A Qualified Written Request (QWR) is written correspondence that you or someone acting on your behalf can send to your servicer to ask for information relating to the servicing of your loan or to dispute errors about your loan account.

Your request must:

• Be made on its own, so do not write your question on your payment coupon or mortgage statement
• Include or provide enough information for the servicer to identify the name and account of the borrower
• Contain a statement of the reasons you believe that the servicer has made an error with respect to your account or contain a detailed explanation as to other information relating to the servicing of the loan that you are requesting

The U.S. Department of Urban Housing and Development (HUD) provides a sample QWR on its website that you can follow.

Your QWR should:

• Be sent certified mail, return receipt requested so you will have confirmation that your letter arrived
• Be sent to the address that the servicer uses for receiving QWRs (this may be different from where you send your payment or even different from the customer service address)
• Contain the words: “This is a ‘Qualified Written Request’ under Section 6 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA)”

Once your servicer receives the request, it has 20 business days to acknowledge your inquiry. You servicer also has no later than 60 business days after it receives your QWR to either provide you in writing with the information or clarification, make the correction you request, or let you know why it believes it cannot provide you with the information or that there has not been a mistake and your account information is correct.

The response from your servicer must include the name and telephone number for the individual, office, or department of the servicer who can provide you with additional assistance if you have any questions. While you are waiting for a response, you should continue making your mortgage payments as scheduled.