Missed Mortgage Payment

We missed our mortgage payment last month and I’m glad to say the bank didn’t foreclose on our house.  I mentioned previously how our mortgage was bought and how it caused some troubles when setting up my credit card payment  since both debts are through the same company.  After negotiating payment for some late fees, I thought the issues were worked out but this month I had trouble with our mortgage payment.

Our online billpay isn’t recognizing the new mortgage bills so it’s not being paid automatically.  I missed the fact that the payment wasn’t sent and so the bank called us up.

Mortgage Collections Conversation

I was at my desk at work when my cell phone rang and someone from the Chase collections department was on the other line.   He said our we were behind on our mortgage and we needed to pay as soon as possible.  I asked him to wait while I logged into our online bill pay account and sure enough we had missed a payment.

Of course he wanted to know how I was going to make the payment today and suggested I give him my bank account and routing number.  This was a problem for two reasons. 

The first problem was that I don’t give out personal information to anyone that calls me to avoid identity theft through social engineering.  I asked if there was a number I could call back and his response was simply that I needed to take care of it right now, on this call.

The second problem was that I didn’t have my bank routing number handy; his suggestion was that I use the routing number and account number they had on file for a previous withdrawal.  I wanted to make sure it came out of an account that had sufficient funds so I asked him what account number that was.  He wouldn’t tell me for privacy reasons, which didn’t make total sense because it was my mortgage & my bank account, so I asked him to tell me just the last 4 digits.

After some back and forth and time spent on hold I realized that this guy must deal with all different kinds of people and hear all kinds of stories and he didn’t have much patience for me.  He wasn’t being helpful and was starting to act like a jerk so I wasn’t too sad when my cell phone died and I lost him mid conversation.

Paying the Mortgage

I called back into the main number for the bank and hooked up with a much friendlier and more helpful women who answered my questions and helped me figure out how to handle it. Of course she wanted to know why I missed the payment and asked a few questions about our monthly income and how often I’m paid.  She suggested  that I set up my bank account through their website for monthly payments.   

I thought about just submitting payment through my online billpay account but she recommended against that since it was close to the end of the month and I didn’t want to risk having a late or missed mortgage payment show up on my credit report.

She could have taken my payment over the phone but there was a fee for doing that and she suggested using the automated pay by phone option which had a lower fee.  Since I had already owed a late fee on the mortgage payment, I was happy to reduce any further fees so I used the pay by phone.  By the next morning the payment had gone through so now we’re all settled up, just in time to make our next mortgage payment : )

Ben Edwards, the founder of Money Smart Life, saved up enough to buy a Nintendo back when he was 12 years old. When he used the money to buy shares of Wal-Mart stock instead, he knew he wasn't like the other kids... His addiction to personal finance has paid off for his family and now he's helping you to afford the life that you want. Check him out on the web at Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook.

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