You wrote to your servicer about an error or asked for information: what its reply means

What these letters are

Deadlines and how to count them

• Acknowledgment: within 5 business days the servicer must send a written note saying it got your letter. It can skip this step only if it fully fixes the error, or sends all the information you asked for, within those same 5 business days.
• Most errors and most information requests: an answer within 30 business days. The servicer can take 15 more business days only if it tells you in writing, before the 30 days end, that it needs more time and why.
• The name and contact information of the company that owns your loan: within 10 business days, with no extension.
• An error about a payoff amount: within 7 business days, with no extension.
• An error that the servicer started a foreclosure too early, or moved for a foreclosure judgment or sale, or held a sale, while the federal loss mitigation rules barred it: before the foreclosure sale or within 30 business days, whichever comes first, with no extension. If your letter arrives 7 or fewer days before the sale, the servicer only has to make a good faith attempt to answer you, by phone or in writing.
• Copies of the documents a servicer relied on to find "no error": within 15 business days of your request, free of charge.

What the servicer's answer means

• "We corrected the error." The letter must say what was fixed, the date the fix took effect, and a phone number for more help. Check your next statement to make sure it shows.
• "We found no error." The servicer must have done a reasonable investigation. The letter must give the reasons, tell you that you have a right to ask for the documents it relied on, explain how to ask, and give a phone number. If you disagree, ask for those documents in writing.
• "We found a different error." If the servicer finds other mistakes while looking, it must fix those too and tell you what it changed.
• Information sent. The answer must be in writing and include a phone number for more help.
• "The information is not available." The servicer must have done a reasonable search and must explain why it does not have the information.
• "We do not have to respond." A servicer can decline a notice of error that repeats one it already answered (unless you add new and important information), is too vague to tell what the error is, or arrives more than one year after the servicer stopped servicing your loan or the loan was paid off. It can also decline an information request that is a repeat, asks for confidential or privileged material, is not about your loan, or asks for an unreasonable amount. In each case it must tell you in writing, within 5 business days of deciding, which reason it is using.

What your servicer cannot do while you wait

• It cannot charge a fee, or make you pay anything you may owe, as a condition of answering. (A servicer may charge for a beneficiary notice if your state's law allows that fee.)
• It may ask you for papers that support your claim, but it cannot refuse to investigate because you did not send them, and it cannot find "no error" just because you did not send them.
• For 60 days after it receives a notice of error about a payment, it cannot report that payment to the credit bureaus as late or missed.
• A notice of error does not by itself stop a foreclosure. The exception is an error about the federal rules on when a foreclosure can start or a sale can happen: the servicer must answer that one before the sale. An information request does not stop credit reporting or a foreclosure. Keep making your payments while you wait if you can.

Sample letter 1: notice of error

• [Your full name, as it appears on the mortgage]. [Property address]. [Your mailing address, if different]. [Your phone number]. [Today's date].
• To: [Servicer name], [the address your servicer uses for notices of error].
• Re: Notice of error. Loan number [your loan number].
• I am writing to tell you about an error on my mortgage account. I believe the following error occurred: [describe the error in plain words, for example: "My payment of $[amount] sent on [date] by [check number or confirmation number] was not credited to my account" or "You charged a $[amount] fee on [date] that I do not believe I owe"].
• Please correct the error, tell me in writing what you corrected and the date the correction takes effect, and give me a phone number for questions. If you decide that no error occurred, please tell me why in writing and send me copies of the documents you relied on.
• I have enclosed copies of [list what you are sending, such as a bank statement or receipt]. [Your signature].

Sample letter 2: request for information

• [Your full name, as it appears on the mortgage]. [Property address]. [Your mailing address, if different]. [Your phone number]. [Today's date].
• To: [Servicer name], [the address your servicer uses for information requests].
• Re: Request for information. Loan number [your loan number].
• I am requesting the following information about my mortgage loan: [list each item, for example: "the name, address and phone number of the owner of my loan"; "a payment history from [month and year] to today showing each payment, fee and charge and how it was applied"; "an itemized list of the fees and costs you say I owe"; or "the status of my loss mitigation application sent on [date]"].
• Please send the information in writing, with a phone number for questions. [Your signature].

What to do this week

• If you got an acknowledgment, put the answer due date on your calendar: 30 business days from when the servicer received your letter, or the shorter deadline above.
• If you got a "no error" letter and still disagree, ask in writing for the documents the servicer relied on. They are free and due within 15 business days.
• If the deadline passes with no answer, or the answer does not deal with what you asked, file a complaint with the CFPB or call (855) 411-2372. Keep copies of everything.
• If a foreclosure sale is scheduled, do not wait for the letter to work. Call a free HUD-approved housing counselor at (800) 569-4287, read your federal rights, and talk to a lawyer or legal aid.
• These are federal rules, so they work the same way in every state. Your state's foreclosure process and deadlines still apply; see your state's page.