Consumer complaint received 2022-02-02
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
I have previously submitted complaints against Wells Fargo Home Mortgage ( Wells Fargo Bank ) without receiving any satisfaction from them. The reason is that Wells Fargo Bank implemented and sustained a planned fraud on homeowners with the intent of taking possession of their homes to increase profits. This plan lasted for over 15 years with our experience. Without restating my previous complaints, I am focusing on the provable action they took and lied to us, the courts, and CFPB. Their plan starts with financing sub-prime home mortgages with the possibility of taking possession of the home if there is a default. The critical event is that the home needs to be in default. When I contacted Wells Fargo Bank ( XXXX ) in late XXXX to modify our mortgage to reduce our mortgage payment during the financial crisis, I was told they had a program to do that. I told them that this would be important so that my credit score would not be negatively impacted as I was working with a bank to obtain an XXXX loan for my company. I was instructed by the Wells Fargo Bank employee to stop making payments to qualify for the loan modification. At that time, we were not behind on our payments or in default. I questioned the person about not making payments and they assured me that this was part of the loan modification process. I was very pleased with that and I didn't challenge the employee any further, but I did ask what we needed to do. The employee told me that we would be contacted later for instructions to make payments that would qualify for the loan modification. We made the required payments and contacted them for further instruction. We were told by another employee that we were now in default and forbearance agreements were needed. The goal of putting us into default was accomplished by Wells Fargo Bank. 

Wells Fargo Bank then continued with its fraud by denying that they ever told us to stop making payments in order to qualify for the loan modification. They did that to us and countless others. They settled a lawsuit for a considerable amount of money with a group of homeowners in order to keep this from the public in XXXX. I confronted them with what happened to us and they stated to the court, us, and the CFPB that they never instructed customers to stop making payments on their mortgage to qualify for a loan modification. That is a lie and it is fraud. They don't care since they know that virtually all homeowners in this situation do not have the resources to fight them. That is part of their plan to this day. 

I am requesting assistance from the CFPB by providing any information on the practice by Wells Fargo Bank of telling customers to stop making mortgage payments in order to qualify for a loan modification while leading the homeowner into default. I am also starting the process to file a FOIA request, with help from my Congressman, to Wells Fargo Bank dealing with all documents, recordings, internal communication, all related material dealing with the practice I have described that supports my claims. They did what I said and it can be proven with the receipt of the requested documents. This action on our part is still relevant given their response within the past year. They believe that nothing will happen to them from the homeowner, the courts, and any government oversight. If they are caught, they simply pay a government-imposed fine and the homeowner receives virtually nothing. 

I need this information and documents in order to pursue legal action against Wells Fargo Bank and start work on a business case study for classroom use that is used to help students understand the social responsibility that failed with a major financial institution. We deal with these issues in the classroom and it is important that the student understands how greed can drive corporate strategic management, even if they are caught in the process.

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