Consumer complaint received 2020-01-15
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: IL
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
The purpose of this narrative is to highlight the deceptive practices I experienced while working with Wells Fargo Mortgage Company and it representatives. The following correspondence will give a detailed account of 2 erroneous debits and mishandled transactions completed by Wells Fargo that caused me undue financial hardship and distress. On XX/XX/XXXX I placed a call to Wells Fargo Home Mortgage to request an adjustment to the automatic payment plan for my account due to a loss of employment. 

When I spoke with the representative I asked that the automatic payments on my account be stopped temporarily so that I could make manual payments moving forward. I informed the representative that due to a loss of employment, I was unsure of the specific date I was to receive unemployment funds and did not want to risk my account going into arrears. The representative instructed that it would be easier for them '' to adjust the pay date to a later time as it would prove difficult to re-establish the automatic payment plan if was to be cancelled. Following the instruction of what I thought was a reputable agent of the company, I complied and cancelled the current draft payment and established an alternative date for the payment at the end of the month. The communication was confirmed on a recorded line however from that conversation a series of unfortunate events ensued which included erroneous payments being taken out of my bank account by Wells Fargo at their will on 4 separate occasions. 

The bottom line, a representative of Wells Fargo utilized deceptive practices to encourage me to continue to allow Wells Fargo access to my linked bank account by deterring me from cancelling automatic drafts. The same representative, made false claims with regard to setting up an alternative payment date for my mortgage account that was not upheld and ultimately resulted in charges erroneously being made to my linked bank account 4 times. I received a call from a member of the management team confirming the error at which time she attempted to re-establish yet another alternative date for payment for the upcoming month however soon after, a second error occurred. 
Wells Fargo representatives mishandled my account and erroneously accessed my linked bank account a total of 4 times, 2 of which were not permitted, all of which can be confirmed via the slew of recorded calls back and forth between the company and myself. As a result of the incidents listed above, I incurred insufficient funds fees and endured a financial hardship. When I contacted Wells Fargo, I initially got the run around. It wasnt until I attempted to escalate the issue and threatened to report them to the FTC that sent me to someone in their executive office. Speaking now to the tenth person from the company, I recanted the events that had transpired up to that date. The individual ( XXXX ) indicated that she would conduct an investigation and quoted a resolution date towards the end of XX/XX/XXXX. Nearing the date of anticipated conclusion, I received a call from a new representative indicated they were contacting me on behalf of XXXX, stating they needed to extend the investigation and I would be contacted at a later time. When I received follow up from XXXX, the initial representative from the executive team, she indicated that she was still reviewing the recorded calls but requested in the interim that I submit my banking statements to confirm that I did indeed incur fees as a result of the incident. When I indicated that the fees were through a non-Wells Fargo account, she indicated that no information regarding the investigation findings would be released to me about my account until I submitted my bank statements for her review, further showing the use of deceptive practices and coercion to be a standard operation of the company. I expressed I was not in agreement with the demand for my personal information and reminded XXXX that I never asked for the NSF fees to be returned, it was offered as a remedy only after I attempted to escalate the incident. I questioned the " investigation '' and further reminded XXXX of the call I received following the first incident where it was CONFIRMED by a member of their management team that the error was a company error. Specifically reminding her of the correspondence from the manager indicating the representative that I initially attempted to establish the payment plan with was new to the organization and likely was unaware of the error made due to a lack of training. I expressed the first mistake I took to merely be an issue with training as the manager indicated however two in a row was inexcusable especially given the laissez faire manner in which it was being treated given my personal situation. Additionally, I questioned why there was no follow up in writing when the account adjustments were made as it had been a customary practice any time there was an adjustment made to my account since it was opened in XX/XX/XXXX. 

I followed up in writing to the representative and reluctantly sent my banking statements confirming the NSF fees incurred do to their errors on XX/XX/XXXX. XX/XX/XXXX I received a letter from Wells Fargo indicating the errors on my account were in no fault of theirs but as a " courtesy '' due to me not receiving the level of customer service, " I expected, '' they made a " business decision '' to refund the {$340.00} of insufficient funds fees incurred. 

Once trust is broken it is not easily regained. It is the lack of acknowledgement on behalf of the representatives of Wells Fargo that needs to be remedied. I no longer have trust in the actions of the representatives of the company and am seeking a dissolution of relationship with the company completely. While I may not have received follow up when the incidents initially occurred, Wells Fargo has attempted to now cover up their wrongdoing in writing now claiming what they did not previously but again, only after the threat of reporting. 

They make a sizable profit from being a mortgage holder and have a great deal of influence. That should not be utilized at their will irrespective of ethics and legalities for consumer rights. They were not permitted to debit my account and as such should be held accountable for their disregard.

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