Consumer complaint received 2018-01-16
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: FL
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX Wells Fargo made contact with me after Hurricane Irma hit Florida. They spoke with me stating that we could defer payments on our loan to help with the hurricane relief. I said I would need to think about it and assess our damages first. On XX/XX/XXXX I contacted them to discuss my options. We told them we had some small roof damage and needed to repair it. They said we could enter the disaster relief program and defer our mortgage payments until XX/XX/XXXX. I asked what that meant and I was told that deferring my payments meant that they would put the missed payments at the end of the loan. We chose to defer our XX/XX/XXXX payment and used the money to fix our roof damage. I called back in XX/XX/XXXX and said I wanted to end the disaster relief and was told I couldnt until XX/XX/XXXX. They said I needed to wait until the disaster relief program ended to find out how they would make up the missed payment from XX/XX/XXXX. I asked what they meant and was told that they would check my borrowing history and would add the payment to the end of the loan. They suspended my automatic payments and online payments because of the missed payment. I paid for XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX over the phone. On XX/XX/XXXX they mailed a notice that the disaster relief would be ending. We were out of town for XX/XX/XXXX and on XX/XX/XXXX they mailed a certified letter. We received the letter on XX/XX/XXXX when we returned. The certified letter indicated that the loan was in default. They charged a {$33.00} late fee for XX/XX/XXXX payment even though they said the program didnt end until the end of the month. When I spoke with them they told me I had to be transferred to the home preservation department. From there I was told that no the payment could not just go at the end of my loan. I needed to make the payment in full or I could face foreclosure. I said I could not make the payment in full which is why I had initially taken the deferment to repair the roof. From here they said they would need to send out an inspector to make sure the house was 95 % of what it was before the storm. This is the first time I was told that no they could not put the payment at the end of the loan, but that the loan would have to be reviewed. The options turned from placing the payment at the end of the loan to reviewing and potentially modifying the loan, having a short sale or being foreclosed. The employees kept saying, but you have a good payment history and good credit so the payment should just be able to be added to the end, yet in doing so my interest rate could change, my loan terms could change, etc. This is when they started pushing the word foreclosure. They came to the house one day while we were out and left a letter about foreclosure with a handwritten envelope saying they wanted to help us prevent foreclosure on the outside of our screen door. They mailed letters asking for income verification and said they would start the home preservation process. The paperwork that came in the mail was an application. The wording suggested we were reapplying for our mortgage and that our house would even have to be appraised as part of the process. They should have addressed the terms of the deferment up front. It should have been made clear that they could not just put the payment at the end of the loan like they said they would. I only took one missed payment, what about all the others who had more damage from the hurricane who decided to defer all three payments?

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