We had an insurance claim for a new roof. We paid the contractor. The new roof was completed and our insurance company issued us a check. It was made out to my husband and myself and the mortgage holder. We called the mortgage holder (out of state) and asked how to handle it. We were told to send the check, all claim information and a personal check for $34 to process the endorsement. I have never heard of paying a bank to process an endorsement. Is this legal? Are banks now just trying to make super profits in light of the current banking environment? This is completely ridiculous. I would never do business with this bank again.
There's a bit more that the mortgage holder needs to do than simply affix its endorsement to such a check. Besides verifying that the mortgage account is current, the mortgage holder may need to verify that the real estate has, in fact, been repaired, and if there are investors involved in the mortgage, may need to notify them of the claim and insurance payment. The bank may be trying to recover some of the costs involved, rather than to "make super profits".
The fee for endorsing such a check should have been disclosed to you earlier. If it was, then the fee is legal. If you were not informed of the fee earlier, the bank's wisdom in imposing it is questionable.
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There's a bit more that the mortgage holder needs to do than simply affix its endorsement to such a check. Besides verifying that the mortgage account is current, the mortgage holder may need to verify that the real estate has, in fact, been repaired, and if there are investors involved in the mortgage, may need to notify them of the claim and insurance payment. The bank may be trying to recover some of the costs involved, rather than to "make super profits".