Consumer complaint received 2018-02-16
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: TN
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
After several calls to Well 's Fargo, and several calls to CFPB along with previous complaints through this service, we have decided to submit one last complaint and attempt to solve the problem we have with Wells Fargo. We have been very happy with the service that the CFPB has provided and their continued efforts to assist us. We aren't satisfied with Wells Fargo 's response. As a quick recap on our situation : We purchased our home for ~ {$100000.00} less than appraised value. In an effort remove PMI, we contacted Well 's Fargo, and received documentation and verbal advisement on how to remove PMI. We were told that if we paid for a 2nd appraisal, that Wells Fargo would remove PMI if it showed proper loan to value ratio. We did this, but Wells Fargo came back and said they couldn't remove PMI because they made a mistake and shouldn't have told us that we could in this manner. Because of their mistake, Well 's Fargo agreed to refund us the appraisal fee that we incurred, but they refused to remove PMI as originally promised and they refused to refund us the PMI fees that we have continued to pay. We are currently in the process of shopping lenders to refinance, and take our mortgage away from Wells Fargo. If/when we follow through with refinance, we will be seeking legal action against Wells Fargo. We will request that Wells Fargo reimburse us for the PMI fees we've paid, and we'll request that Wells Fargo pay closing fees for our new mortgage that we have been forced to refinance into. We'll also request Wells Fargo to reimburse our legal fees. We will explain to the judge that Wells Fargo promised us they would allow us to remove PMI if we paid for an appraisal, how we did follow through with an appraisal, and how Wells Fargo then changed their mind and refused to remove PMI.

We have decided to offer the following compromise, instead of refinancing and seeking legal action. We have increased the value of our home in several ways, and we intend to continue increasing the value. These efforts are a sign of good faith, and will hopefully appease the investors that there is no need for PMI on our mortgage. We have extended our lakefront dock from 70ft to 130ft. We've added a 14ft x 40ft garage. We've added a 12ft tall, 33ft x 24ft carport. We've resurfaced our massive deck with high quality deck paint. We've upgraded our dishwasher and range to new, modern models. We're in the process of replacing our kitchen island with a larger, granite surfaced island. We've plumbed our home for natural gas ( it was previously propane ), and our fireplace and range are now natural gas. We have plans for several more future upgrades that will further increase our homes value. This includes new windows, doors etc. We encourage Wells Fargo to order another appraisal at their expense, that will show our homes value is much greater than the $ 220k that we currently owe. We ask that Wells Fargo fulfill their previous promise to remove PMI from our loan. As a compromise, we will NOT request Wells Fargo to reimburse the PMI fees that we have continued to pay.

We strongly encourage Wells Fargo to pass this request on to their legal department. We have strong faith that a judge would rule in our favor in the unfortunate event that we're forced to seek legal action. This strong faith comes from several conversations that we've had with mortgage professionals, including a Well 's Fargo branch manager, a previous Wells Fargo loan officer, and loan officers from several other banks. Please do the right thing and right the wrong that we've had to deal with. It is our hope that Wells Fargo has clarified policies and trained their employees on the correct process in removing PMI. Thank you for your time and consideration. We've attached photos of some of our upgrades in an effort to assist in your positive decision and show there's no need for PMI on our mortgage.

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