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November 2024 by Kim Marino
*UPDATE: I ended up reaching out to my lender (Symmetry) directly. Haven't had any communication from Cenlar since last Thursday, which was saying they could not expediate the process nor could they do a wire transfer because Symmetry doesn't do that, even though it was Symmetry's suggestion to take that approach. I even sent them a screen shot of the manager from the lending branch making that suggestion. No response at all, however, to my surprise on Friday an envelope showed up on my front porch, overnight priority mail, my check book arrived. So I guess it could be done! They just don't want to help unless you force their hand. Which I did by filing a BBB complaint. Really a shame that's what it took for such a small request.
*UPDATE: 1 week after leaving this review there is still no communication or resolution and I am still unable to access my funds. Of course I was contacted promptly from the Social Media team so it can present as if they care to resolve concerns. I patiently waiting the 48hrs (excluding weekends) to be contacted. I received the SAME information as when I called in every other time. " I contacted this team to figure out the delay" wasn't this already done? I have not gotten any communication, with substance, since then. The only other message I received was that they tried to call me but went to voicemail (I have no call and no message). I even proposed we just do a wire transfer rather than wait for what seems to be a non-existent checkbook department. With the way this economy is and the struggles we are all facing financially I need a SMALL portion of my funds. Yet they want to tack on a $300 servicing fee for a line of credit I cant even use. This $300 fee is as much as my monthly payment to them. What a joke, sounds to me like they just over charge fees to make money and don't actually service the account or respond. They make it nearly impossible to speak to someone and just ignore you. See my one sided conversation below.
Unfortunately I can no longer edit my initial positive review from 2 years ago.
I feel bad for the people in these reviews with real issues. I can only imagine the problems they’re dealing with if my simple request to mail a check book can’t be fulfilled. It’s been 30 DAYS!
I am glad someone else feels the security questions are weird. I was just on with them and spent 2 full minutes answering all the verifying questions after she started the call by thanking me for verifying myself on the automated system…. When I pressed her for answers and clarification on the conflicting information I have received from other agents she told me we needed a new request and started asking more verification questions! Simply put I don’t know when or if the check book was even mailed at all and no one can tell me. I’m asking if because it’s been 30 days already if we need a new request can we please over night… nope! And that’s just their answer no. That’s how unwilling you are to help? Mailing something over night or expedited is that hard?
I asked to speak to a manager and he informed me that they cant expedite it because my loan is through a different broker not them and that company “doesn’t do that” so I asked well can you ask them? He said I’ve worked here for a long time and I know they don’t do that sort of thing. Oh you’ve worked there for a long time? So you must have built rapport with this other lender then, right? Not a soul over there you can ask for a favor? As if I’m asking for something so tabu. He held firm on his refusal to even ask. They truly make e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g impossible. You can’t even so much as change your email address in your account you have to jump through hoops for that too with some formal written mailed in request. Insanity. I need to figure out how to get away from these people and fast.
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November 2024 by Isaac
Multiple communications have been recorded regarding my PMI cancellation since 2022, and Cenlar has not responded. Appraisal to cancel PMI was forwarded to Cenlar secure email and post since 2023.
If Cenlar does not remove my PMI in 7 business days based on the appraisal, I will file a law suit and report to FTC. Deadline 10/30/2024
IF THERE IS A ZERO STAR. I WILL DEFINATELY PRREFER A ZERO STAR FOR THIS LENDER. NOT RECOMMENDED. STAY AWAY.
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October 2024 by MJQ
WARNING - This is actually zero stars
Believe everything awful you've read here (and in Consumer Affairs, and on Yelp). This is the single worst financial company you'll ever work with. So awful it feels like a scam.
Basic things like calling customer service just don't work. They hang up randomly. The phone system feels like it's two decades old. When you reach someone, they're rude, like they hate their job and just want to get the conversation over with.
Security questions are weird and unlike other financial institutions. They'll ask you to enter your full social security number or the full name (plus middle name) of another person listed on the account or the balance of a paid-off loan. If you get any one thing wrong, even once, they'll refuse to talk to you.
BUT they'll tell you to call again later. And if you call again, you can go through all the prompts and security and try again. So it is not secure. I was able to call 4 times, trying again with different answers, and they never noticed or locked the account (or contacted me).
Forget whether it's a good financial product. If you're doing business with them, it's probably not because you chose them. And they know that.
Honestly, something seems awful fishy about a company that has no interest in actually doing business. I'm going to pass on my experience to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Update Oct 2024: Still awful. I'm trying to find out why the website is telling me my payment will go up (by a lot). After extensive questioning, the first person says I need to talk to customer service (huh? who have I been talking to?). After talking to "customer service", they say I need to talk to the HELOC department (okay, why didn't the first person transfer me to the HELOC department?). Then they hung up. Just hung up the phone.
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October 2024 by Jennie
Citi use cenlar for my mortgage payments. Recently I wanted to establish escrow for my property taxes. Firstly, cenlar’s representative told me that the application requirements will be sent through mail, but it turns out it was sent through the online documents center. They wasted my time waiting for 2 months for the application requirements in mail. Secondly I submitted my application 3 months before the next due date of the property tax (Jan 1 2025), but a cenlar representative, OUT OF NOWHERE, says my next property tax is due on December 1 2024, which is within 60 days of my application, so they cannot process. I don’t know how she could imagine this December 1 due date from ABSOLUTELY NOWHERE?? How *unsmart* a person needs be to make such a mistake?? It is not even a mistake - I just don’t know why she could come up with a new date that’s NOT ANYWHERE on my property tax bill?? Then I messaged the message center about the mistake, however, after 2 weeks, they sent a notice saying exactly the same thing - that I have property tax due on December 1 - ??? Basically, they ignored my message and meanwhile wasted two weeks’ time. I was initially super upset, so I searched for their customer service number. Then, I see that they have a google rating of only 1!! I also read ALL these horrifying reviews about their escrow practices. Now I am glad that I did not set up an escrow account with them, and I will make sure I don’t!
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October 2024 by Kalea Martín
What an absolute nightmare Cenlar has been - If your loved one has passed and you now have to deal with this company, get ready to experience a second wave of grief. We have been calling and faxing them back and fourth for almost 6 months attempting to assume the loan of our uncle/father. Every time you call Cenlar, you will speak to a new person each time, and you will have to explain your situation over and over again to people who clearly don't know what they're doing, and do not even pretend to care. (I mean one person had to google what an affidavit was while we were on the line). They will just continue to transfer you to lots of different departments and people until someone "promises" to call back (they never actually do - they never even give you their full name). There was one set of documents we had to send 3 different times because they claimed to have never received it. By now we have sent over HUNDREDS of pages of paperwork, including the entire trust and other documents compiled by 2 different lawyers, and each time Cenlar reassures us that this is the "final document" needed in order to settle our case. Every person seems to make up a new set of rules every time we call, and no matter how much you try to cooperate, no matter how many supporting documents you submit in order to prove your identity/your rights/the fact that the person died, it doesn't matter because you basically have to start over every time you contact the company. I just want this to be over with and hopefully one day it will, but unfortunately it doesn't seem like that will be soon. We do not recommend this company at all - out of every company or agency we have dealt with since our family member's passing, Cenlar has been by far the most incompetent and frustrating.
UPDATE 1: It's been about a month since I wrote my initial review and believe it or not it's gotten even worse! They are now charging us an additional fee of $1,000+ for a "home inspection to check on their assets, attorney fees, and returned mail" because they "couldn't get ahold of the borrower".... who has been dead for nearly 8 months now.... They literally have a copy of the borrower's DEATH CERTIFICATE as well as every legal document that names who his successors are, plus we have consistently been in contact with them about this matter. Not one person from Cenlar has tried to get in contact with us - we are always the ones contacting them, and could have easily confirmed why they couldn’t “get ahold of the borrower”. They have also begun sending mail to an outdated mailing address that hasn’t been used in several years, which we were only made aware of over the phone. Previously they would send the mail to the mortgage property address as well as the address where we currently reside, so it’s completely unclear why this switch occurred. On top of this they also rejected our autopayment "because the name provided for the checking or savings account does not match the name of the borrower". Not sure how Cenlar expects a dead person to continue paying a loan... obviously the payments are coming from the bank account of the successors. At this point I'm not surprised, this company has proven themselves to be extremely incompetent and unprofessional
UPDATE 2: I responded to their comment below over email and they replied but only addressed one of the concerns I raised and conveniently forgot to address any of the rest. I've had to send 2 follow-up emails and it has been radio silence since then (that was August, it's now mid-October). Seems like the only solution is to go back to making phone calls and re-explaining our situation to a new representative every time. I'm sure it will never be resolved since it's been 8 months. I'll come back at 12 months to update. In any case, a word of advice to potential clients, please avoid this company at all costs.
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October 2024 by Tiffany
HORRIBLE. These people have made an obvious error with our property tax amount. It was 840 last year and now they have it as just short of 5000! We have been contacting them for over a month with documents directly from our tax office proving that this is incorrect and they refuse to fix the issue. An issue that will cost us $600 in extra mortgage fees. There is literally no way to contact their "tax office" but by a message box online that takes days for a response and then after getting a response we were given a waiting period of TWENTY days for them to simply look at a figure that should have been an automatic red flag to their accountants. We had no choice but to give them twenty days only to find out that they still haven't fixed the problem at the end of that period. Customer service does nothing to help, on top of having no sympathy for our situation and being flat out rude. We will be avoiding this company at all costs in the future and warning everyone we know.
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October 2024 by Emil Suiugan
Absolutely awful mortgage company the worst I’ve ever had in my life. I have never had a company add on escrow to my account without my permission and they did it with absolutely no permission for me. I pay my taxes and insurance separately and these people add on escrow for absolutely no reason and when I call for help, they are absolutely clueless. These representatives are they don’t even know what’s going on. They can’t even give me a straight answer or guide me on why this is going on. They told me to go online and email them. Why would I have to email them when I’m talking to a representative it makes absolutely no sense. The worst of the worst no wonder they have 650 awful reviews stay away from the scammers now I have to refinance and go through the entire process of getting a new mortgage because the scammers will not remove my escrow absolutely awful, awful scammers do not use this mortgage company. Stay away. Look at the reviews 650 awful reviews not one good one that says a lot about this awful mortgage company
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October 2024 by Ken O'Rourke
Cenular is about the worst financial company in my opinion. If you borrow money on your credit line they add the amount to your loan instantly. Fine. But when you pay back principal on your loan, even with an electronic payment from a major bank, they take days even a week to remove the amount from the balance showing what you owe.
Why do they take so long; what’s going on? Who is earning interest on the money all this time? Why should I have to show I owe amounts I’ve already paid off days or a week after making an electronic transfer of funds to Cenular?
I smell a fish; with other financial institutions electronic payments, transfers, and transactions such as using credit cards, internal bank transfers, etc show up instantly. Deposit a check at your bank, your new account balance is higher instantly. But not at Cenular. A week to show a credit line has been paid down? Makes no sense unless it’s cents for Cenular.
Post-script: waited for the credi to show up as the reps said. Wrong. The account reps all give different stories about when or why a payment will be credited. Four different reps. Still no credit. The latest says 3 more business days. That will be about 2 weeks since Cenular received the funds electronically from a major bank. The fishy smell is growing. 2 weeks to simply credit an account? Ridiculous. Don’t do business with Cenular in my opinion.
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October 2024 by Barbara Katz
Incompetent, and totally infuriating.
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October 2024 by bruce goecke
Scammers!! Scammers!! Scammers!! I received a monthly notice claiming I owed a additional 505 dollars. I called customer service to ask what this was about and i was told it was for a homeowners policy in 2014. I was sent some kind of photographed page that was totally illegible. I have never been without a private homeowners policy and explained this to Citibank in 2014, all was fine until I received a bill 9 years later. After speaking to customer service again this was never resolved, now a have a statement with a late fee , a missed payment a huge ding to my credit report. Scammers!! Scammers!! There should not be any stars.
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October 2024 by Rania Mosaed
A horrible comp... worst experience ever. The website is useless and cant do payment through the websites for 3 months. I chat with the customer service because of the phones takes forever for someone to answer.. they inform me yes we received the payment yes you are all set and you are good to go I tell them mam the money still there she said no worries it takes time for 3 whole month. Until I got a collection letter and I called for 3 days until I got someone that doesnt know what she is doing and telling me non sense things. I think they should hire professional team overthere.. I inform them to take the payment and this is the info; the answer guess what we cant take the payment LOL.. dont know what they are trying to do ! They dont want to take payment and sending me collection letter. Horrible ones please stay away dont waste your time or money
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October 2024 by Mike Fam K
By far one of the worst banks. You need to hire professionals at your call center not a bunch of ghetto, unprofessional talking people over the phone. Random fees on my mortgage. Blue check, green check scam. (Who cares what check I deposit it’s my money and my account numbers match the damn checks. Then you can’t mobile deposit. They make it almost impossible for you to take money out then they charge fees on top of it. Terrible. Hawk your statements ! And get another mortgage company. At 1 star rating you guys should be shut down or sold. You don’t do business like this. Change the name from Cenlar to central scammers. Fits better.
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September 2024 by Susej jones
Cenlar service is a nightmare...Just read that one of the CEO's wrote they have an A+ rating servicing Billions of dollars of mortgage accounts...(from the BBB)
I worked at the BBB during my college years and they quietly hired full time people to telemarket hundreds of people & companies daily from a reverse number/address private directory (that gives information about the organization) that many corporations used to solicit from..Then they are asked to become members for a high yearly fee and 'can rest assured
the Better Business Bureau will put them in 'very good standing.
It was shocking to watch happen in their offices...
Plus the federal government was investigating this company for
unethical practices and were going to be closed down..
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September 2024 by Neal Eberly
O stars. Their service on my loan was the worst. So glad they sold it. Bye bisssssshhh
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September 2024 by Selina Shepherd
I am unable to speak to a live representative. Even the chat feature that says you are speaking to a live agent is a bot. I have an old mortgage loan that is closed out with an escrow balance. I just want my money. I've spent all day calling at least 4 different phone numbers pressing every button on the automated menus to get nowhere. HOW DO I SPEAK TO A LIVE PERSON!!
