DSNews delivers stories, ideas, links, companies, people, events, and videos impacting the mortgage default servicing industry.
Issue link: http://digital.dsnews.com/i/882032
64 I N D U S T R Y I N S I G H T / J O H N P A R K A co-worker recently told me about a bad experience he had with mortgage servicers. e company, which had previously serviced his mortgage, transferred servicing to another company. e co-worker was notified of this change through a letter in the mail. e letter also outlined his monthly payments would no longer be automatically drafted from his checking account on the first business day of each month. To make matters worse, the co-worker told me when he first contacted the new mortgage servicer, they had not yet received a record of his new loan number quoted in the letter and advised him to call back later. Eventually, he was able to make his monthly payment and set up an automatic recurring draft via the servicer's website, but the question remained as to why he couldn't do that to start with. Whereas my co-worker was previously able to pay his mortgage without thinking about it— and get on with living his life—he now suddenly had a fire drill on his hands and a negative impression of both mortgage servicers. e importance of satisfactory customer service is underscored by Expectations & Experiences quarterly consumer trends research from Fiserv, which revealed that 61 percent of consumers with at least one loan said prior loan experience had a moderate to great influence when choosing a lender for subsequent loans. In addition, when applying for a new loan, customer service was second only to securing the best interest rate and no or low fees and service charges in being a key factor in how borrowers selected a lender. With exceptional customer experience so important to borrowers, it is time for a mindset change. e housing crisis is now thankfully far in the rearview mirror, but it occurred on such a huge scale that its legacy continues to be felt today. e crash led to a wave of regulatory mandates with the mortgage servicing environment becoming increasingly complex in the face of Dodd-Frank reforms. To address the critical need to comply in an accurate and consistent manner, technology solutions popped up like dandelions. STRIKING A DELICATE BALANCE In our industry, there will always be evolving regulations to keep up with–the latest CFPB servicing updates are a prime example—but it should not consume servicers' time, effort, and thoughts to the exclusion of everything else. More than ever, consumers today expect exceptional engagement and a real-time lending experience, because they have grown accustomed to having access to everything on their terms. erefore, lenders must balance consumers' expectations for quick, frictionless To be effective, servicers must make the borrower experience paramount. AT YOUR SERVICE