Consumer complaint received 2019-07-15
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: TX
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Private student loan
Issue: Getting a loan
Sub-issue: Confusing or misleading advertising

Complaint:
In 2014 I went to Wells Fargo at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX, Texas with my mother to get a small student loan to cover the gap between my scholarship and my government aid. During the Loan application process the Wells Fargo associate told my mother and I that my loan would not accrue interest while I was in school, much like the federal subsidized loan I had just taken out. My mother has also confirmed that this associate explicitly told me that the contract I was signing meant that my loan would not accrue interest while I was in school. I was XXXX years old so I did not understand the terminology and signed the papers at the assurance of the associate. 

Five years later, I am looking at my Wells Fargo documents to check where I am with my loans in total, so I can anticipate the amount I need to payback upon graduation from law school. I notice that I have accrued almost double the amount of the loan in interest since it was signed in XXXX ( at an interest rate of almost 12 %, which absolutely should have been lowered as my credit score raised ) The Wells Fargo App only ever shows the principle interest and I had been led to believe that it was not accruing interest by the Wells Fargo associate so it was something I pushed to the back of my mind. There was no reason for me to believe that the loan was accruing interest between what the associate had assured me off as well as the principle balance being the only balance reflected on the Wells Fargo portal. 

I contacted Wells Fargo and they set me up with a customer service representative, Ms. XXXX XXXX at XXXX extension XXXX and she did nothing to help my situation. She reported back to me that the manager at the bank had " no records '' of my student loan which is incredibly suspicious seeing as how Wells Fargo has had a problem as of the last few years of predatory loan practices. I told her that I was misled and lied to but she insisted it was my fault and I was informed because I signed the documents, again, I was XXXX years old and didn't know what 'interest ' really even meant. So I believed whatever the Wells Fargo Associate told me. 

I am not a XXXX  person ... I have a credit score of over 750 and I am in law school -- what Wells Fargo did to me is wrong and I am worried for all of the other XXXX year olds out there who are being misled and LIED to by Wells Fargo in order to get them to sign loans and pile on the interest payments. 

Wells Fargo has told me there is 'nothing they can do about my situation ' but I know that that is also a lie. They are engaging in predatory behavior toward young and uninformed borrowers, and when I asked them to find out why this person misled me they returned with " we have no records. '' I am very concerned about these predatory loan tactics and I am looking forward to hearing from you. 

Thank you.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation