Mortgage Pay-by-Phone Fee Lawsuits
March 31, 2020
At A Glance
- This Alert Affects:
- People who paid a convenience fee for making a mortgage payment over the phone.
- What’s Going On?
- Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are investigating whether these fees are illegal in certain states. If so, they may be able to file class action lawsuits to help property owners get their money back and to put an end to any illegal practices.
- What States Are Being Looked Into?
- Attorneys are particularly interested in speaking to people who paid the fees in North Carolina, Texas, Washington, Florida, Michigan, West Virginia, Massachusetts and California.
- What You Can Do
- If you were charged a pay-by-phone fee for your mortgage payment, fill out the form on this page. One of the attorneys handling this investigation may then reach out to you directly.
Attorneys working with ClassAction.org would like to speak to anyone in the following states who had to pay a convenience fee for making their mortgage payment over the phone:
- North Carolina
- Texas
- Washington
- Florida
- Michigan
- West Virginia
- Massachusetts
- California
They’re investigating whether it’s illegal to charge fees in certain states and believe class action lawsuits could be filed.
If you were charged a pay-by-phone fee by your mortgage servicer in one of these states, you may be able to get your money back. Fill out the form on this page to learn more.
How Could a Class Action Lawsuit Help?
A class action lawsuit could help property owners get back the money they paid in pay-by-phone surcharges. A successful case could also put an end to any illegal practices.
Further, some states may allow for the collection of statutory damages – which means that, in a successful case, the property owner may be entitled to an additional award under the law.
Lawsuits Allege Phone Payment Surcharges Are Illegal
A few lawsuits have already been filed against mortgage servicers alleging that the companies levied exorbitant surcharges on customers who paid their mortgages over the phone. The suits also allege that the mortgage servicers:
- Should be compensated from interest on the mortgage loans – and not from “convenience” pay-by-phone fees
- Charge fees not expressly provided for in their contracts with borrowers
- Violate state law by marking up what it actually takes to process the mortgage payments and pocketing the difference
The lawsuits claim that it costs around $.50 to process a mortgage payment; however, at least one company is alleged to have charged up to $12 as a pay-by-phone fee.
What You Can Do
Attorneys working with ClassAction.org suspect that additional lawsuits can be filed, but first need to hear from people who were charged these fees.
To learn more about this investigation and to find out if you could have been charged an illegal fee, fill out the form on this page. One of the attorneys working with ClassAction.org may then reach out to you directly. It doesn’t cost anything to contact us or to speak to one of the attorneys we work with.
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