Dovenmuehle Mortgage, Inc. Employs suspicious business tactics. We have contacted the Better Business Bureau and saw that there were more than 40 claims during the last 3 years. That would be about 1 per month! We added one more claim to their "dirty" laundry list. Please read on... And I'll tell you about Dovenmuehle's blunders.
My parents have lived in the same home for 30 years. Their original mortgage company back in 1980 was very professional and honest. Since it was only a ten minute drive from their home, they paid their mortgage in person and were greeted by friendly, competent staff who called them by name.
Now those days are gone! Over the last three decades, my parents' mortgage was sold to other companies and is now serviced by Dovenmuehle. Dovenmuehle is the exact opposite (i.E., not professional, not honest, not friendly, not competent) of the bygone original lender.
Now retired, my parents qualify for the County of Henrico's Real Estate Advantage Program, which pays the real estate tax on their behalf to the lender. My parents received documentation that their county sent Dovenmuehle the real estate tax and dutifully followed up with Dovenmuehle by sending a cover letter and copies of all relevant documents. They sent the parcel to the payment address in Woburn via certified mail. A "Jacques Cxxxxx" signed for and received the package. My parents assumed that Dovenmuehle would dutifully forward the important documents to the appropriate parties.
When our legal counsel called on their behalf to confirm receipt, she was told that they needed to send it to the headquarters in Lake Zurich, Illinois. Odd? Do they not have their Woburn office communicate with their Lake Zurich office? Their legal counsel called the corporate office and spoke with Edgar. She asked for a supervisor, and Edgar said that he had none but assured her that if she faxed the materials, it would be delivered to the authorities. Again, he did not provide a contact's name. (Are you thinking what I'm thinkin? A classic way to evade responsibility and accountability?)
She faxed it promptly on August 1. She was shocked just days later when my parents received a foreclosure notice! All of their payments were being sent via certified mail.in March their check was returned by the post office because it had fallen out of the sealed envelope. (Our thoughts? Dovenmuehle took it out of the envelope and dropped it at the post office to collect late fees... And even more devious, seeing that there is a small amount left on the mortgage, probably has plans to thieve the house and sell it for a larger profit... Yes, we do think them that low!) In July, the green certified mail card was sent back with no signature! Never happens, unless someone pulled it off. Meanwhile, they assessed late charges and posted checks about 2 week after we mailed them certified.
We contacted the BBB. We explained our case... And Dovenmuehle sent us a response and attached the confidential documents of another client! They made a serious error and a serious breach of confidence. We wrote to the BBB and said that the attached docs referenced someone else's complaint against Dovenmuehle. (Do they have so many BBB claims on their heads that they can't keep them straight?)
A week later, we received a revised coupon book (the former amount minus the real estate taxes which were paid by our county). They also sent us a refund check. Then they sent us another response via BBB with an apology. However, our July payment has still not been applied and they are still assessing late fees. We told the BBB that we would accept the response for now, since the payment amount and coupon book have been corrected but did not believe that we owe Dovenmuehle any late fees and questioned why they did not apply our July payment..
Dovenmuehle is on the radar of our legal counsel. We believe that they are trying to take advantage of the elderly who have small balances on their mortgages but cannot always read the fine print. All of their call center reps are rude, inept, and say that they have no supervisor. Apparently not!
If you are having trouble with Dovenmuehle, remember not to let them take your house! If you are paying on time, it is your house... And they cannot threaten foreclosure. Check your yellow pages and get good legal counsel. A case like Dovenmuehle is muddy only when you try to get through their call center because not one of them is professional or competent. From a legal standpoint, it is clear that they are employing suspect business practices.
Respectfully,
Vigilant in Virginia
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