ATLANTA -- The mortgage of one Buckhead homeowner was transferred from her original lender, a move that resulted in an enormous amount of frustration.

But her story serves as a cautionary tale for other borrowers who could end up at odds with their lender.

Meet Robyn Cason

Robyn Cason enjoys living in her new condominium in Buckhead, but three months after moving in she said she started receiving unwanted phone calls.

"I absolutely felt harassed (and) frustrated," she recalls.

Cason's frustration began when her lender, Market Street Mortgage, sold the servicing of her loan to EMC on Aug. 1. She had already submitted her mortgage payment for the month when she received a letter from EMC, saying her account was past due.

The calls raised the ire of Cason.

"I think it would be best if they were more efficient and called people who actually owed them money rather than people who pay in advance," she said.

Charles Richardson, a senior vice president of Market Street, said his firm's research has found that EMC's bookkeeping errors prompted the collection efforts.

"It looks like (they) made a mistake when they put it on their computer," Richardson said.

Richardson said Cason was right to ask the lender to document that her payment had been received and forwarded.

"If there is a problem, communicate with the new lender," he said. "If it's not immediately resolved, go back to the original lender and they will have a system in place to take care of it."

Officials at EMC said they have resolved the matter with Cason, who contacted the WSB Consumer Action Center for help. Also, the firm has sent her a written apology and an explanation.

But the letter she received contains no explanation of why an EMC worker went to her condo, leaving confidential information with the building concierge.

Cason's experience should serves as an example to other borrowers, who should document their dealings with their lenders.

Borrowers are advised to:

Keep records of all their payments and where they are sent.
File a complaint with the state should an issue arise.
Contact the Mortgage Bankers Association of Georgia, which runs an ethics program for lenders.

Officials at Market Street Mortgage said they have a special customer service team that handles all issues related to mortgage transfers.

However, not all lenders have such an operation so lenders could end up with nowhere to turn if they call for information or try to lodge a complaint.

Under the law, borrowers have 60 days from the time of the transfer to make payments to either lender. Borrowers also have a right to receive written documents that outlines the status of their account.

The law says lenders can not charge late fees or report negative information to the credit bureaus during the 60-day period.