ComplaintsforBenchmark Mortgage

• Initial Complaint

  09/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Possible us postal mail identity fraud

  Business response

  09/22/2023

  This is not Benchmark Mortgage sending these junk mailers.  Benchmark Mortgage does not engage in junk mailing.  If the complainant were to look at the fine print on some of these junk mailers it says "Not affiliated with or sponsored by any bank or lending institution."  We cannot do anything about this as we are not mailing this garbage to the complainant, we hate it as much as the complainant because it sullies our name, and we have made every effort possible in the past to get law enforcement to become involved, unfortunately these bad actors move too fast to be caught.

  We are sorry it is happening but we are not behind these mailers, we detest them as well.  There is nothing we can do as they are not affiliated with us in any way.

  Customer response

  09/22/2023

  I have reviewed the business response and accept this resolution. 

• Initial Complaint

  07/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I spoke to loan officer ***************************** on the phone on 7/2/2023 to request a prequalification letter to determine how much of a home loan I can take out for a new home. I told him I only wanted to do a soft pull inquiry that would not impact my credit score or stay on my credit report history and he assured me that the credit pull would not impact my credit score and will only be there for a few months. Then he asked me to complete an application online to be able to provide the pre-qualification letter. After I completed and submitted the application, I found out the next day from Experian and Equifax that it was a hard inquiry pull and reached out to request for ***** to retract/reverse that hard pull inquiry since I did not agree to it. He argued with me saying it was not a hard inquiry pull and then later said they cannot remove it because I provided my authorization when I submitted the application. However I was tricked into believing the application would be a soft pull inquiry and did not intend or agree to the hard pull inquiry.

  Business response

  07/18/2023

  Contrary to the complainants assertions about alleged comments made by Benchmarks LO, she is incorrect about her statements and opinions.  Benchmark does not provide a pre-approval letter without doing a hard pull on the credit.  The complainant called on a Sunday afternoon at 5:30pm requesting a pre-approval letter. She wanted it because she was looking to purchase a new construction home.  The Loan Officers assigned to the **************** receive these types of requests routinely and always provide an explanation that to create a pre-approval letter, we must do a hard pull.

  In other circumstances, we could say the incident was a misunderstanding or miscommunication, but on the issue of providing a pre-approval letter, our position is clear, well-entrenched and used frequently.  The complainant was told that a hard pull was necessary.  Additionally, when applying through the online portal, as this complainant did, she saw, should have read,and did sign a Credit Pull Authorization.  That authorization, pursuant to applicable regulations, states:
   During your mortgage pre-qualification or loan application, we perform a credit check that requires us to obtain and confirm information regarding your personal financial background. You understand that by selecting "YES" immediately following this notice, you are providing written instructions to Ark-La-Tex Financial Services, LLC under the Fair Credit Reporting Act authorizing Ark-La-Tex Financial Services, LLC to obtain information from your personal credit file or other information from a consumer-reporting agency. You authorize Ark-La-Tex Financial Services, LLC to obtain such information for the purposes of conducting a pre-qualification and/or application for credit.
  
  The fact that the complainant does not wish to pursue a loan at this time, is not a valid reason for us to ask the credit bureaus to rescind the credit pull.  When Benchmark performed the pull, the client had been alerted to the fact it was a hard pull, she saw, read and signed a consent to same and we did what was asked.  There are no legitimate grounds to ask that the pull be removed.

  Customer response

  07/18/2023

  I am rejecting this response because:   
  

  As shown in the screenshot of the text message conversation with the loan officer, I never asked for a pre-approval letter. I explicitly stated wanting a pre-qualification letter and only agreed to a soft pull inquiry. Loan officer did not tell me it would be a hard pull inquiry and misled me by saying the application would be a soft pull that would not impact my credit score or stay in my credit report. He told me to submit the application and I did so only with the understanding that it would be a soft pull. Application did not clarify whether the inquiry would be a hard pull or soft pull with ambiguous and unclear verbiage that further misled me into thinking it was a soft pull inquiry due to the wrong information that the loan officer gave me over the phone:

  During your mortgage pre-qualification or loan application, we perform a credit check that requires us to obtain and confirm information regarding your personal financial background. You understand that by selecting "YES" immediately following this notice, you are providing written instructions to Ark-La-Tex Financial Services, LLC under the Fair Credit Reporting Act authorizing Ark-La-Tex Financial Services, LLC to obtain information from your personal credit file or other information from a consumer-reporting agency. You authorize Ark-La-Tex Financial Services, LLC to obtain such information for the purposes of conductinga pre-qualification and/or application for credit.

  I never agreed to a hard pull credit check and was tricked into submitting the application thinking it would be a soft pull inquiry for a pre-qualification letter. 

  Business response

  10/04/2023

  We did not trick anyone into allowing a hard pull of their credit.  We have been providing pre-approval letters to clients for years and, by regulation, they require a hard pull of credit.  Our Loan Officers are taught this, they know this and would rather not have issues such as this complaint, thus they always alert the consumer that it will be a hard pull.

  This client simply does not want our services or has reconsidered the purchase of a home, that is her absolute option.  We do not need to "trick" her into a credit pull, there a more clients seeking new construction homes than there are units available.  Moreover, a client who has been lied to will never do business with us, thus we would not "trick" someone, it causes undue hardships to us and ill feelings towards us.  It did not happen, the consumer had second thoughts about buying the property, and now wants to remove the pull because she has changed her mind.

• Initial Complaint

  05/23/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In Mar 2023, I switched primary banking institutions, for payment of mortgage amounts, and notified Benchmark in writing (for the autopay system). I moved the funds for payment into the new checking institution. Benchmark acknowledged the autopay change (new account #), in writing, however during 3 separate incidents, Benchmark attempted to remove the funds from the old account, tripping the old bank to execute a stop payment. After calling Benchmark ~10 times to explain, that they made an error, also charging me each time, the withdrawal failed, and after I wrote a formal complaint, against Benchmark, and sent it to their corporate... I now have a stating they will only accept a cashier check or money order - "for their failure" to follow their written instructions... I have never missed a payment in the ~30 years or so, that I have had mortgages, and have a FICO score of 835, out of 850... and I can say this has been the "worst mortgage experience" I have ever had - no-body at Benchmark seems to know what's going on... they have locked out my ability to make a payment over the phone - or online payment... this has just been a really horrible experience. Comedy of errors.....

  Customer response

  05/23/2023

  Supporting documentation - regarding complaint against Benchmark Mortgage.

  Business response

  07/14/2023

  Please see the attached.  The matter has been resolved with the complainant, ***************************.

• Initial Complaint

  04/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am writing this letter to formally file a complaint against Benchmark Mortgage regarding my experience with their VA Home Loan Assumption process.I am currently engaged with Benchmark Mortgage on a VA Home Loan Assumption, and the process has been extremely problematic. It has been over seven months since the process began, and it is still ongoing, despite the fact that it should have taken no more than 90 days. The following are the main problems that I have encountered:Lack of direct communication: Benchmark's ************************** cannot be called directly. There is no way to directly engage their services, and other employees in Benchmark cannot contact this team. The only way to communicate with them is through email, which has led to many delays.Inadequate file sharing capabilities: Benchmark's ************************** has no capability for online file sharing. All documentation has to be shared via snail mail, which is a slow and inconvenient process. Since there is no direct communication, any problems with the documentation cannot be spotted until the paperwork arrives.Incomplete instructions: I have received incomplete instructions from Benchmark on several occasions, which has resulted in delays and additional paperwork.Poor record keeping: I have had to resubmit my taxes multiple times during this process due to Benchmark's incomplete record keeping.Security violations: There is a significant security issue with Benchmark's system. Anyone with the loan number can access the system and obtain loan payoff and loan payment information that should not be available to unauthorized personnel. There should be two-factor authentication in place so only the owner of the loan can access this information.I would like to request that Benchmark Mortgage take immediate action to address these issues for any other Veterans that try to use these services. The present state of affairs is a tragic disservice to Veterans.

  Business response

  04/12/2023

  The complainant does not have standing to make this complaint and therefore it should be removed.  The complainant is not our client, he actually is trying to assume the mortgage of one of our clients.  We do not owe this complainant any information or service as it is not his loan.
  Since interest rates started climbing in the Fall of 2022, the number of requests to assume a mortgage have escalated exponentially. Where we processed less than 10 assumptions in 2021, we have over ***** actively being reviewed currently.  Contrary to the complainants allegations some of the documents needed cannot be simply shared on line, we need originals in order to record them or show investors actual certified copies of the recorded documents.  Likewise, when people do not provide complete or correct documents we need to make additional requests.  There has been quite a lot of communication with the people involved by both our branch and our in-house servicing team, so we are not sure what this person is complaining about concerning communications.  As to our security measures,we employ the most up-to-date measures to protect consumer privacy and data,perhaps the complainant should not be sharing or using the credentials of another person to enter the system.  No security measures can account for when a client gives their access information to another person.
  We will continue to process this assumption and continue to be in contact with our client and this complainant.  His frustrations at what he considers poor communication or process is not viable as he is not our client and therefore is not aware of all actions taken in this matter.

• Initial Complaint

  11/10/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I have contacted Benchmark over 30+ times in the last month to get my mortgage hazard insurance payment made. I started this process 10/8/2022 and the date is now 11/10/22 with no end in sight. They have sent the payment to the incorrect address now twice after so many call ins and emails requesting them to send it to the overnight address listed on the invoice sent directly from my insurance company. They repeatedly give me the run around saying they are escalating the situation to their "insurance department", but when I call in to check the status of payment, absolute nothing has been done again. I end up right back at square one with them requesting ANOTHER copy of the invoice with the overnight address only for it to end up at the wrong address again. Every person I have talked to, been escalated to, emailed, etc., has never given me a straight forward answer. I am starting to think that Benchmark wants the buyer to pay out of pocket for the invoices themselves even though they have an escrow account for this very reason. I think they are pocketing the escrow funds for themselves.

  Business response

  01/27/2023

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/11/14) */ Contact Name and Title: *** ********* Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX Contact Email: ***@benchmark.us We have reviewed the borrower's file and there is a problem with the payments of insurance. We apologize to our client and are working with our vendor on why the payments were not made. Upon receipt of this complaint, we reached out to our client and upo9n confirming the veracity of their statements, we immediately called the insurance company and have made the payment over the phone. We will be providing our client a receipt and follow up with them as to how we are resolving this matter for the future. This was not a mistake on the client's part, something went wrong in our records. The immedaite problem is rectified and we will work with out client to insure it does not re-occur and that they are hapopy with the resolution. Consumer Response /* (2000, 7, 2022/11/15) */ (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.) Benchmark mortgage has resolve the issue by making sure our hazard insurance was paid. I hope that this does not happen again in the future.

• Initial Complaint

  10/10/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have contacted Benchmark several times since they have been delinquent on paying my mortgage taxes. They have said things like: we are researching it, the amount has been disbursed. I am in direct contact with the Adams County treasurer and as of today they have not received the payment. My account also shows no verification of payment. Benchmark paid one disbursement in January. The second one is pending and overdue Amount overdue is: 793.50 (this includes almost 100.00 in interest and penalty for being delinquent) Adams County Treasurer:XXX-XXX-XXXX Benchmark loan *********** **************************** XXXXX

  Business response

  12/27/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/10/12) */ Contact Name and Title: Joe M******** General Cou Contact Phone: XXXXXXXXXX Contact Email: joe@benchmark.us We contacted the local County treasurer to determine what occurred. The Treasurer's office informs us that when the complainant purchased the proeprty the prior owner did not change her tax parcel number to a new property. When that person sent in her taxes it was credited to the complainant's property. When we made the tax payment, the Treasurer saw it as an overpayment and sent the money back to the borrower. The prior owner then receives a delinquent bill for her property, makes the necessary change and that then creates a deficit for the complainant. According to the County Treasurer, they confirm they sent the complainant a notice in September excplaining the situation and that the complainant cashed the check for the tax money refund. Currently the complainant is in possession of the funds and must send those funds into the Treasurer. We have contacted the complainant, informed her of this information and provided her the emails from the County Treasurer explaining how the deficit occurred, that the money was sent to the complainant and that she cashed the check. We will be happy to assist the compolainant getting the taxes paid, she simply needs to send in the refund to the county or us.

• Initial Complaint

  04/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We purchased a home in February 2021. Estimated taxes for the upcoming year was funded based on tax adjustment for sale. September I received tax bills from LA County, knowing our escrow was paying taxes I didn't think anything of it. then in November, when I saw only a portion of taxes were paid, I called to inquire. There were supplemental bills, the difference between tax rate for the previous owner and our new tax rate. Benchmark advised that I am responsible for supplemental bills, however, the money for these taxes was in escrow with them, After a few phone calls, emails and a review of my account, the company approved payment of the supplemental bills. Their timeline to mail the payments was 2 weeks - Dec. 16th, after the due date Dec. 10th .I inquired about that, knowing charges would be incurred for late payments. The service rep i spoke with told me that should any fees be incurred, Benchmark would cover these. The approved disbursement date came and went. When I called to follow up, after Dec. 20th the bill was still not paid, the story changed and after 3 phone calls I had 3 different answers. 1. Don't worry we sent a check to pay them 2. We called and were told no taxes were due so we didn't send a check and the 3rd response. Sorry we can't pay your supplemental bill and we are sending you a check with an escrow overage so you can pay them. I asked to speak with a manager and they said next 24 hours, needless to say no one did. Finally around Dec. 24th taxes were paid directly to LA County but I was also mailed a check from my escrow. After multiple calls, they credited the check proceeds back to escrow to pay the 2nd payments for April 2022. No record of the anticipated April supplemental bills were showing in escrow, knowing they need to be sent by April, I sent them a notice, called and confirmed they would be paid by April 8th, and now here we are April 14th and taxes not paid but check is being mailed to me- what? total incompetence

  Business response

  06/02/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2022/04/28) */ Contact Name and Title: Joseph *********, Counsel Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX Contact Email: ***@benchmark.us We apologize for the confusion the borrower experienced. Our customer service manager, James ********** spoke with the consumer and explained that supplemental tax bills are not routinely paid through a consumer's escrow account. When a consumer makes us aware of a supplemental tax bill we review and determine if payment of the bill through the consumer's escrow account will cause an escrow shortage. Further, supplemental tax bills are not added to be paid as an ongoing expense through the escrow account unless the consumer specifically requests it be added. The penalties incurred for the payment of the supplemental tax bill due December 10 are being refunded to the consumers escrow account and will appear in that account within 2-weeks.

• Initial Complaint

  01/06/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Discharging my home mortgage and had paid over $349,000 but Benchmark made me pay a wire fee to pay off the last $486, they refused an ACH that was used to pay the note. They also refused to take the funds out of my escrow surplus. I paid the wire fee and dispatched the note on Dec 3rd. I have yet to receive my escrow funds. Benchmark claims it was sent and our USPS is impeccable. I asked them to wire the money to my account-they refused-also they refuse to pay interest on monies they are using interest free. Absolutely uncaring and unresponsive.

  Business response

  02/16/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/01/10) */ This same consumer has already filed the same complaint with the CFPB and we are responding in that portal. Therefore there is no need to restate the same position here as will be in the CFPB portal.

• Initial Complaint

  11/30/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Made an online payment on March 28th, 2021 and I received confirmation of payment made. On April 3rd the payment was reversed so I immediately resubmitted the payment with confirmation. My payment was reversed again. I called the mortgage company to figure out what the issue was and they told me all of the information was correct and to resubmit my payment. When I did this it was reversed a third time and i was then told I would be required to send money orders for the next 12 months of my mortgage since I've had 3 reversals, something I was not warned about before they told me to resubmit. For 3 months now the company has informed me they have not received payment even though I mailed the money orders on time to the address they provided. My credit is being affected and they will not let me pay online and claim that they are not receiving my payments in the mail. I don't even know where to go from here as no one that works for this company can seem to help in any way. I have never had issues like this with any other mortgage company in all my life.

  Business response

  01/20/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2021/12/22) */ Contrary to the consumer's assertions, the payments were not reversed, they were not honored by her bank. We see the consumer made an online payment on 4/1/21 and it was not honored for invalid account. She made payments on 4/19/21 and 4/26/21 with the same result. Letters were sent to the client and she called on 6/11/21 where she was informed that due to missed payments certified funds were needed. Thus her contention that we told her the account information was correct is contradicted by the letters she received stating exactly the opposite. The consumer spoke with us on 7/9/21 and advised that she had sent 2 cashier checks on 6/7/21 and 6/28/21 respectively. She fails to mention she did not include her account number on those checks. It took until 7/28/21 to track down the checks and apply them to her account. On 7/28/21 the client sent another certified for June, July and August, 2021. On 11/20/21 the consumer requested we remove the certified funds requirement from her account and, as a courtesy, we did so on 12/1/21. We are not making any corrections to her credit report as what we reported is fair and accurate. The client needs to be more diligent about providing proper account numbers and labeling her payments. We are also not enabling her online payments again as there are still problems with the account. Specifically, as of 12/22/21, the client has yet to make payment for December, 2021 Consumer Response /* (3000, 10, 2021/12/23) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) My payments were reversed. I have confirmation numbers for every single payment. In addition, I have asked you to take this certified check requirement off of my account for 6 months before it was finally done. I was never notified that my checks were found and applied, that is news to me and the balance still hasn't come off of my account. Why is that? Lastly, I mailed my December payment to the address I was told to with my account information and it was already applied to my account so I believe you are confused. Maybe check to make sure your information is accurate before responding. Thank you. Business Response /* (4000, 12, 2021/12/23) */ The consumer's additional response repeats positions she previously set forth in her original complaint and same have been addressed in our initial response. therefore, further comment is unwarranted. We are willing to work with our client and want her to be satisfied with our services, she may contact us directly with future concerns and issues, if she so wishes. We do request that she insure that her accounts numbers are correct and that checks sent as payments contain the required account information. Consumer Response /* (4200, 14, 2021/12/24) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Everything you are stating is a lie and I have proof of that. I attached proof of my payments being made up until February even though you've stated we haven't made our December payment, I have proof of the reversals that you claim never happened, you never informed us our checks were found and they were never applied to our account because my balance would be paid two months more in advance if that were the case. I'm simply asking you to address your errors because maybe you are looking at the wrong account but now it seems you are just being lazy and lying about the situation either for reputation or so that you don't need to fix my credit score. Whatever the reason, it is corrupt. Everyone at this company is the same, they chose pure neglect over doing their jobs. If you want this to be a private matter and not go through the BBB then maybe you should have responded to all of my calls and emails over the last 6 months with more than "I don't know" and "we'll get back to you". I've reattached the information that contradicts your message in case you overlooked it in my last response.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩