Refund Unauthorized Rate Lock Extension

[Andrew Self]

Hello everyone. I am looking for some advice. We just closed on a property in Kentucky and ended up going with OCMBC as our lender through a NEXA broker. (Big mistake, lesson learned) We ended up having to delay closing a couple of weeks due to the outrageous amount of documentation underwriting kept requesting, often times asking for the same documentation two or three times. Our broker during this process was never proactive and although every time we sent new documents asked them to please ask what else may be needed so we can begin gathering the extra items, they never did. Anyway, getting past all of that, we had to extend our rate lock. When we locked our rate in, we never were advised of the length of the rate lock and this was our first investment so this isn't knowledge we had. We never found out when it expired until our broker sent us an email saying she had extended the rate lock, no mention of for how long or any cost. A few days later she extended again and said this was done at no charge. We never asked for a rate lock extension or were ever advised there was an additional cost to do so, especially because we provided the documentation they requested the same day consistently and it was not our fault it was taking so long. Finally we get sent a copy of the closing package the day before our new closing date after having it pushed, and there is an extra $510 added to the discount/points that we were never made aware of. We asked our broker and she said that was the cost for the extension. So, the extension we never authorized, were never told about the cost or anything we were expected to pay? We told her we shouldn't be on the hook for that because we did not cause any delays and never asked for an extension. Rates dropped consistently from the time we closed so we would've rather have it expire to lock in a new rate which would have been the same or better. If we fought this, we would've delayed closing again and likely lost the sale since we had already delayed 2 weeks previously, so we just paid it with the intention of asking for a refund after. I reached out to the broker and told her we expected this back since she authorized it without our approval and we only paid it at closing because we risked losing out on the property if not. She has told us she can't refund it and if we didn't agree to it we should have never paid and could've chosen to get a new loan (Which obviously is not an option that late in the process without losing out on the purchase). What can I do? Should I file a complaint with NMLS, CFPB, BBB? Anything else that I should try before doing so? It's my understanding that a broker cannot authorize this with an additional cost unless we provide authorization to do so, which we never did. Advice?