Consumer complaint received 2019-01-08
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: MA
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Loan
Issue: Managing the loan or lease
Sub-issue: Problem with additional products or services purchased with the loan

Complaint:
To Whom It May Concern, I am writing this letter to you in hopes that you will " forgive '' the charge-off that has appeared on my credit from Wells Fargo. 
I understand that this account will be ( or is ) considered satisfied as of XX/XX/XXXX, but my hopes are that I can get this completely removed from my credit in any negative/late status since this was not fault, and not in my control at all. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, a tree fell onto my car ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ). We were not in the car ( it happened at night during a particularly bad storm ), and although we did go outside to try to cover up the car, the damage was done. The following day, my insurance company ( XXXX XXXX ) called and told me that it was a total loss. 
I was told by my insurance company that the bank that held the title will be getting a check. Minus my {$500.00} deductible, I was all set to go out and get a new car. We had a rental for a few days, then decided on a XXXX XXXX XXXX. I had GAP insurance to protect me from the actual value of the car, vs. the actual loan that I had. It was a done deal. All set, I thought. 
Months go by and I hear nothing from no one. In XX/XX/XXXX ( approximately ) I started getting some letters from Wells Fargo ( the bank that held the title ) saying that they have not yet received payment. I contacted XXXX XXXX and they assured me that payment has been made. I threw away the statements. My assumption was that it was just taking a little while before they made their payments. I hear about that stuff taking a long time. 
XX/XX/XXXX comes around, and I am still getting letters from Wells Fargo. I call them up and they say that they haven't received payment yet. I tell them that my insurance company has told me that they have made the payments. They tell me to call them again, so I did, with the same result. 
Finally, XX/XX/XXXX comes around, and I notice on the letter from Wells Fargo that my account was going into " Charge Off '' status. I IMMEDILATELY call them to find out what is going on. They were VERY rude and NOT helpful at ALL. I tell them that I do not understand what is going on, and they tell me that I have to take care of this or else it will be a negative charge off on my credit score for the next 7 years. The HOURS that I spent talking with multiple people, in multiple departments, and getting no answer was extremely confusing, emotionally draining, and frankly just a waste of my time. 
Getting no where with Wells Fargo, I contact my insurance company. They explain that they have already sent out the check way back in XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX I believe ). I don't understand what is causing all these problems. They ask me if I have checked on my " GAP '' claim. I tell them that I did the initial paperwork back when the accident occurred, and I have not heard from them since. My insurance company gives me a new phone number to contact the " GAP '' insurance company ( which I didn't even know existed. I assumed that they were a part of my original insurance company ). 
I call them, and they tell me that they have not sent Wells Fargo a check for the balance of actual value of the car vs. the value of the loan. When I ask why, their response was " We were waiting for a police report ''. Now, I KNOW that isn't true. When the accident happened, I called my insurance company, and they asked me the same thing. But, since it was on my property, and there was no one injured ( or even in/around the car ), there was no need for a police report. And, that was according to the insurance company. 
I receive an email from the " GAP '' insurance people, ask me to say that there is no police report and send it back to them. 3 days later, Wells Fargo has their money. 
In all, once I found out that my account was going into " charge off '', I did everything I could do to avoid that. Although they were not very helpful to me, I did repeatedly ask them to please remove this charge off from my account since I was not the one that was responsible for these mistakes that were made. 
Basically, from the first week of XX/XX/XXXX, until the XX/XX/XXXX, I worked feverishly to get this settled. It is settled, but now my biggest concern is my credit. 
I have not had the best credit in the world due to many issues in the past. I have finally cleaned all that up and have started getting better with my credit. My wife and I are hoping to refinance our house this winter so that we can put in a new kitchen and new windows ( we need them badly ). 
Going through this, I now see that I have to make sure everyone elses ' I 's and T 's are crossed and dotted. I have learned a BIG lesson. But, marking my credit negatively for the next 7 years because someone in another state decided not to send a check to the bank really shouldn't reflect negatively on me. 
Also, since this account has been considered " satisfied '', it my credit report says that it has been over 30 days late for the past 2 months ( XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX ). 
( Now, it turns out that the GAP insurance did not cover all of the remaining balance, but while on the phone with Well 's Fargo, when they told me that, I paid the remaining balance at that time. Meaning, if I had known that there was going to be a balance, I would have paid that LONG ago. But, I was not told until the GAP insurance FINALLY went through. 
Your credit is becoming more and more important in everyday life. Please do not let this affect my family negatively for the next 7 years.

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