now have to consider what damages I may incur from this if not corrected immediately. It may already be too late.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: CA
Zip: 93405
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-07-12
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-07-12
Issue: Closing on a mortgage
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: I am writing to file a formal complaint against Freedom Mortgage regarding significant delays and lack of transparency in the escrow process for the sale of our property. As consumers, my wife and I have encountered numerous issues that have resulted in prolonged and unnecessary delays, causing undue stress and financial burden. To provide a detailed account of the events, we entered into escrow to sell our house on XX/XX/2023. A seller credit addendum was subsequently added on XX/XX/2023. Our file was submitted for underwriting on XX/XX/2023, and the buyers were granted conditional approval on XX/XX/2023. In a timely manner, the buyers promptly provided the requested proof of funds documentation on the same day, which was acknowledged by the company both verbally over the phone. Additionally i submitted the documentation requested of me the next day on XX/XX/2023. However, despite fulfilling all necessary requirements promptly, we have experienced a lack of communication and a dearth of information regarding the status and progression of the escrow process. When we inquired about the expected timeline to completion one week after conditional approval, we were informed that it could take an additional three weeks to attain final approval, extending the anticipated completion date to XX/XX/2023. Regrettably, it has now been 92 days since we entered escrow, and there is still no projected timeline for completion. Furthermore, we have been subjected to the inconvenience of repeatedly submitting third-party authorization forms for one of the buyers and our real estate agent. Despite our repeated efforts, it appears that the company has failed to maintain proper documentation, resulting in unnecessary delays and disruptions in the process. We believe that these ongoing issues are not only unprofessional but also potentially detrimental to the overall success of the transaction. The lack of transparency, failure to adhere to promised timelines, and repeated requests for information previously provided raise concerns about the company 's commitment to customer service and adherence to regulatory standards. Therefore, we kindly request the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to intervene and investigate this matter thoroughly. Our primary objectives are to ensure a fair and timely resolution to the escrow process, obtain clearer communication regarding the status of our transaction, and prevent other consumers from experiencing similar hardships and frustrations in their own financial endeavors. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: FL
Zip: 344XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-07-12
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-07-11
Issue: Trouble during payment process
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: I recently had to sue my insurance company for not paying out for damages in a timely manner. We finally settled and they issued a settlement check but put the mortgage company 's name on the check as well. Now the mortgage company, Freedom Mortgage, is not releasing all the funds to me. I keep explaining to them that this is a settlement check and not a check for repairs. They are insisting that I provided all sorts of additional documentation, including a home inspection inorder to release the funds. My attorney and myself have called multiple times and they will not release the full amount of my settlement check.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: LA
Zip: 70601
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-07-11
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-07-11
Issue: Trouble during payment process
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: I requested the PMI to be removed from my home. We have owned the home for more than 2 years and our property value has drastically increased. My request was denied and they said that our valuation tool showed the value had not increased and have failed to provide me the valuation tool they used. They clearly just used the sales price. Now I have to spend {$190.00} to have a BPO completed. I would like Freedom Mortgage investigated for not following procedures. They did not do their due diligence and research, they simply just used the sales price which is older than 2 years.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: NH
Zip: 032XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-07-11
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-07-09
Issue: Trouble during payment process
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: I purchased my home in XX/XX/XXXX. A couple months after moving in, the mortgage lender, XXXX XXXX started sending me offers to refinance my loan ; however, I ignored all refinancing offers since I had a pretty good XXXX. About a year later in XX/XX/XXXX, I requested to have my property insurance removed from my mortgage payment. The request was denied by the lender with the reason stated that your principal balance for the mortgage loan must be less than or equal to 80 % of the original appraisal value. Ironically, one of the other reasons that my request could have been denied was you must not have completed a prior mortgage loan modification. Furthermore, an escrow analysis that was done in XX/XX/XXXX showed that I had a surplus of {$1100.00}, which was subsequently refunded to me. My mortgage was then transferred to Freedom Mortgage in XX/XX/XXXX, and my mortgage amount was increased by this lender supposedly due to an escrow shortage. When I inquired why my mortgage amount was greater when my home insurance actually decreased, the response was that the lender would not adjust payment if the difference is less than {$500.00}. Nevertheless, Freedom Mortgage made it a point to inform me on an ongoing basis that I could take tens of thousands of dollars out due to the equity in my home, thereby resuming attempts to get me to refinance or modify my original loan. These two companies do not seem to have learned anything after being reprimanded for prior misconduct, which is very similar to the actions that I have reported here.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: FL
Zip: 32086
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-07-10
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A