ComplaintsforAtlantic Bay Mortgage Group, L.L.C.

• Initial Complaint

  07/03/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I pay my mortgage on time every month and have done so since moving into my home in Feb 2022. I use autopay from my bank to ensure that the payments go out correctly and on time. In April, my mortgage increased by $****** I was unaware of this change. My autopay continued to go out on time for $******* as it has for over a year. Because the payment was $***** short, Atlantic Bay reported me to the Credit Bureau and charged me a late fee of $*****. They did this without calling me or notifying me. They did this without calling to say that my payment was $***** short and that my payment had increased. My payment continued to go out as usual from $******* and again Atlantic Bay charged me another late fee for $***** and reported that I was late on my mortgage payment to the Credit Bureau because the payment was $****** At this point they sent me a letter from ******** with the first page of the letter discussing foreclosure. I called to discuss the matter with their customer service representative. Although she was very kind, all she was able to do was waive one late payment of $*****. I asked why no one called me when this happened. She informed me that the company sometimes sends automated voice messages regarding these issues but that my account was not opted into them. Apparently if you are not signed up for automated voice messages you get no call at all. Because of this, my credit score has already dropped over 40 points and I expect that it will drop further after the second "late" payment shows up in my history. There is no reason that this should not be resolved responsibly by Atlantic Bay. I would like a refund of any late fee that has been charged to my account. I was would like my account corrected so that my payments are marked as received on time. I would like Atlantic Bay to alert the credit bureau that they made incorrect disclosures regarding "late" payments so that my credit score can go back to where it was previous to this incident. Thank you.

  

  Business response

  07/10/2023

  Please see attachment. 

  Customer response

  07/14/2023

  Including as other information so that BBB has a copy of the supplementary response the business mailed directly to me.

  Good Morning, 
  
  Since filing my original report I have spoken with a very kind and helpful Mr. ****** ******* at Atlantic Bay who informed me of the outstanding amount required to bring my account current. During that conversation, we discussed that my August payment had been updated with my bank's bill pay, but that July's payment had already been sent and that I wanted to send whatever was necessary to make sure that my account was paid in full. At the end of that conversation, I was under the impression that my account would now be on track. Yesterday (7/13), I received a letter stating that my account was again $***** short (along with a response to this complaint separate from the one provided t* **** which will be addressed below), and so I was able to call and get this issue remedied. Again, a very kind customer service representative assisted me and explained that the previous amount given by Mr. ******* did not include the extra $***** from July. 
  
  I am writing simply to address comments made by Ms. **** ******** from the Office of the Customer in the letter referenced above that was sent to me. I've attached this letter as well. Ms* ******** alleges that I accused Atlantic Bay***** **** of unfair practices of not notifying me of a payment increase of $****** I made no such allegation. I said that I was unaware of the change. My issue with the company is that I had never paid late or sent in partial payments before this, and instead of simply notifying me that the payment was incorrect, I was charged a late fee and (as I believed at that time) reported to the Credit Bureau.
  
  Although her letter was unkind, at least Ms. ********' letter did alert me that something was off with my account which allowed me to remedy the situation before the 15th. This is the exact courtesy that I asked for in my original complaint and was told that I did not receive because I was not signed up for "automatic phone alerts". Of note, I am now and have been signed up for the "automatic phone alerts"  since the beginning of this month, and I still received no notification of anything being off with my July payment. 
  
  I'm sure the company is not legally required to send such alerts, and I made no such claim. I filed a complaint, because not doing so is a crappy way to treat your customers. There are a variety of miscommunications that can happen when receiving confusing Escrow breakdowns and even during phone calls with kind representatives, as happened with Mr. ******* and I regarding my July payment. These small issues could be solved and much time and heartache saved with an automatic text/email/call alerting a customer regarding an issue with their month's payment. Instead, the automatic action currently taken is a late fee charge and a scary letter mentioning foreclosure. That is what my complaint was about. 
  
  I do however appreciate Ms* ****** *******s response to this complaint that was provided to ***. At this time, my credit score still reflects a 40 point decrease for seemingly no identifiable reason. I pulled the official ******** report, however, and no negative information from ******** appears on the report at this time. Mr. ******* credited my account so that I no longer have any late fees. I have been informed that all is current and that I am tracking the correct amount for my August mortgage payment and have requested to be sent automatic phone alerts for any issues (though I am unsure if this actually occurs). Further, I have painfully learned my lesson that I will need to set several monthly reminders to manually check my account with this company for any issues that may have come up. 
  
  Because of the reasons stated above, I accept and appreciate Ms. ******** prompt response to my complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Very Respectfully, 
  ***** *****

• Initial Complaint

  11/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  ******** Bay Mortage Group failed to pay this year's property insurance out of my escrow account causing my home insurance to lapse and my previous rate to almost double going forward. They have admitted this several times over a recorded line and have been away from this issue and have not provided a resolution.

  

  Business response

  11/21/2022

  To Whom It May Concern:
  
  ******** *** ******** *roup, L.L.C. ("******** Bay") is in receipt of the above-listed complaint, dated November 14, 2022. The complaint filed by Mr. Emmanuel ******** with the Better Business Bureau ("BBB") regarding his account #********** (******** #XXXXXX4022), for the subject property located at *** ********* *** ******* ** 29520. Mr. ******** expressed his frustration that his homeowner insurance had lapsed due to nonpayment and that due to this he had to obtain a new policy at a higher cost. Mr. ******** stated that he had attempted to resolve this issue by contacting Customer Service directly, however a resolution has not been reached.
  
  ******** Bay has duly investigated the complaint. ******** Bay researched internally and has further contacted its sub-servicer ******** LLC ("LoanCare"), who services Mr. ******** loan on behalf of ******** Bay, to determine how we can reach a resolution on behalf of our borrower. Our records indicate that the loan closed September 15, 2021. The Initial Escrow Account Disclosure Statement estimated insurance of $******** to be disbursed in September 2022. On November 1, 2021, the loan was transferred to the service provider, LoanCare. On August 8, 2022, ******** received a renewal policy with Homeowners of *******, policy number ********, for the effective dates of 09/10/2022-09/23/2023 with a revised policy amount of $********, however; the amount due was reflected as $0.00. On September 10, 2022, ******** then received a cancellation of the policy due to the non-payment of the premium.
  
  ******** mailed a letter to Mr. ******** on September 14, 2022, and again on October 17, 2022, requesting evidence that he had obtained new coverage and to avoid Lender-Placed Insurance (LPI). On October 26, 2022, ******** spoke with Mr. ******** and requested that he obtain a new policy and provide evidence of insurance. October 28, 2022, evidence of insurance with ********* * * * ********* Company was received for policy number ************** for the term of 10/26/2022-10/26/2023. The premium amount of $******** was due and paid from the escrow account on October 28, 2022. ******** mailed Mr. ******** a letter on October 31, 2022, acknowledging the evidence of insurance was received and outlined *** to be purchased for the lapsed period between September 10, 2022, to October 26, 2022. The total amount of $****** of *** for the lapsed period was paid from the escrow account on November 3, 2022. Mr. ******** called ******** on November 4, 2022, regarding the cancellation of the prior policy and the purchase of the LPI. Customer Service explained to him the events and then followed up with a letter dated November 9, 2022. The letter provided details of the *** coverage as well as the cancellation of the *** effective October 26, 2022. After further investigation, ******** realized the error made on their part as they should have confirmed with Homeowner's of ******* if an amount was due in September and should have paid the premium amount at that time A reimbursement in the amount of $1,375.97 was applied to the escrow account to correct the error that was made.
  
  ******** completed an escrow analysis on Mr. ******** account and effective January 1, 2023, the new monthly payment will be $********. There is an escrow shortage in the amount of $******. As the reimbursement covered the increase between the old policy and the new policy, the current shortage is based on the original premium of $******** that would have increased to $********.
  
  Lastly, Mr. ******** stated in his complaint that his desired resolution is for his credit report to be corrected. ******** has reviewed the account and confirmed that nothing has been reported to the credit bureaus since the loan was originated
  
  ******** *** ******** *roup is committed to reaching the best outcome for Mr. ******** and has directed ******** to reach out to Mr. ******** to discuss scenarios of next year's escrow analysis based on his current annual premium. We regret any frustration this matter may have caused Mr. ******** and appreciate his patience while **** researched the matter.
  
  We are hopeful that the information above resolves Mr. ******** concerns. If Mr. ******** has any additional questions or concerns regarding the servicing of his loan, LoanCare's Customer Service Department can be reached at ###-###-#### (Mon-Fri 8am-10pm, Sat 8am-3pm EST).
  
  Notwithstanding the above findings, Mr. ******** experience as a customer matter to ******** Bay. We pride ourselves in giving our customers a first-class experience. We are disappointed that there was a misunderstanding or miscommunication that may have negatively impacted his experience with us.
  
  We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that Mr. ******** may have experienced, and we appreciate the opportunity to remedy the situation. We hope that this response resolves the complaint and that the issue has been resolved. Please contact Amanda ******, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, at ###-###-#### if you have any questions.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Aman
  /s/da ******
  Chief Risk and Compliance Officer
  
  *** **************** *** *********** ******** **************

• Initial Complaint

  06/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We closed on our house with Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group as the loan servicer on July 14, 2021. Later in July, I received our first payment notice. Upon receipt, I immediately set up auto-payments for the full amount of the mortgage each month. Our payment included PMI as we put a minimal down payment on the house awaiting the sell of our previous home. Later in the fall, I received a bill in the mail that was for the amount of two payments. When I called customer service, they verified that auto-payments had been set up two months prior, recognized it was an error on behalf of ********* Care, and said there would be no penalty toward us. After the sell of our prior home earlier this spring, we made principal payments of ******** toward the house, to reach the loan-to-value amount to be able to cancel the **** I reached out to customer service to complete this, only to receive written notification around a month later that we were denied this due to missing a payment (i.e. the payment missed due to ABMG/Loan Care's failure to draft a payment). I called and all of the above information was verified by customer service and the person on the phone said she would send it back through to be reviewed again. She felt certain with the information she added to the request that it would be approved since, again, this was not due to our failure of payment, but rather ********* Care's failure to draft. This request to drop *** was denied again. We have since called/contacted ABMG three additional times and received no further assistance. Upon one call, we were told a supervisor would call back within 24 hours. That was over a week ago and we were never contacted back. Today, in my most recent contact with ********* Care, I was given an address to write and mail to. ABMG has done nothing to assist us and has instead dragged out a scenario all while we are at the financial deficit of having to pay during their lack of service.

  

  Business response

  07/14/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/06/23) */ To Whom It May Concern: Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group, L.L.C. ("Atlantic Bay") is in receipt of the above-listed complaint, received June 16, 2022. The complaint filed by Ms. Hannah ***** with the Better Business Bureau ("BBB") expressed her frustration relating to her request to remove the Private Mortgage Insurance ********* from her mortgage account #XXXXXX0097 ********* #XXXXXX9224). Ms. *****'s complaint further stated that she has attempted to resolve this issue with *********** Customer Service Department however a resolution has not been able to be reached. Atlantic Bay has duly investigated the complaint. Atlantic Bay has researched the issue internally and has further contacted its sub-servicer ******** LLC *************** who services Ms. *****'s loan on behalf of Atlantic Bay, to determine how we can reach a resolution on behalf of our borrower. According to *********** records, Ms. *****'s account was enrolled in auto-draft payments on August 31, 2021, effective with the October 1, 2021 payment. The enclosed Automatic Draft Confirmation Letter dated August 31, 2021 states that if at any time the loan becomes delinquent, the automatic drafts will be suspended. In review of the account history, the September 1, 2021 payment was not received until September 30, 2021, resulting in the draft scheduled for October 1, 2021 to be suspended. Records indicate that the October 2021 payment was not received until November 6, 2021. *********** records indicate that on April 15, 2022, Ms. ***** contacted *********** Customer Service Department to request the removal of her *** and to recast her loan due to the two ******* principal reduction payments received on March 31, 2022, and April 1, 2022. After the loan account was reviewed, ******** denied the request to remove the *** from Ms. *****'s mortgage loan due to the account not meeting payment history requirements. Agency *** guidelines state that there cannot be any payments received 30 or more days past due in the last 12 months. Ms. *****'s October 2021 payment was not received and posted until November 6, 2021, which is more than 30-days, making the account ineligible for *** removal at this time. Records indicate that subsequent requests from Ms. ***** to remove the *** were received and denial letters were mailed by ******** on May 13, 2022, and June 10, 2022, for the same reason. Additionally, *********** records indicate that on June 14, 2022, Customer Service spoke with Ms. ***** directly and advised of the results of the loan review and explained that the *** could not be cancelled until the loan account met the agency requirements for late payments received 30 or more days past due in the last 12 months. The last evaluation of the account was completed on June 10, 2022, and the enclosed letter was mailed notifying Ms. ***** of the subsequent denial. Notwithstanding the above findings, Ms. *****'s customer experience is top priority for ******** **** We pride ourselves in giving our customers a first-class experience, and we are disappointed that Ms. ***** feels that her experience with ******** Bay fell short of those standards. As soon as Ms. *****'s mortgage account #XXXXXX0097 meets agency's guidelines for *** cancellation, the request can be resubmitted, and she can proceed with the cancellation process. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that Ms. ***** may have experienced, and we appreciate the opportunity to review the situation. We hope that this response addresses the complaint and that the issue is now resolved. Please contact Amanda ******* Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, at XXX-XXX-XXXX or *****@atlanticbay.com, if you have any further questions regarding this matter.

• Initial Complaint

  02/09/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Atlantic Bay Mortgage Corporation (aka ***** ******) which I have a current loan on a mortgage, has deducted two payments from my account in February 2022 for *****. I have been not been able to come to a resolution with them. After four phone calls (only called back once) and numerous emails, I only receive delays or excuses why they have not refunded the second draft. I am on a paycheck to paycheck living condition and their carelessness, lack of empathy and disregard for their for their lack of progress will place me in the negative with my checking account. I will then have to pay for canceled payments, late payments and returned payments because of their carelessness. Some of which are paid for utilities. Atlantic Bay shows a lack of respect for my way of life. I want to make sure there are no other customers in the indigent population, like myself, that are not being taken advantage of by Atlantic Bay.

  

  Business response

  03/03/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/02/22) */ Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group, L.L.C. ("Atlantic Bay") is in receipt of the above-listed complaint, received February 15, 2022. The complaint filed by Mr. Wilton ***** with the ****** ****** ****** ********* expressed his frustration about two payments being deducted from his bank account for his February mortgage payment on account #XXXXXXXXXX (******* #XXXXXXXXXX), for the subject property **** ***** *** ********** ** XXXXX. Mr. *****'s complaint further stated that he has attempted to resolve this issue by contacting Customer Service directly, however a resolution has not been able to be reached. Atlantic Bay has duly investigated the complaint. Atlantic Bay has researched the issue internally and has further contacted its sub-servicer ****** LLC ("*****"), who services Mr. *****'s loan on behalf of Atlantic Bay, to determine how we can reach a resolution on behalf of our borrower. Records indicate that on February 1, 2022, Mr. ***** submitted a payment to Atlantic Bay's Corporate Office and then made a separate payment with ******, which resulted in the duplicate payments being deducted from Mr. *****'s bank account. On February 9, 2022, Mr. ***** reached out to Atlantic Bay's Corporate Servicing Team asking for a refund for one of the payments. The same day, Lisa *****, Servicing Supervisor, contacted Mr. ***** directly to assist and advised him via email that we would need a copy of his bank statement showing where the payment transaction had cleared his account, and then she would be able to process the refund. Following receipt of the bank statement documentation, a refund in the amount of **** was issued on February 10, 2022. We regret any frustration this matter may have caused Mr. ***** and appreciate his patience while Atlantic Bay has worked to research this matter. We are hopeful that the information above has resolved Mr. *****'s concerns. If Mr. ***** has any additional questions or concerns regarding the servicing of his loan, ******'s Customer Service Department can be reached at ********** (Mon-Fri 8am-10pm, Sat 8am-3pm EST). Notwithstanding the above findings, Mr. *****'s customer experience is top priority for Atlantic Bay. We pride ourselves in giving our customers a first-class experience, and we are disappointed that Mr. ***** feels that his experience with Atlantic Bay fell short of those standards. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that Mr. ***** may have experienced, and we appreciate the opportunity to review the situation. We hope that this response addresses the complaint and that the issue is now resolved. Please contact Amanda *****, ***** **** and ****** *******, at XXX-XXX-XXXX or ***********, if you have any further questions regarding this matter.

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