Have you paid off your mortgage with PHH within the last four years?

Have you been charged to make a mortgage payment online or over the phone?

PHH Mortgage Corp may have overcharged you for recording fees and added other deceptive fees You may be eligible for compensation through legal action.

Scott Hirsch Law Group PLLC, Gustafson Gluek PLLC, and the Advocacy Group, filed a lawsuit alleging that PHH Mortgage Corp. violated consumer protection laws by overcharging mortgage holders for recording fees when the customers paid off their mortgage.

Plaintiffs claim the mortgage company violated Florida state law and federal law by charging $8.50-$9.50 more than the actual cost of filing necessary documents with the county recorder’s office.

The plaintiffs say that the one-page document is “uniform in form and content, the only differences being the specific mortgage lien being released.” The charge for recording these records at the county recorder’s office is $10 for the first page and each additional page is $8.50.

The lawsuit claims PHH Mortgage Corp’s recording fee is “deceptive, unlawful, and unauthorized and are essentially nothing more than ‘processing fees’ or ‘convenience fees’ which is a violation of state law.” The plaintiffs believe the overcharge has affected thousands of people.

The lawsuit, in addition to disputing the overcharging of recording fees, is also challenging PHH’s lack of description in payoff statements and “recoverable balance” charges, saying they do not include itemized descriptions, are “deceptive, misleading, and violate” consumer protection laws because they do not allow consumers to ascertain the basis or validity of the charges.

The lawsuit claims that PHH is fully aware of the laws that prohibit the overcharging of fees, and that the mortgage company “did not disclose to the Plaintiff Salter or other Class Members that these unauthorized and/or excessive fees were not allowed under their mortgage, were not authorized under law and exceeded the actual cost to PHH by a wide margin; the difference being retained by PHH.” The plaintiff sent PHH a Notice of Error for the Recording fee and “Recoverable Balance.” PHH responded by saying the charges were not in error.

This is not the first time PHH Mortgage Corp, has been accused of inappropriately overcharging for fees. A class action lawsuit was previously filed, alleging the lender overcharged for fees relating to paying their mortgage payments online or over the phone. The plaintiff in that case said he was charged $7.50 and $17.50 to make payments over the phone or online.

If you paid off a mortgage with PHH in the last four years or you have been charged to pay your mortgage online or over the phone, we would like to hear from you. If you’d like further information, please send an email to info@scotthirschlawgroup.com. You can also click here to view the case.