Dovenmuehle Mortgage $9 Million Settlement for Improper Pay-to-Pay Phone Fees

This class action centers on “pay-to-pay” phone fees charged by Dovenmuehle Mortgage to some North Carolina homeowners who made mortgage payments using a telephone system or interactive voice response (IVR). Between April 10, 2020, and Jan. 13, 2026, borrowers who paid these phone/IVR-related fees may be eligible for about $425 per qualifying transaction. The lawsuit alleges the charges violated North Carolina laws aimed at protecting consumers—specifically the North Carolina Debt Collection Act and the North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act—arguing that the fees were improperly collected for an optional payment method. The case was filed to challenge those fees and to put money back into the affected borrowers’ pockets, which is why the settlement totals $9 million for roughly 3,401 class members. Dovenmuehle agreed to the settlement—despite denying the allegations—to reduce the cost and uncertainty of continuing the dispute, and payments are expected to be issued after a final court approval hearing. Notably, the notice indicates no claim form is required for payout, with eligibility largely determined by whether a borrower paid the phone/IVR fee during the set window, reflecting how consumer-protection class actions often function in the mortgage servicing industry—an area where state debt-collection rules and unfair-trade-practice statutes can apply to the way servicers charge and disclose payment-related costs, even for routine options like telephone payments, and this settlement underscores how regulators and courts may scrutinize “convenience” fees when borrowers are required or induced to pay them.