Sovereign Bank Refused to pay re-instatement fee after they missed home insurance payment Reading Pennsylvania

Sovereign bank bought Independence Community Bank, which owned my home mortgage previously. The ownership change occurred on 9/12/06, and my home insurance payment was due on 9/16, which comes out of my escrow account. Somehow the insurance bill was lost in the ownership transaction, and was not paid on time.

I received a letter from my insurance company stating that the payment had been missed and that my coverage had lapsed. I contacted both Sovereign bank and my insurance agent, and the bill was finally paid on 10/12.

On 12/16/06, I received another letter from my insurance company stating that I owed them $10. I contacted my agent who informed me that it was a "re-instatement fee", since my insurance policy had expired and a new policy had to be started. We both agreed that it is my mortgage lender who should pay the fee since they missed the payment.

After speaking extensively with the supervisor of the insurance department at Sovereign Bank in a conference call with my insurance agent, they refused to make the payment out of their pocket, stating that it is the borrower's responsibility to inform the insurance company of the change in mortgage ownership. My agent stated that this is never the case, and the information had been sent to my original bank, so technically the information was in their possession.

Even though this is only an argument over $10, it is the principle of the matter. Sovereign bank didn't take ownership for their incompetence and forced me, the consumer, to pay for it. I will never willingly do business with Sovereign Bank in the future.

David
Crystal Lake, Illinois
U.S.A.