Haha, your "document prep fee" story sounds painfully familiar. When I refinanced, I spotted a mysterious $50 "email communication charge." Seriously, charging me for emails now? When I asked about it, the rep actually laughed and admitted it was a mistake. Makes you wonder how many people just pay without noticing... Did you run into any other weird ones, or was that the main sneaky fee you caught?
Yeah, I've seen similar stuff pop up on my statements too. Ever notice the "courier fee" when everything's done electronically? I once got charged $75 for a courier service that never happened—when I called them out, they quickly apologized and removed it. Makes me wonder if these fees are really mistakes or just a sneaky way to pad profits... Did you check your closing disclosure line-by-line or just skim through it?
I get why you'd think they're padding profits, but honestly, I think it's more likely just sloppy admin work. I've seen similar random charges pop up on my statements too, and every time I've called them out, they've quickly reversed it without much fuss. Seems like a weird strategy if they're intentionally trying to sneak fees in—especially since they're so quick to remove them when questioned.
That said, you're totally right about checking disclosures line-by-line. I used to skim through mine until I caught a $50 "document prep" fee for docs that were clearly auto-generated. Now I comb through every line carefully. Mistakes happen, sure, but it's our responsibility to catch them.
I've experienced something similar when I refinanced last year. At first glance, everything looked fine, but when I went through the closing documents line-by-line, I noticed a random $75 "courier fee" tucked away. Seemed odd since all the paperwork was handled electronically—no physical courier involved at all. When I brought it up, they apologized and removed it immediately, claiming it was an oversight.
Honestly, I tend to agree it's more likely administrative sloppiness rather than intentional padding. Still, it does make you wonder how many people just overlook these small charges because they're buried in pages of disclosures. Definitely reinforces the importance of reviewing every single line carefully—even if it's tedious and time-consuming.
I've seen similar fees pop up from time to time, and while most are probably harmless oversights, it does raise a flag. A colleague mentioned recently that some lenders outsource document prep, so these charges can sneak in unintentionally. Still, always worth double-checking everything carefully... tedious but necessary.
