Loan Servicer Screw-Up Results In Erroneous Charges To Homeowner; Channel 2 "Problem Solvers" Comes To Rescue

In Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, KJRH-TV Channel 2 reports:

• [A] couple of months after buying her home, Sharon [Whitecloud] applied to have her mortgage company stop collecting money for her tax and insurance escrow account. She wanted to pay those bills herself. [...] Sharon soon received a letter, saying her request was approved.

• So she started paying her monthly mortgage payment, less the previous escrow amount. [...] But several months later, Sharon started getting letters saying she was delinquent, and owed several thousand dollars. The mortgage company said she hadn't been paying enough into her escrow account, even though she had that letter waiving the escrow requirement. Sharon says she tried unsuccessfully for months to get someone to listen.

• Why did her problem get so complicated? The company that waived escrow sold Sharon's mortgage, and her new company says it didn't get the correct records, and the situation snowballed out of control. [...] Finally, Sharon called the [Channel 2] Problem Solvers [who] got in touch with both mortgage companies involved in the situation. It took a lot of calls over many weeks, but eventually it all worked out for Sharon, and it worked out better than she ever imagined. [...] Thousands of dollars of incorrectly charged late payments and penalties were erased from Sharon's account.

For the story, see Mortgage mistake almost causes foreclosure. questionable mortgage servicing practices tactics xero