Consumer complaint received 2020-03-15
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: IN
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
To Whom It May Concern I got laid off in XXXX. I was unemployed from XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX. I was not expecting to have such a hard time finding a new job. During this time I called Wells Fargo and told them about my job loss and said that I would do everything possible to make payments and was successful for 6 of the 9 months. This was pretty good on our part as I also have XXXX  teenage kids and a wife to support. 


Fast forward to XX/XX/XXXX and my wife and I called Wells Fargo ( they said they have no record of this call ) and spent 80 minutes on the phone with the representative. My wife and I had worked very hard on our budget and had recently taken a XXXX XXXX course. We told them that I would pay {$350.00} every Friday and an extra {$1000.00} on the first of the month. This in essence would be making two house payments instead of one. The lady on the phone said that this was acceptable but Wells Fargo did not accept partial payments over the phone. They said I could drop off the payment to one of their local offices or branches. I had seen one near where we live so i was excited that we were on our way to getting this matter resolved. 


We get paid every week so on that first Friday I went to where I remembered seeing a Wells Fargo Home Mortgage brick and mortar location. Turns out that they were no longer in my town. I immediately searched the internet for a closer Wells Fargo Home Mortgage brick and mortar location near XXXX, IN. One placed showed up near XXXX and XXXX XXXX which is about a 45-minute drive from our house. I called and was told by them that they do NOT accept payments at all at that location. I told her that I was trying to make a $ XXXX-dollar weekly payment on our home mortgage, and she said that they do not accept money at that location and all they do is originate loans at XXXX and XXXX. I asked the lady where in the world I could make a payment at IN THE STATE OF INDIANA and was told that the closest place was in XXXX, ILLINOIS about a six-hour drive from my house. I asked her what I should do and told her that I had agreed to make a weekly payment of {$350.00} and a XX/XX/XXXX of the month payment of {$1000.00}. She told me that Wells Fargo does not accept partial payments over the phone and the only way to make this payment since there was no office in my state where I could physically drop off the money to that I would have to make arrangements with my bank to send money to their brick and mortar location in XXXX, Illinois. This was on Friday XX/XX/XXXX. I called my bank and they helped me set up an online payment to their office in XXXX, Illinois but it would take three to four days for the money to post to that account. 


So for the next three weeks we pay them {$350.00} from our bank to the office in XXXX, Illinois. 


FAST FORWARD TO XX/XX/XXXX This was on a Friday and the next day was the XX/XX/XXXX of the month. I called Wells Fargo and was going to pay them {$1300.00}. {$1000.00} for the XX/XX/XXXX of the month and {$350.00} since it was a Friday ( our mortgage payment is only XXXX ) so this was A FULL PAYMENT and one that could be accepted over the phone. 


The Wells Fargo person that I called said that they could not accept my payment. I was stunned. They told me that I owed them {$6900.00} and that was the ONLY amount that I could pay. I told her about the agreement I had verbally over the phone with Wells Fargo and I was trying to make my payment of {$1300.00}. She said that my house was being FORECLOSED on. I asked when did this start and she said that it was dated XX/XX/XXXX. 


I was scared and mad at this point. I have XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX kids that I love fiercely and a wife that I love more than life itself. I did not know what to say to the Wells Fargo person. I had a verbal agreement with them from just three weeks ago and was doing what I told them I could do and was just speechless. 


She said that the only payment I could make was for the FULL amount owed of {$6900.00}. I told her that I was willing to pay her {$1300.00}. She gave me the number of the Wells Fargo Foreclosure Department. I was beyond stunned. I have been a Wells Fargo customer since XXXX. I have told them about my job loss last year and was doing my best at repaying what I owed. I had nowhere near that much money. I was scared. I could lose my home and my XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXXkids and possibly my wife. Where could we live at? 


PART TWO FROM XX/XX/XXXX TO XX/XX/XXXX The only option that Wells Fargo gave me beside paying the {$6900.00} was to apply for loan rehabilitation through their offices. It involved sending in copies of my paychecks, tax forms, and filling out paperwork with my budget and expenses on it. I did this but realized that I only made {$14.00} an hour and I needed my wifes income on those documents. We have been married for 14 years and she lately has been the breadwinner. 


I was told that my house was being foreclosed on by WELLS FARGO but had not yet received any summons or court document saying that I was actually in foreclosure. I was confused because I thought when you got foreclosed on you lost the house immediately and the sheriff would come and kick you out of your house. 


I was so confused and scared I honestly did not know what to do beside send in the documents that Wells Fargo wanted for their HOME REHABILIATION program. 


I started reaching out to friends and family and borrowed and scraped together the {$6900.00}. This was not an easy task and it took a couple of weeks to get together. I had this money in my bank by the XX/XX/XXXX. 


I was excited to finally get these people off my back and getting back to normal life because this was causing me sleepless nights and heightened levels of stress while raising XXXX teenage kids. 

I called Wells Fargo on XX/XX/XXXX and told them I would like to make a payment of {$6900.00}. I was told that they could NOT accept this payment. I asked why not. They said that that number had now gone up. I asked exactly how much, and they would not answer my question. They said they would have to send a request to someone and that I would receive an answer in about 48 hours. I was stunned again. I had borrowed and begged from basically everybody I know to get this money together and they were basically telling me that amount had not gone up. But it would take 48 hours to come back and tell me what that new number was. 


I WAS BEYOND MAD I called back on XX/XX/XXXX and was told the new number was OVER XXXX XXXX DOLLARS How in the world can you justify an increase in less than a month of over XXXX XXXX DOLLARS? 


I have a statement that is dated XX/XX/XXXX that says AMOUNT OWED XXXX TWO WEEKS LATER THAT AMOUNT IS {$11000.00}. 



PART THREE XX/XX/XXXX TO PRESENT The only option I have is to hope that Wells Fargo accepts my Home Rehabilitation program. But as it turns out they denied me for every alternative they have. I was again stunned. 


I still have not received any written response saying that I was denied this ( I am writing this on XX/XX/XXXX ) but I have made several calls this past week to them and was told that I was denied because of my income. 


I told them I realized that I did not make a lot of money at the moment but that is why I put my wifes income on the forms that we sent to Wells Fargo. She signed a document saying that she would be willing to pay for this mortgage and would be willing to be a co-signed if need be. We sent this to Wells Fargo approximately on XX/XX/XXXX. They did not include her income when sending this to the underwriters even though we sent her W2 and my W2 and financial information in the package they requested we fill out. They said that she needs to be on the TITLE before they include her in the underwriting process. But she signed an agreement saying that she would be responsible for the mortgage and payment from here on out. 



I asked Wells Fargo if they would do the rehabilitation program as if she is on the TITLE and make that a requirement BEFORE I spend any more time and money doing so. I have very little time right now as all the schools are closed and we are trying to do our best to help the kids at home while they do E Learning until school is back in session. This seems to me a reasonable request, but it is one that they will not budge on.

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