Product: Mortgage

During the recession that started in XX/XX/XXXX-XX/XX/XXXX, our business experienced a dramatic downturn in business. It took several years for the business to return to pre-recession levels. In XX/XX/XXXX,  my wife XXXX lost her job due to a reduction in Force ( RIF ) at her place of employment. She lost her job of 19 years along with her medical coverage. Because of the job loss, our family income was reduced by {$3200.00}. Per month. In addition, to maintain her medical coverage, she had to take a COBRA that cost us an additional {$700.00}. per month. XXXX had to apply for unemployment to enable us to pay all our bills. 
XXXX unemployment ran out XX/XX/XXXX. Without the unemployment income we could not make our mortgage payments so we had to take money from our small IRA. It became clear that we could only continue to pay our full mortgage payment for a few months until the money ran out. XXXX could not find a job and I was doing all I could to increase my business. 
We heard about a mortgage modification program for people in our circumstances so we contacted Wells Fargo in XX/XX/XXXX to find out if we could qualify for help. We were concerned about not being able to make a full mortgage payment and affecting our virtually perfect credit we had for the previous 15 years as well as the possibility of losing our home through foreclosure. 
The first person we talked to at Wells Fargo told us we had to continue making our regular payment for 3 moths before we could apply for a loan modification. Subsequently on XX/XX/XXXX we received a letter telling us we needed to fill out documents and return them to begin the process to determine the options available to us. On the XX/XX/XXXX we received a letter from a XXXX XXXX, a Home Preservation Specialist telling us he would be helping us. On XX/XX/XXXX we received another letter from XXXX XXXX telling us we were eligible for forbearance plan in which we would make payments of {$1500.00} per month from XX/XX/XXXX until XX/XX/XXXX. If we didnt get a loan modification, at the end of 6 months the loan payments on the original loan would have to become current and all deferred interest and late fees would have to be current. 
We began making the new payments in XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX we received a letter from XXXX XXXX telling us she was our new home preservation specialist. She said you can count on me to keep you well-informed about your loan. On XX/XX/XXXX, we received a letter from XXXX XXXX telling us he would be our new home preservation specialist. On XX/XX/XXXX we received a letter from XXXX XXXX telling us he is our new Wells Fargo home preservation specialist and mentions as first step in the mortgage assistance process I will need to receive specific documentation. This was 8 months after his first letter!!!! During that time, we called Wells Fargo time after time trying to find out what was going on. 
On XX/XX/XXXX we received a letter telling us we may eligible for a loan modification but we needed to make at least three $ XXXX trail payments. We made the payments and got the loan modification. 
From our first contact with Wells Fargo in XX/XX/XXXX until we got the loan modification, we talked to at least 30 different people trying to comply with the banks requirements. We were told to make reduced payments. Then told not to make any payments. The told to continue with reduced payments then not to make payments. We submitted documentation only to be told they sent us the wrong documentation and to fill a new stack of documents. They lost documents and we had to submit new documents. We would send them required documents and by the time we got someone to confirm they received the documents, too much time had elapsed and we had to redo some of the documents. THIS WENT ON FOR A YEAR. It appeared the whole system was in CHAOS.