Consumer complaint received 2020-12-09
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CO
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
I originally filed a complaint about Wells Fargo XX/XX/XXXX, but my primary concern was disregarded so I am following up so it can be addressed. A major financial institution should not be allowed to offer one thing then later deny the coverage you were assured to receive after the fact. Wells Fargo is skirting their mistake and continue to put the burden on me potentially costing me more over the life of my loan. They need to be held responsible for their neglect servicing my loan, and have done nothing to address the main issue at the heart of my concern. My original complaint ID is XXXX. 

In XXXX, after I accepted WF offer of COVID-19 hardship payment deferrals, I received a letter explaining the protections to my loan with the assurance that any payments that became due during the relief period and are still unpaid WILL BE MOVED TO THE END OF YOUR LOAN -- Not may be, but WILL BE. This is deontic language indicating that it is not an optional outcome, it is a certain outcome. 
At that time, it was impossible to get anyone from WF on the phone ( even calling repeatedly all day, day after day ) so all I had to go off of was what was written in this letter. Nothing in the letter stated that my loan was not federally backed by this program they offered me. It didnt advise me to contact the originator of my loan, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ), nor did any other correspondence that followed. Months later in this process, I would be told by XXXX XXXX of XXXX, that I should never have to contact XXXX because it is WFs responsibility as the servicer of my loan to deliver accurate information pertaining to its status or rules of programs that apply to it. 
After the initial three months of payment suspensions WF offered, I received correspondence from them stating that if I needed more time to recover, I had the option to extend my payment suspension for up to another three months, for a total of six months. At the end of this term, if I could resume making REGULAR MONTHLY PAYMENTS, WF WOULD FIRST CONSIDER THE OPTION ORIGINALLY OFFERED to me of deferring the payments to the end of my loan. 
In XXXX when I reached out to get my payments back on track, I was told that what they offered may not be applicable to my loan and I would have to enroll in a mortgage assistance application process that has been drawn out for months. To be clear, while this process was an unwelcomed and burdensome experience, my grievance is not that I had to participate in an evaluationbut that I would eventually find out that NO ONE WITH AN ALASKAN LOAN HAS RECEIVED THE ORIGINAL PAYMENT DEFERMENT OPTION they originally assured me I would receive, and what would be the first option theyd consider if I reenrolled for a second term. Learning this, I reached out to XXXX and XXXX XXXX definitely stated that this payment deferment option will not be, and never was, an option for my loan. WF was not transparent about this from the beginning, nor when they offered me to extend. 
In other words, the provided explanation of RESUMING NORMAL MONTHLY PAYMENTS with ANY MISSED PAYMENTS PUT ON THE END OF MY LOAN was never a real option. Because this is the information they provided, I had budgeted with this option moving forward. If I had known there was no chance of getting this option, and in all likelihood I would be penalized with higher monthly payments and inflated interest, I could have made an informed decision moving forward and had the opportunity to seek alternative options. 
I have been subject to a bait-and-switch that benefits Wells Fargos investors. They offered me an option that never actually pertained to my loan, then persisted to assure me it would be the first option they look at if I extended. They were not transparent about the impacts accepting their help would have, leading me to believe I would be resuming regular monthly payments not an inflated monthly installment payment plan they would be capitalizing additional interest on. My ability to make an informed decision that would impact my home loan was robbed from me and persisted for months until I reached out to get payments back on track. 
Over the phone a number of WF managers have admitted a mistake was made, and expressed concern how many Alaskans may have fell subject to receiving this misleading letter when they reached out for help during the pandemic. I believe they do not want to officially address this problem or offer a settlement resolution to make me whole because it may be a much broader problem affecting many Alaskan borrowers.

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