Consumer complaint received 2018-04-25
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: AE
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: VA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
Mortgage account number : XXXX Client : XXXX with Wells Fargo. 
1. In late XX/XX/XXXX I received an escrow refund check from Wells Fargo for several thousands of dollars. ( I am away from home and do not have the figures ). 
2. In early XX/XX/XXXX Wells Fargo paid taxes and was short for the amount of {$3700.00} 3. In XX/XX/XXXX Wells Fargo advised me that I owed them close to 7000 dollars to help catch up on the shortage. *I believe that amount should be around XXXX dollars and am willing to pay that today. 
4. Wells Fargo has given me two options to address my account shortage. One is to increase my monthly payments to XXXX dollars from XXXX dollars. The other is to pay XXXX dollars and have my monthly payments increased to XXXX dollars. 

My complaint is that every year this will repeat itself if the wells fargo continues to follow its policy of returning escrow to me at the end of the year rather than wait a month and pay the taxes due. 

This will over the years increase the amount of excrow that wells fargo has on hand without paying me any interest and at the same time reduce the amount that I might have available to pay down the loan. 

I have spoken to them via phone and by email but they keep sending me statements and trying to explain that their policy prevents them keeping the money required to pay the upcoming taxes. 

In addition, because I questioned the options, the following was added to the email response that I received on the XX/XX/XXXX for the first time. 

" Mortgage Online Customer Service Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is required by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to inform you that, as your account servicer, we are attempting to collect a debt, and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. However, if you have received a discharge from bankruptcy, and the account was not reaffirmed in the bankruptcy case, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. will only exercise its rights against the property and is not attempting any act to collect the discharged debt from you personally. 

With respect to those accounts secured by property located in the State of California, the state XXXX Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act require that, except under unusual circumstances, collectors may not contact you before XXXX XXXX  or after XXXX XXXX. They may not harass you by using threats of violence or arrest or by using obscene language. Collectors may not use false or misleading statements or call you at work if they know or have reason to know that you may not receive personal calls at work. For the most part, collectors may not tell another person, other than your attorney or spouse, about your debt. Collectors may contact another person to confirm your location or enforce a judgment. For more information about debt collection activities, you may contact the Federal Trade Commission at XXXX or www.ftc.gov. '' I contacted FTC but the dropdowns did not provide options to address this situation and so directed me to your site.

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