Our mortage company had been Washington Mutual (WaMu) since its' inception in January 2003. Upon their recent collaspe they were bought by Chase Home Finance, LLC a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase Bank (Chase).
When Chase took over they immediately reassessed our mortgage with escrows and charged us 14 monthly escrow payments for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. At $750.00 per month in escrows, this increases our monthly payment by $125.00 This also allows Chase to keep an extra $1500. in a non-interest bearing (at least for me) escrow account.
I have asked Chase several times to not do this. During several phone calls to them I have been told by their customer service representatives:
1-By law (Real Estate Settlement Procedures act or RESPA) they have to hold onto this extra money or they will be breaking the law. This is untrue, see www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/res/respafaq.cfm
2-They aren't holding onto any extra money. This is untrue, they have $1500.00.
3-They have always held onto this extra money. This is untrue, this started August 2009 and I have all the documentation to prove it.
I am at my wits end. I feel that big business is squeezing the juice out of good paying customers because we are small, weak and scare easy. Is anyone else going through this and is there a class action that I can join (or start)?
Sps
Atlanta,#2General Comment
Fri, December 04, 2009
The current laws allow them to hold a maximum of 1/6th of your total yearly escrow account as a cushion to cover any possible increases in your taxes and insurance. It is not a rip off by any means.