Mortgage servicing and the DTPA

“’A mortgagor qualifies as a consumer under the DTPA if his or her primary objective in obtaining the loan was to acquire a good or service, and that good or service forms the basis of the
complaint.’ But a mortgagor challenging how an existing mortgage is serviced is not a consumer because the basis of the claim is ‘the subsequent loan servicing and foreclosure activities, rather than the goods or services acquired in the original transaction.’ Also, ‘[a]n activity related to a loan transaction is a ‘service’ for DTPA purposes only if the activity at issue is, from the plaintiff’s point of view, an objective of the transaction, not merely incidental to it.’
Appellant’s DTPA claim is not premised on any deceptive acts regarding the purchase of the property itself. Her claims––e.g., that appellees failed to provide her with an accurate accounting and failed to comply with an alleged oral agreement to delay foreclosure––are based on how the mortgage loan was administered or serviced.” Ebrahimi v. Caliber Home Loans, Inc., No. 05-18-00456-CV (April 15, 2019) (mem. op.) (citations omitted, emphasis added).