Consumer complaint received 2023-06-15
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: FL
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Other type of mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I began the application process to refinance my current commercial loan with Wells Fargo. I spent countless hours gathering the dozens of documents requested and submitted them all as quickly as possible. All of my information checked out except they needed documentation to prove the co-founder of the company was no longer a shareholder and that I was the 100 % owner. 

At first I was told to amend the articles of corporation with the State to reflect the change but was later told that I could provide meeting minutes that attested to this, which I did, along with the co-founder 's letter of resignation. This took place in XX/XX/XXXX. In XX/XX/XXXX I was told the meeting minutes were no longer acceptable and I had to amend the articles of corporation with the State. I sent out the request to amend the articles on XX/XX/XXXX. Due to the State being 2-3 months behind in processing corporate requests, the amendment wasn't processed until XX/XX/XXXX. Due to Wells Fargo waiting until XXXX to tell me and the length of time to process, I was told my application had expired and I had to reapply all over again. The first application cost me {$500.00} and 6 months. 

I began the second application in XXXX as soon as my document was processed with the State. My new loan commitment letter stated that my rate would go up 1 % and I now have to pay another {$1000.00} to apply, but was able to get that fee dropped down to the original {$500.00}, which I paid. I had to spend another countless amount of hours re-doing all of the paperwork for the second application. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I was told by my handler that he expected to have my closing documents by " Thursday or Friday '' .. On XX/XX/XXXX I was told that " legal '' would not accept the articles of incorporation by the State because they were only signed by one person and that I needed to submit meeting minutes, which is the original document I sent in XX/XX/XXXX. At this point " legal '' had my corporate tax returns which clearly show that I am the sole owner of the company and 100 % of the tax burden was applied to my personal tax returns, they had the amended articles of incorporation signed off on from the Secretary of State, and they had meeting minutes attesting I am the only shareholder of the company. On XX/XX/XXXX I was told my refinance would not be pushed through without me writing a letter stating why the previous shareholder was no longer with the company. I wrote a lengthy letter explaining the nature of the shareholder leaving and another copy of her letter of resignation. On XX/XX/XXXX I was told it was not sufficient and now they are asking for financial proof that I purchased her share, which is impossible and did not happen, which is explained in her letter of resignation. Her share was in exchange for me to take over the debt she incurred to the company which is clearly stated. On XX/XX/XXXX I reached out to the previous shareholder and she wrote and signed a short letter acknowledging that her share was given to me in exchange for her debt. On XX/XX/XXXX, nearly 11 months and {$1000.00} later, my application was denied without any further attempt from " legal '' to seek documentation to approve the loan. The basis of the denial was lack of proof that I am the sole owner and able to enter into agreement of refinancing the loan, despite the mountain of documentation by the State, by IRS, meeting minutes and even the previous shareholder. 

I was given a refund for {$500.00} from the 2nd application, however it still caused significant financial harm. Not only did I lose the first {$500.00} paid, but I lost out on a lower interest rate and months of payments at that rate rather than the rate I have. I took time off of work to complete this lengthy and grueling process. I was forced to obtain a new insurance policy because they did not accept the policy from my carrier at that time. Just the hours alone I spent obtaining quotes for insurance and completing that process all to be denied in the end. Prior to denial I even suggested getting a notarized letter from the previous shareholder attesting that she no longer has a stake in the company in an effort to provide authenticity of the claim. Instead my loan was denied without any reasonable cause.

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