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Mortgage Payments That Are Refused, Late, or Incomplete

This guide presents selected U.S. government consumer education from CFPB. References to “we” or “us” in the source material refer to the issuing agency. Source dates and links appear below.

My mortgage servicer refuses to accept my payment. What can I do?

First, be sure you’ve followed your mortgage servicer’s instructions for how to submit your mortgage payment. Next, call or write a letter to your servicer requesting an explanation.

Learn more about how to request information from your servicer. It’s crucial that you find a way to make your mortgage payment by the due date because failing to make your mortgage payment on time could result in additional fees and charges, such as late fees, and could eventually put your home at risk of foreclosure.

What to do if you can’t make your mortgage payment

If your loan is a closed end consumer credit transaction secured by your principal dwelling, servicers are generally not required to accept mortgage payments that don’t equal a “periodic payment,” or the amount that covers the principal, interest, and escrow. If you can’t make a periodic payment, you can call your servicer to explain that you’re trying to make a partial payment on your loan. If you do send a partial payment, your mortgage servicer may be permitted by law to either credit your partial payment to your account, return the payment to you without cashing it, or keep it in a “suspense account” until you’ve paid more money to equal the full periodic payment. You can ask if your servicer will accept a partial payment or work with you to agree on a repayment plan or loan modification.

If you’re making partial payments, it can be confusing to know exactly how much money you owe each month. Be sure to check your most recent mortgage statement or to contact your servicer to determine the amount due and to confirm that your servicer has applied your previous payments to your loan correctly.

If you’re behind on your mortgage payments, your servicer may be required to contact you over the phone or in person, and then in writing, to give you information about whether you might be eligible for a repayment plan, loan modification, or other solution.

Find a Housing Counselor

If you need advice for your situation, you may want to speak with a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-approved housing counseling agency who can help you understand your options. You can call (888) 995-HOPE (4673) to be connected to a housing counselor. You can also find a housing counselor near you.

Consult an attorney

If you’re at risk of foreclosure or you have been served legal papers, you may also want to consult an attorney. Learn how to find an attorney in your state.

Submit a complaint

Having trouble with a financial product or service? If you've already tried reaching out to the company and still have an issue, you can submit a complaint. Tell us about your issue—we'll forward it to the company and work to get you a response, generally within 15 days.

Start a complaint

I am at least two payments behind on my mortgage payments. I tried to pay one month's worth of what I owe, but my servicer said I have to pay the whole amount. Can the servicer do this?

If you are in default, and the servicer has notified you that the entire balance is due (in other words, the loan has been “accelerated”), your lender generally can require you to pay the full past due amount to make the loan current.

Tip

Use our checklist for more information on how to avoid foreclosure.

If your servicer will not accept a payment, call the CFPB at (855) 411-CFPB (2372) to be connected to a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-approved housing counselor today or to submit a complaint with us.

If you are facing imminent foreclosure or have been served with legal papers, you may also need to consult an attorney. If you need help finding an attorney, you can view this list of legal aid services in your state, or you can find lawyer referrals in your county and state by visiting the American Bar Association website.

You can submit a complaint online or by calling the CFPB at (855) 411-CFPB (2372).

I recently declared bankruptcy. Now my mortgage servicer said it’s not allowed to send me a monthly mortgage statement. Is that correct?

No. The CFPB’s rules don’t prevent your mortgage servicer from sending you a periodic mortgage statement if you’re going through bankruptcy.

Mortgage servicers are not required to send regularly scheduled mortgage statements to borrowers who are in bankruptcy. But your mortgage servicer generally can continue to send you a statement if it chooses to.

Next steps:

  1. If you would like information about your account, including your monthly payment amount or past payments that you have made, you may request this information from your mortgage servicer.
  2. A servicer generally has to provide you with the requested information within 30 business days of receiving your written request.

Learn more about sending a request for information.

If you have a problem with your mortgage, you can submit a complaint with the CFPB online or by calling (855) 411-CFPB (2372).

I mailed my mortgage payment before it was due but my servicer received it after the due date and charged me a late fee. Can my servicer do this?

Yes, your servicer can charge you a late fee if it receives your payment after the due date, even if you mailed your payment on time.

Most servicers do not go by the postmark on your payment envelope but by when they receive your payment, though some states have laws that may regulate servicers’ assessments of late fees.

Be sure you allow time for transit when you mail your payment. If your servicer receive your payment before the due date, but delayed posting it until after the due date, charging late fees is inappropriate. Should the servicer refuse to remove the fee, you can file a complaint with the CFPB online or by calling (855) 411-CFPB (2372).

What are late fees on a mortgage?

If you don’t make your mortgage payments on time, you may be charged a late fee, though most mortgage contracts include a grace period.

Late fees can be charged only in the amount specifically authorized by the mortgage documents you signed. State law may also limit the amount of late fees that you can be charged.

For a loan you’ve applied for, check page 3 of the Loan Estimate to find out how much the late fees will be. For a loan you’re currently paying back, check page 4 of the Closing Disclosure.

Tip

Paying on time avoids a late fee and protects your credit record. Be sure to review your Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure to understand your mortgage payments, interest, and fees.

Note: You will not receive a Loan Estimate or Closing Disclosure if you are shopping for:

For these kinds of loans, you should receive Truth-in-Lending disclosures. If you are shopping for a reverse mortgage, you will also receive a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and a HUD-1 Settlement Statement.

If you have a problem with your mortgage company, you should discuss the issue with your lender. You can also submit a complaint to the CFPB online or by calling (855) 411-CFPB (2372). We’ll forward your complaint to the company and work to get you a response – generally in 15 days.

Sources and publication details

The federal agency source text is U.S. government work in the public domain. Fynoptic selected, adapted, and formatted it for this guide. No agency endorsement is implied. Follow the linked sources for current program details and the rules applicable to your circumstances.

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