Consumer complaint received 2017-05-15
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: NE
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Private student loan
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Problem with customer service

Complaint:
There have been so many servicing errors and terrible customer service experiences regarding my private student loans with  Wells Fargo th at I will just touch on the main ones here.    Wells Fargo preyed on  my father and myself in  XXXX , pushing me to take out a private student loan even though neithe r one  of us showed adequate credit or evidence to be able to pay it back. These loans have caused hardship on my cosigner as well as myself.  Wells Fargo  failed to provide any resources for borrowers to assist them during economic hardships after loans were taken out. I took out the student loans to pay for a college education, but I would be better off financially if I had never been pushed to take out a private student loan with  Wells Fargo. {$14000.00} wa s financed in   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   and I will have paid more than {$33000.00} by the end of the payment period. I have received nothing but harassment, misinformation, and damage to my personal as well as financial reputations.   In   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX    (   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   )  during a repayment period, I had automatic payments scheduled. I found out from my cosigner that he was receiving letters that the loans had late payments. I was confused and found out the day the payments had been scheduled was technically after the due date  Wells Fargo  had set. This meant I was accruing extra fees and late fees even though I was making full payments on the loans every single month. This reflected on my cosigners credit report as well as my own. They told my cosigner, We are charging you {$30.00} each month for being late. My scheduled payments were coming out the first of each month, and the due date was the  XXXX  of each month.    Wells Fargo fa iled to provide me with information regarding releasing my cosigner from the loans. I had over 24 months of consecutive payments, so I inquired about cosigner release. On   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   my account was not able to be located even though  Wells Fargo Representatives via  phone were able to identify my account given the exact same information. ( Please see enclosed copies of letters. ) Due to the delays and inadequate treatment of my account, my cosigner was not released.      XXXX   XXXX    my household went from  two incomes to one.  I called  Wells Fargo  immediately, attempting to plan for the incoming months. I was met with disdain. The representative said there was absolutely nothing they could do for me until I had already missed payments. I am a responsible borrower and consumer ; thus, I did not want to wait. I also did not want that kind of negative activity filed on my cosigner or my own credit ratings. I wanted options and resources, and I was given none. I reached out for deferment in the next couple of months because my financial situation had not changed. When I sought this, I again was met with disdai n. Wells Fargo repres entatives told me things like, You should just ask a relative. I do not have a wealthy relative, and I find it insulting, demeaning, and condescending to assume I have not explored all of my options, including being privileged with a bloodline possessing an abundance of money. Why would I have taken out a student loan in the first place if I had financial support from family? I have a better chance of winning the lottery than finding a wealthy relative, so that was the answer I gave the representative on the phone. They told me,  Maam,  I can not put that down as an official response. If I do your deferment will be denied. I was forced to say, I will find another job that pays more money. In order for the deferment to go through.   As of   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   I became unemployed. The non-profit in which I had full time employment forced all of its employees to take  two full weeks of furlough prior to that as well. I have actively searched for employment si nce then. In the meantime both of my loans have been charged off.   As soon as I became unemployed, I again, notifie d Wells Fargo  of my status. I assumed, incorrectly, that I would be helped. I asked the question, Surely I am not the very first person to become unemployed who has student loans to pay? The representatives response was silence and then he said, I  imagine not, but  we dont have anything for you.   On   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   at   XXXX   a third party was contacted regarding the student loans. The  Wells Fargo rep resentatives excuse was that a skip trace was put out on the cosigner. The cosigner had been in contact with  Wells Fargo almost continuously for several months. Wells Fargo absolutely had all of his information. Their call logs reflect this fact. They had been in phone contact with him less than seven days prior. Wells Fargo called the third party on the third partys personal and unpublished cell phone number. He was in a work meeting and thus could not and did not answer the call. It went to his voicemail, where the Wells Fargo representative did leave a message. I immediately contacted Wells Fargo to investigate this. They admitted it was a mistake, and moved my account to an executive repr esentative named  XXXX   XXXX , titled Research and Remediation Analyst,  XXXX  xecutive Office, Customer Experience Team. She blocked the third partys number from being contacted in the future. I n the follow up letter  XXXX  says, If we call but are not able to speak with you, we  may c all several additional times a day to reach you. I consider that harassment, and she openly admits to harassment as well as future potential harassment. Even though  XXXX  had informed me that she would be the onl y one contact ing me about the account, on Saturday   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   in the morning, my cosigner received another phone call from a particularly rude  Wells Fargo r epresentative who was NOT  XXXX . Her name is  XXXX , ID number  XXXX . She did not have the cosigners full name. When he corrected her, she spoke in an inconsiderate tone. It had nothing to do with pronunciation. She had the name wrong. She admitted to the cosigner that, I know this account has gone to  executive, bu t Im still calling. The cosigner asked her what her ID number was.  XXXX  raised her voice telling him she can not give out her last name. The cosigner never asked for her last name. He simply asked for the ID number to follow up with the call. The following Monday, I reached out to  XXXX  via phone, but she has yet to return that call.  ( Today is     XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   )  There have been so many mistakes made with my account that I fear other relatives or friends will be contacted and my personal reputation as well as my cosigners will be damaged even further.   Both my cosigner and I have been repeatedly called by  Wells Fargo numerous times a day. Wells Fargo has failed to do their due diligence in mai ntaining accurate data. They inaccurately called my cosigners home phone number asking for me. My name has never been listed under that number.   As recent as   XXXX   XXXX  , a  Wells Fargo representative asked me, How are you paying your other bills?. I appreciate that someon e is concerned about my welfare. I do not appreciate personal questions that have nothing to do with the private student loans.   They threatened both my cosigner and I that if we did not pay a certain amount towards the loans that they would report this on our credit. We, of course, knew this fact already. There is a better way to inform people of policies besides sounding threatening and ask people to repay a debt. Threats do not need to be made.    Wells Fargo re presentatives harassed my cosigner so many times in regard to these student loans that he requested they stop all phone contact with him. The cosigner asked multiple times not to call him or contact him regarding the loans. The cosigner advised  Wells Fargo Representatives tha t they were calling at inconvenient times, including at meal time s ( dinner hours ) and too  late in the evening. They continued to call during those times up until   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  .    Wells Fargo Education Financial Services, a division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. harassed me. They compromised my personal reputation by contacting  third parties. My financial reputation has been destroyed because of the negative credit reporting. They need to be held accountable for their actions. These were student loans for education. It does not matter that  Wells Fargo is  worth {$1.00}  XXXX , and I am not. I would love to simply pay these off with  one big chec k, but I can not at this time.

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