Consumer complaint received 2020-08-12
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC)
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
I have an existing first home mortgage and home equity line of credit ( HELOC ) with Wells Fargo. In XX/XX/XXXX I took advantage to defer ( forebear ) 3 months of mortgage payments offered by Wells on the home mortgage. These payments XXXX XXXX, XXXX and XXXX XXXX would be made would be deferred to the end of the term of the loan. 

In XXXX, Wells presented several emails ( I will include one as an attachment ) offering to add an additional three months of hardship forebearance BUT with the condition that the HELOC would be frozen. The emails asked that I indicate my preference and offered an 800 number and online methods ostensibly to give my response. 

I was not interested in the additional three months and tried many times to get through via the 800 number to let Wells know. One time I was on hold for 30 minutes. I tried their online connections but was only sent to the Home Equity Account page where I could find no link to give a reply or once I went to a page where there was a form to add the additional three months but no way I could decline the offer. I made an appointment at a local Wells Branch in XXXX XXXX CA that remained opened on XX/XX/XXXX in order to reply with a no to the offer. The branch representative could only call the same number that I had called and was also put on hold and I gave up after a time. 

The emails I received on the additional forebearance said I could resume paying my mortage at " any time ''. So I paid the XXXX mortgage on XX/XX/XXXX ( I had up to the XXXX to pay on time ). On XX/XX/XXXX I attempted to transfer money from the HELOC to a Wells checking account to pay a contractor and saw that there were no available funds ( the initial HELOC was for {$250000.00} and I have about {$190000.00} of funds still available ). With great difficult I was able to reach a Wells Rep ( their lines are quite inundated ) who told me the line had been frozen and subsequently I learned my three month forebearance had been AUTOMATICALLY extended to the six month hardship forebearance with the freezing of any HELOC account.

Multiple calls later on XX/XX/17 I reached a XXXX at the " Home Preservation '' department of Wells who said she could opt me " out '' of the additional forebearance and  indeed I received a letter about 10 days later saying I was no longer in the additional forebearance. XXXX told me to wait about two weeks and that the HELOC should then become available again. 

On XXXX I checked and the HELOC was still frozen. Multiple phone calls ensued and by XXXX I reached a XXXX XXXX, a supervisor, in the Wells Home Equity department. She said she should be able to restore the XXXX line without an entire reunderwriting process which is what I had heard from another HELOC representative and to give her XXXX to XXXX days and she would get back to me. 

On XXXX I received a call from a XXXX XXXX from the Wells Executive offices basically commiserating with my situation but offering no additional help towards resolving the situation. 

On XXXX not having heard from Matters I reached her and she said she was still waiting a reply from an undetermined office for permission to reinstate the HELOC. 

I have not heard back from her and left her a message this morning XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX. 

I am complaining to CFPB because there was never any communication from Wells that if I wasn't able to reach Wells with my negative reply that the home mortgage forebearance would AUTOMATICALLY be extended to the hardship forebearance with the frozen HELOC account. Also I vigorously tried to reach Wells to give them my negative reply without success. 

Finally I note that Wells has announced it was dropping its HELOC products and I wonder if this whole " offer '' of forebearance was simply to clear its ledgers of existing HELOCs because of perceived risks or unprofitability. However, a contract is a contract and I believe Wells is in violation of the original HELOC agreements. 

I would greatly appreciate CFPB 's assistance in this matter. I feel that Wells will not cooperate without pressure from the outside. I also suspect my situation is being replicated by thousands of Wells HELOC account holders.

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 non-monetary relief