If your mortgage payment appears misapplied or your escrow balance looks wrong, compare the servicer’s records with your bank confirmation, loan statement, tax bill and insurance notice. Then ask the servicer to explain the discrepancy. If it is not promptly corrected, send a written notice of error to the address designated for those notices. Keep making payments required by your loan while the servicer investigates, and act quickly if property taxes or insurance may go unpaid.
First, determine whether there is an error or a legitimate payment change
A mortgage payment can be allocated among principal, interest, escrow and other charges. Federal servicing rules identify a failure to apply an accepted payment as required by the loan and applicable law as a potential servicing error. But a higher monthly payment or changed escrow balance is not automatically evidence of a mistake: property taxes and insurance premiums can change.
Compare the payment records
- Check the mortgage statement and account history against the payment confirmation, bank record or other proof of when and how much you paid.
- Note what the servicer credited to principal, interest, escrow, fees or a suspense account, and compare those entries with your loan terms and the payment amount.
- Compare the posting date with the due date and any transfer or processing records you have.
Check the escrow calculation against the bills
Review the escrow analysis alongside your current property tax bill and insurance premium notice. Compare the amounts and due dates shown in those bills with the servicer’s projected and actual escrow disbursements. A changed tax bill or premium can explain a changed monthly payment; ask the servicer to show its calculation before treating the increase as an error. The CFPB recommends monitoring mortgage statements and tax and insurance bills: CFPB guidance on mortgage problems.
Contact the servicer and preserve the record
A phone call may clarify what happened or resolve a simple posting question. Write down the date, the representative’s name, any reference number and the explanation given. Keep copies of statements, payment records, escrow analyses, bills and all correspondence.
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If the issue is not promptly corrected or you need a formal investigation, send a written notice of error. Under Regulation X, the notice must identify you, provide enough information for the servicer to identify your mortgage account, and describe the error you believe occurred. Include relevant dates and amounts and copies—not originals—of supporting documents. The rule is set out in 12 CFR § 1024.35.
Send it to the right address
Use the servicer’s designated address for notices of error or information requests, if it has one. Look on your periodic statement, coupon book or the servicer’s website, and follow its current submission instructions. Do not write the notice on a payment coupon. Keep a complete copy of the notice and attachments, along with evidence of when and where you sent them. CFPB instructions are available in its mortgage-problem guidance.
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Know the response timelines
For a typical written notice of error, the servicer generally must acknowledge it within five business days and respond within 30 business days. Weekends and legal public holidays are excluded. In specified circumstances, the servicer may take an additional 15 business days if it gives notice of the extension. Certain errors involving an inaccurate payoff balance have a separate seven-day response rule; that shorter deadline does not apply to every mortgage dispute. See the CFPB’s explanation of error-resolution timelines.
Keep paying what your loan requires
A servicer cannot make payment of the disputed amount a condition of investigating or responding to a notice of error. That does not pause your mortgage obligations: continue paying amounts due under your loan terms. Regulation X’s notice-of-error requirements are in 12 CFR § 1024.35.
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Protect your property if taxes or insurance may be unpaid
If an escrow tax payment was missed
Send the tax bill with your written notice of error and contact the tax authority promptly to ask about the bill’s status and any deadline. The CFPB warns that unpaid property taxes can lead to a tax lien. Regulation X generally requires a servicer to make covered escrow disbursements in time to avoid a penalty when the borrower’s payment is not more than 30 days overdue; the exact rule and its application depend on the circumstances. See 12 CFR § 1024.34 and 12 CFR § 1024.17.
If an insurance payment was missed
Contact your insurance carrier promptly to confirm whether coverage is active and whether any action or payment is due. Keep the carrier’s response and follow-up with the servicer in writing.
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Understand what an escrow increase can mean
Federal rules require escrow analysis and disclosure, including notice of shortages or deficiencies at least once during the escrow computation year. The rules also address how a shortage or deficiency may be handled. The amount and timing of a revised monthly payment depend on the account analysis, the underlying tax and insurance bills, the loan terms and applicable rules. A higher payment alone does not establish that the servicer made an error. Review the analysis and ask the servicer to explain any amount or disbursement you cannot reconcile. See the CFPB’s Regulation X escrow-account rules.
Escalate if the problem remains unresolved or becomes urgent
If the servicer does not resolve the issue, you can submit a mortgage complaint to the CFPB online or by phone through its complaint process. A routine posting question does not automatically require a lawyer. But if a missed tax or insurance payment threatens your property, foreclosure is imminent, or you have been served legal papers, contact a HUD-approved housing counselor or a qualified attorney promptly rather than waiting for the ordinary response timeline. The CFPB describes these options in its mortgage-problem guidance.
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Keep the dispute specific and documented
When you write or speak with the servicer, identify the transaction or escrow item you are questioning, the amount and date, what the records show, and what correction or explanation you are seeking. Keep the original bills and records, send copies, and save the servicer’s response. This guide covers federal CFPB sources for covered mortgages; it does not determine whether a particular servicer violated the law or address state protections, loan-specific terms, bankruptcy, military protections or litigation strategy. Verify the current notice address and submission method using your own servicer’s statement or official website.
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