ComplaintsforChicago Title Insurance Co.

• Initial Complaint

  12/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I closed on my home 8/19/2022 and gained possession of the home on 9/1. The previous owners had possession of the property until 9/1. *************************** from Chicago Title completed the escrow paperwork with the closing. The title company was chosen by the sellers. ******** put a special assessment credit of $382.50 on my escrow closing document for the *************. ******** called me on 12/21 4 months after closing to advise the seller paid that money and I owe it back to the seller. I began to ask questions on why this wasn't caught before closing and that I wasn't sure I should be subject to the clerical error because the amount I paid at closing was the amount i agreed on. ******** became very defensive with my questions and told me that if I don't pay her lawyer will be in touch to begin the lawsuit process to acquire their funds. ******** emailed me over the documents that state I have to pay this fee. The contract that she is referencing also states the seller is responsible for all utilities until closing or move out date whichever is later. The seller did not comply with that piece of the contract and put the utilities in my name prior to moving out. I am willing to consider this a wash and not have my legal counsel reach out to acquire the money owed to me if this can be dropped. Reaching out four months after closing from a company that handles many monetary accounts is very concerning about how accurate their book keeping is as well. Not to mention threatening a customer that is just trying to find answers from a company that they are saying they owe money to months after a transaction is concerning on how many people they take advantage that don't question the call. Attached is the email and contract ******** sent me yesterday. I don't believe this was the final document i signed either. My name changed from ****** to ******** during the sale and the home is in *******************************.

  Business response

  01/04/2023

  [BBB transcription via email]

   

  Good afternoon,

   

  We received correspondence from BBB regarding a transaction we closed for the above-referenced individual.

   

  I talked to ******** about this matter, and she indicated that at the time of closing, our title work showed that there was a special assessment due to the *************. ******** called the city to confirm the amount due and the representative indicated that the special assessment was still due, but that it was not yet certified to the exact amount yet and they wouldnt know for a couple more weeks. So ******** charged the seller and gave a credit to the buyer on the closing statement so that the buyer could pay it when it becomes due (which would be after closing). ******** explained this to the buyer during the closing process and showed the buyer the part of the purchase contract which indicated that taxes and assessments would be prorated to credit the buyer if the fees were not yet certified. We verified with the city what was owed at the time and have to rely on the information from the city, who said it wasnt paid yet and not yet due.

   

  After closing, the seller reached out to us and told us that they already paid it and they were looking for reimbursement. Since we did not hold money for this but instead gave a credit to the buyer, the buyer would have needed to pay the city once the fee was certified due and payable. It wasnt for them to keep. But since the seller already paid it, the seller needed to be reimbursed. ******** called the buyer to ask them for reimbursement to pay the seller instead of the city, and the buyer refused to pay.

   

  In the meantime, Chicago Title went ahead and reimbursed the seller.

  The fee needs to be paid back to Chicago Title as we took a loss on the file to reimburse the seller.

   

  Also, we do not have anything to do with what the buyer and seller agreements with regard to possession. We also do not have any involvement in the buyer/seller transferring utilities. This is a separate matter that title companies are not involved in.

   

  Thank you,

  ******

  Customer response

  01/08/2023

   I am rejecting this response because: 

  ********* response is not valid. I did not refuse to pay. I asked her more questions as per why i owed what i owed and she became defensive and would not answer me clearly. She then stated that she'll *** if i don't pay. ******** never explained the taxes to me prior to my finalization of the sale. I was not informed of the error needing to be paid back until 12/22 almost 4 months after i closed on my home. ******** sent me the document of how much money i needed to wire, that was the only communication i had with her prior to closing. I would be curious to see her proof that she told me there was a chance the final number could change, i guarentee there is no proof she did because she is trying to scam her clients for her mistakes. ******** is no longer appointed with Remax the company that the escrow went through. I believe there is fraud going on at this organization. I did not agree for Chicago Title to take their funds to reimburse the seller. I am not sure why a buyer or a seller would pay for title insurance or pay a title company for accuracy in paperwork if when they make a mistake it does not fall back on them to correct it. Chicago title made an error, they corrected their error with their funds without any knowledge to me the buyer until they decided to balance their books 4 months later. The contract ******** is referencing that states i am responsible for this is not the final contract i signed per my name is not correct in the contract that she sent me. Another note that accuracy is not ********'s strength. The bottom line is ******** made a calculation error on the final numbers for the sale of the home. Chicago Title is responsible for the accuracy of their business not the buyer or the seller. The buyer and seller paid Chicago title for this to not happen. Therefore, Chicago title needs to own their mistake.

  Business response

  01/13/2023

  [BBB transcription via email]

   

  We received follow up correspondence on this matter containing ******** reply. She is asking for proof that we explained the assessment prior to closing. ******** had a phone conversation with her about the assessment when she scheduled her to sign documents. There was no email at the time with the explanation. Once we were informed after closing that the seller paid it (remember that the city told us they couldnt verify yet at the time of closing), ******** sent the following email to the buyer with a clear explanation of what happened. Again, in response to her comment that she is asking for proof that there was a chance that the final number would change, I will reiterate what I said below: We verified with the city what was owed at the time and have to rely on the information from the city, who said they could not yet verify what was going to be due. ******** did not make an error with the numbers. We reached out to the city for the most accurate information at the time of closing and handled it in the best way possible with the information we had at-hand. We have already sent payment to the seller to reimburse. At this time we have no other comments.

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