Homeowner from Florida Sues AmeriHome over Pay-by-Phone Fees

AmeriHome Mortgage Company is facing a new class action lawsuit filed by a Florida homeowner who says the company charged illegal pay-by-phone fees.

Sandra E. Lish filed the class action lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on August 8, claiming AmeriHome violated state laws and breached their contract when it charged her to pay her mortgage over the telephone.

AmeriHome, which is based in California, charged Lish $2 each time she made a mortgage payment over the telephone, according to the class action lawsuit. The complaint does not specify how many telephone payments she made, but Lish claims the typical cost for a company to process telephone transactions is 50 cents or less.

Lish says the mortgage payment fees are illegal because her mortgage contract makes no allowances for them and they violate state laws in Florida and California. She is seeking to have her case certified as a class action on the belief the charges are not unique to her account, but rather are a standard practice of AmeriHome.

Pay-By-Phone Fees and Convenience Fees Explained

Lenders, loan servicers, service providers and even some credit card companies are in the practice of charging what are collectively known as convenience fees, or pay-to-pay fees – sometimes referred to as processing fees – when customers pay their bills over the telephone or online.

Businesses say the fees help offset the costs associated with processing payments electronically.

Convenience fees are typically a set dollar amount assigned to the specific type of payment, according to the consumer finance information website Investopedia. The amounts vary by company, and sometimes by the type of transaction. It might cost $5 to make an online payment and $10 to make a payment over the telephone, for example.

Generally speaking, pay by phone fees and other convenience fees are legal, if they are disclosed and allowed for in the terms of the customer’s contract or service agreement – when not posted they can be classified as hidden fees. Even though they are commonly charged for mortgage payments made online or by phone, pay-to-pay fees are not allowed under the terms of many mortgage agreements.

The matter of convenience fees is serious enough to draw the attention of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which issued a warning in 2017 about companies “tricking” consumers into expensive pay-by-phone fees by misleading them or “keeping them in the dark about much cheaper or no-cost payment options.”

Similar Class Action Lawsuits

The pay-by-phone fees lawsuit against AmeriHome is one of several that have been filed against banks and mortgage lenders in recent years.

Earlier this year, a Texas homeowner filed a lawsuit against Lakeview Loan Servicing and its subservicer Loancare, which took over the administration of her Federal Housing Authority mortgage and began charging her pay-to-pay fees. By the time she filed suit, the companies had charged her $444 for making mortgage payments over the phone and online.

Her case is pending in federal court in Texas.

Similarly, a group of homeowners in Florida filed a lawsuit against Seterus Inc. over convenience payment fees they claim are excessive and in violation of the terms of their mortgages. And in California, a woman filed a class action lawsuit against M&T Bank over the $15 fees it charged her to make mortgage payments electronically.

Plaintiff Attempted to Settle with AmeriHome

According to the class action lawsuit against AmeriHome, plaintiff Lish contacted the mortgage service provider in writing and requested a refund of the charges to settle the matter before taking legal action. “AmeriHome was given a reasonable opportunity to cure the breaches complained of … but has failed to do so,” the civil complaint says. That’s when Lish filed the lawsuit, she said.

The AmeriHome Pay By Phone Fees Class Action Lawsuit is Sandra E. Lish, et al. v. AmeriHome Mortgage Company LLC., Case No. 2:20-cv-07147 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Join a Free Mortgage Payment Fee Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were charged a convenience fee for paying your mortgage online or over the phone, you may qualify to join this mortgage payment fee class action lawsuit investigation.

Get a Free Case Evaluation

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.