Consumer complaint received 2020-08-08
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: MD
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
I have an FHA mortgage loan with Wells Fargo. I have had a change in my financial situation due to divorce and court costs associated with divorce and have tried to get Wells Fargo to review me for mortgage relief. Instead of helping me they ignore my requests, fail to assign a designated contact and put me into foreclosure and call me constantly to tell me they will put me out on the street. Not only is this very stressful and scary, it is illegal because I have a government backed loan and I know that there are options available to help me. Wells Fargo is misrepresenting the options and denying me access to government programs designed to help me and I want to file a formal complaint. 

I have owned my home for 9 years and never had a problem making the payment on my FHA loan that is serviced by Wells Fargo. I have steady employment as a XXXX XXXXXXXX and my husband was helping to contribute financially as well. The problem began when our marriage dissolved. It was very expensive to go through divorce, not only did I lose my husband 's income I also had to come out of pocket to file court orders against him to protect myself and my children. When this happened I reached out to Wells Fargo to ask for review for mortgage assistance options such as modification, forbearance, partial claim or repayment plans. I was approved for a loan modification in 2019 with a new interest rate of 5 %. I began making the payment as agreed for the next six months, however I continued to have unexpected expenses and loss related to the divorce that was not accounted for in the original review. As a result I missed a couple of mortgage payments. Wells Fargo was unforgiving and refused to consider my current financial circumstances and immediately put me into foreclosure. I attempted to make payments but was told they would only accept a lump sum payment for all arrearages along with late fees and legal fees. If it were not for the national moratorium on evictions and foreclosure I would be out on the street right now along with my XXXX children. 

My mortgage is an FHA backed loan. I thought Wells Fargo was required to provide access to government programs designed to assist struggling homeowners. As I understand it the baseline interest rate on FHA loans is calculated by the current market rate. My current loan payment is based on an interest rate of 5 %, the current average baseline interest rate is in the 2.5 % range, basically HALF OF WHAT MY INTEREST RATE IS NOW. When I applied for a new review a few months ago Wells Fargo obstructed the process, failed to assign a single point of contact and would not even give a reason for refusing to look at my current and correct financial information. I know that there are options such as partial claim to address my delinquent payments, as well as forbearance, modification or even repayment plan. Wells Fargo also failed to provide occupied conveyance paperwork, which is required if they are trying to foreclose and throw out a homeowner with an FHA loan. Wells Fargo has a history of cutting corners and they are still doing it and need to be investigated.

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