For the past 3 years, my mortgage company has been paying {$860.00} per year out of my escrow accounts towards what they 've been refering to as a " water tax '' or a " water/sewer assessment ''. I 've attempted more than once to get clarification on what they 're paying and every time they basically blow me off and tell me to get the information from my tax assessor. My local tax assessor 's office as well as the water company had advised me this tax does n't exist and they had no idea what my mortgage company was paying. For the past 2 years my home was being renovated and unoccupied, so I did n't have garbage service. This is my first year having garbage service and receiving a bill ... .for {$860.00}. A normal yearly garbage bill for a single family residence is {$430.00}, however the city was incorrectly billing my home as a duplex. When I received the bill and saw the amount, I realized that my mortgage company has been paying a garbage bill for the past 2 years that I should not have been getting billed for. Furthermore, they had no business paying for a utility out of my escrow account. My escrow account does not cover any of the other utilities for my home. Had they appropriately labled what they were issuing a payment for or been willing to provide me with any information on the payment, I could have dispute the charges with the city two years ago. As it stands, the city waste deparment has been overpaid {$2100.00} of my money. After speaking with the garbage department, they agreed that I should not have been billed for the past 2 years and did n't owe the money, but it 's unlikely I 'll be able to get a refund due to the amount of time that 's passed. I submitted a request via e-mail to my mortgage company almost a month ago for information on the payments they were making. I received a generic reply that they would respond within 10 days. I 've yet to receive a response. When I 've tried to speak with someone over the phone for the past 2 years, I 'm always told that the tax department ca n't be reached by phone, only fax or e-mail. 
