Consumer complaint received 2017-05-22
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
In XXXX 2017 I went to the Wells Fargo ( WF ) office in XXXX California to apply for a mortgage to buy a second home and met with loan officer XXXX XXXX. In later correspondence with the loan officer over phone and email the attached pre-approval letter was issued on XXXX XXXX 2017. I recently learned from a licensed mortgage professional that the pre-approval letter that WF gave me was not even close to conforming to XXXX XXXX or XXXX XXXX guidelines. Apparently WF miscalculated my debt-to-income ratio ( pertaining to new student loan guidelines ) and the 10 % down written on the pre-approval was n't even possible and this kind of loan would require a 15-20 % down payment. I entered a contract to purchase a second home in XXXX, CA in mid XX/XX/XXXX.  We contacted Wells Fargo and I received a request from Wells Fargo to provide all my financial records providing assets on XX/XX/XXXX as well as a request for all of my financial records ( email attached ).  I replied by email ( Attached ) and provided all the requested financial records. I received a loan estimate on XX/XX/XXXX after providing my income and bank record statements upfront ( attached ). According to the CFPB website I believe that this process was unfair. I received differing rate lock forms on Wells Fargos loan tracker website on XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX. Each specified varying terms and incrementally increasing interest rates. I believe that I should had been entitled to revised loan estimates after changing these terms to inform me of the changing numbers, terms, and the breakdown of the bottom line, but I did not receive these. This was all done electronically and not explained to me. Due to defects on this home I cancelled the loan process and searched for another place. I entered into a new contract to purchase a place in XXXX, CA and I immediately contacted my WF loan officer XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and attached the contract to my email ( please reference CFPB complaint # XXXX ). On XX/XX/XXXX ( email correspondence attached ) I was contacted by WF and I was requested to submit a number of financial documents upfront, apparently, to justify that I had the funds and was requested to pay a {$570.00} appraisal fee. On XX/XX/XXXX I received the attached loan estimate and I received the attached rate lock agreement on XX/XX/XXXX. Although the XX/XX/XXXX loan estimate indicated a rate lock, I received a new rate lock agreement on XX/XX/XXXX which had a higher interest rate. I also received a different rate lock agreement on XX/XX/XXXX. I later realized that the terms of the loans were changing throughout the process and it wasnt explained to me. I believe that I should have been entitled to new loan estimates so that Id know the changing numbers and bottom line. I believe that my consumer rights were repeatedly violated in this process. On a couple of occasion I requested a loan decision prior to 30 days and I never received one. It has been 5 weeks and I still havent received a decision. As a result I was forced to cancel my contract. My primary concern is that I observed this pattern of violations in the XXXX Wells Fargo office in two separate loan application processes. I suspect that multiple Wells Fargo staff were involved in these processing errors/violations and XXXX has a very large XXXX and XXXX minority population. If these violations are indeed the pattern that I suspect, the magnitude of these violation could be substantial. According to the CFPB website, as a consumer I have the right to certain types of information so that I can make informed decisions in an open market place. Wells Fargo offered me a loan with a 10 % down payment when the marketplace typically requires 15-20 % down payments. I was told that I met the criteria to qualify for a loan based upon my financial situation and being providing a pre-approval. Upon entering into contracts and prior to receiving loan estimates Wells Fargo requested to rigorously scrutinize my financial situation upfront, which I believe is intrusive. I believe that they delayed the provision of the loan estimate and the loan process in general, which hampered me from knowing what the numbers were and precluded me from seeking other options. They changed the terms on my loan after the loan estimates were provided on several occasions and failed to provide me with new loan estimates so I was blind going into this process. I suspected the process was unfair but went along with it because I was attracted to the terms that were offered in the pre-approval process, but they kept changing electronically throughout the process without explanation, which I believe was unfair.

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