Consumer complaint received 2023-05-25
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: TX
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
In XXXX of XXXX, I requested XXXX relief forbearance from Wells Fargo for my mortgage that originated in XX/XX/XXXX. During the process, I was 1 month ahead on my mortgage. This request was in result of losing my employment. Before settling on forbearance as an option, I called Wells Fargo multiple times to confirm that this would not hinder my credit score, Wells Fargo Payment History, and ability to apply for products or have PMI removed. On multiple calls, Wells Fargo agents informed me that my credit and Wells Fargo History would not be hindered by this process. 

I went into XXXX in XXXX of XXXX. In XXXX of XXXX, I began the process of exiting forbearance. I had requested that the balance due be placed on the back of my mortgage as a ballon type payment due at the end of the loan or at sale. The only communication that I received from Wells Fargo closing the terms of the forbearance was a letter stating that i was eligible for the amount to be placed on the back of my loan. On a call, i agreed to those terms. No other information was provided to me about the forbearance other than the terms of repayment which was the balloon payment. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, i received an escrow re-analysis that increased my payment to {$1700.00} from {$1500.00}. Of course, you can see how this increase can be concerning. I called in and asked why it had been increased. Wells Fargo informed me that they had received notification that the property taxes and homeowners insurance had gone up. 

I immediately started shopping around for new homeowners insurance and ensured that the Home Stead exemption was placed on my property. This would in turn reduce my property taxes. 

I called Wells Fargo and asked them why I had an escrow shortage of {$6000.00}. They informed me that it was because of the loan modification. Wells Fargo moved a portion of my owed Escrow balance to the back of my loan. They did not specify what amount that was or what was it that contributed to the full amount. They did not process an escrow reanalysis at the time of closing the loan modification which caused me to have that shortage. 

I called and asked Wells Fargo multiple times what was it that made up the full balance of what was placed on the back of my loan. Many agents later provided me with a detailed list of the charges that were moved to the back of the loan. 

I then asked Wells Fargo why I had a shortage if the escrow balance was paid to the back of my loan. They informed me on a call that it was because an escrow reanalysis had not been completed for over a year and I had not been paying enough into my escrow account. As you can tell this was not good news to hear since it would drastically change my monthly expenses without warning considering there was a way to avoid this. 

I reduced my homeowner 's premium and property taxes. In addition, i had my home reappraised because the expected loan-to-value ratio I had calculated on my home was less than 80 %, including the balloon payment. 

I was severely dissatisfied with the way the escrow account had been managed. So I requested the escrow account to be deleted after I was able to bring it current with a payment. On XX/XX/XXXX, i spoke to an agent who informed me that I only had to pay {$1900.00} for the escrow account to be considered for deletion. I made the payment and requested the deletion. 

I called back days later to ask where the process was. They declined the request stating that I had missed payments of over 60 days in the last 2 years. To my surprise, I asked when I had missed payments and the agent informed me that all the forbearance payments were considered missed payments. This information was never provided to me previous to entering into forbearance. I was even informed by agents to ignore the letters in the mail because they were no longer accurate because they are on an automated system. 

Of course, I requested that this be reviewed again because in none of the conversations that I had with Wells Fargo was I informed of the missed payments. 

During this escalation process, I had my home reappraised and Wells Fargo removed my PMI because I met the less than 80 % loan-to-value ratio. This was removed on XX/XX/XXXX. 

A few days after my request for a review of the decline, I called back to check the status. An agent by the name of XXXX informed me that I would need to be moved to the XXXX department for my complaint. 

On Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX, I spoke with the executive representative XXXX. She informed me that she would be reviewing the case and that I would get a response by XX/XX/XXXX. On that call, I requested all call transcriptions since the month of XXXX of XXXX due to the continued misinformation that I had received from multiple different people. I also requested the specific reasons why my escrow deletion was being declined. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received the letter with my deletion reasons stating " at this time your account does not meet escrow deletion requirements due to the loan-to-value ratio greater than 80 % as well you have had a completed modification ( XXXX payment deferral ) I called for 2 days to XXXX and left VM. No callbacks. I then spoke to her manager. I was understanding about the Loan-to-value ratio because I had assumed that at the time of review, the appraisal might have not gone through. But I needed more information about the reason for " completed modification ''. I asked XXXX 's manager to provide me with in-depth information on what that meant because i had never received written or verbal communication that this would affect my escrow account, other than the balloon payment. I informed the manager that I had since had the property appraised and because of this, I would like the decision reviewed because one of the requirements stipulated in the letter should no longer apply. She agreed. 

In this letter, Wells Fargo also declined to provide me with all call transcripts and information about the calls that I had made over the past 2 years. They saw it as an unreasonable request. I didn't expect to have been lied to so many times in a row and not keep records of all the calls. 

Another case was opened that day with the executive department with an agent called XXXX XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX. I called this agent to receive an update on my request. He informed me that the reason for my decline was due to late payments and the loan-to-value ratio. I asked why the Loan-to-value ratio was still showing as a higher percentage when i already had the property appraised. He said that its because of another loan-to-value ratio and did not provide specifics. Which made no sense and I was also never informed of it. When I asked about the late payments he said that the questions i had asked on previous calls are irrelevant because he is telling me that Wells Fargo took it as late payments, even though they were in forbearance and i had never been informed otherwise. 

He informed me that I needed to abide by the requirements of the investor into the loan since Wells Fargo had sold my loan to XXXX XXXX. I did not agree to this. I also asked previously on a call if this sale would affect my loan performance or requirements. I signed a loan contract with Wells Fargo, Not XXXX XXXX. The Wells Fargo agent at the time informed me that I only needed to uphold the requirements of my loan document. 

When i asked XXXX this information, he declined to answer. When i asked to speak to his manager, he declined to answer, when i asked to speak to anyone else, he declined to answer. 

I have been lied to by multiple people for well over 2 years now and no one has given me any straight answers. These continued misinformation and lies can be considered unfair and deceptive practices that made me agree to a forbearance that hindered my financial future. Wells Fargo has a proven track record of deceiving customers and this type of experience proves why.

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