Before you start: build the record
- Keep every letter and every envelope with a postmark.
- Write down each call: the date, the name of the person, and what was said.
- Send documents in a way you can prove, and keep copies.
Step 1: send the servicer a notice of error
A notice of error is a letter that says what the servicer got wrong and asks it to fix it. Federal rules give the servicer deadlines to respond, and it cannot charge you for answering.
- It must confirm in writing that it got your letter within 5 business days.
- It must answer most errors within 30 business days. It can take 15 more only if it tells you in writing why before the 30 days end.
- For an error about starting a foreclosure too early, or moving toward a sale while the federal rules barred it, it must answer before the sale or within 30 business days, whichever comes first.
Send it to the address the servicer has named for these letters, if it has named one. See notice of error and information request, and use the free letter templates.
Step 2: complain to the CFPB
File online at the CFPB complaint page or call (855) 411-2372. The CFPB sends your complaint to the company, and says most companies respond within 15 days. Attach your notice of error and the proof it was delivered.
Step 3: your state regulator and attorney general
Each state has an agency that licenses or supervises mortgage servicers, and an attorney general who takes consumer complaints. Your state's page lists the ones we could confirm, with links.
Step 4: the agency behind your loan
- FHA loans: the FHA Resource Center, 800-CALL-FHA (800-225-5342).
- VA loans: a VA loan technician, 877-827-3702, option 6.
- USDA direct loans: the USDA Servicing Center, 1-800-414-1226.
If a sale date is close
A complaint does not postpone a sale. If a sale is set, call legal aid or a lawyer the same day and read a sale date is set. The federal rules on applications can be enforced in court, and a lawyer can tell you whether that fits your case.
How much time do you have? It depends on your state.
See the foreclosure timeline, deadlines and free local help for the state where the home is.
Common questions
Will complaining make my servicer treat me worse?
A complaint creates a written record and usually moves your file to a team that has to answer. Keep making any payments you have agreed to, keep answering requests for documents, and keep your own copies.
The servicer keeps saying my application is incomplete. What do I do?
Ask for the full list of what is missing in writing. If the application arrived 45 or more days before a sale, the servicer had to tell you within 5 business days whether it was complete and what was missing. If it keeps asking for the same documents, say so in a notice of error and in your CFPB complaint. See your federal rights.
Keep reading
- What to do firstThe earlier you act, the more options you have. These are the first six things to do, in order, whether you are about to miss a payment or are already a few months behind.
- A sale date is setA sale date means time is short, not that it has run out. Each option below has its own cutoff, so the order you act in matters. Start today.
- Avoid foreclosure rescue scamsPeople facing foreclosure are a target. Federal law bans most upfront fees for mortgage relief, so any company that asks to be paid before you have an offer from your servicer is breaking the rules.
- Your federal rightsFederal rules (Regulation X) set the floor in every state. They do not force your servicer to approve any option, but they control when it can start a foreclosure and how it must handle your application.
- Help by loan typeYour servicer collects the payments, but the rules for what it can offer you come from whoever owns or insures the loan. Find that out first.
- Taxes after foreclosureThe IRS treats a foreclosure as a sale, and forgiven debt is usually income. The main home exclusion many people relied on has expired for most 2026 cases, but insolvency and bankruptcy exclusions still apply.
Sources
- 12 C.F.R. § 1024.35, error resolution procedures (eCFR)
- 12 C.F.R. § 1024.36, requests for information (eCFR)
- 12 C.F.R. § 1024.41, loss mitigation procedures (eCFR)
- CFPB: Submit a complaint
- HUD: Avoiding foreclosure
- VA: Help to avoid foreclosure
- USDA Rural Development: Single Family Housing Direct Home Loans