Consumer complaint received 2021-03-01
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CA
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Private student loan
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Trouble with how payments are being handled

Complaint:
I am filing this formal complaint with your bureau regarding Wells Fargo Education Financial Services ( WFEFS ). WFEFS is engaged in unfair, deceptive and abusive practice in violation of Sections 1031, 1036 of Consumer Financial Protection Act ( CFPA ) and 12 U.S.C. 5531 and 5536. 
In XXXX, I applied for private student loan with XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX approved me for {$27000.00}. In XXXX of XXXX, I received a letter from WFEFS, informing me that they have taken over the private student loans from Campus Door and I should make the monthly payments as agreed to WFEFS. As soon as the loan in question when into repayment, I started submitting payments online to WFEFS. I have been making payments for the past 9 or more years but the payments were not applied to the principal amount at all. WFEFS is charging me interest on a daily basis which is then compounded. This causes me to pay interest on top of interest with no possibility of bringing the loan amount down. I am paying what WFEFS is requiring me to pay, and at no point I was given an option to pay a different amount to bring my principal down. In addition, why isnt the interest going down? I have tried to get a clarification pertaining to the allocation of my monthly payments from Wells Fargo and every time I call, a representative started talking about interest being compounded and its daily accrual. Even if the interest were to accrue daily, it still does not make sense why my principal balance keeps increasing despite the payments I have been making. In addition, the payments that I have been making are the required payments to keep my account current. If they continue this type of practice, I will never be able to pay this loan off ; unless I pay the whole amount all at once. I do not have this problem with any other student loan company? This clearly shows that the conduct WFEFS is engaged in is unfair and abusive. 
Furthermore, WFEFS has unfairly and erroneously reported my account to the consumer credit bureaus for being 30 days or more late with my student loan payments in XXXX of XXXX ( XXXX and XXXX ) and in XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX ). I have disputed the aforementioned discrepancy and error with WFEFS and the credit bureaus, but WFEFS does not seem to be willing to correct the error. WFEFS is in possession of the payment history showing that I was not 30 days late with my payments in XX/XX/XXXX and/or XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, but WFEFS keeps ignoring that information. This action on WFEFSs part causes the credit bureaus to keep the negative and erroneous reporting on my credit report which has negatively impacted my credit score. 
In order to get the late payment reporting removed from my credit reports, I filed numerous disputes with the above-mentioned credit bureaus, but even they seem to be ignoring the payment history that I have submitted along with my disputes. The credit bureaus, instead of taking the evidence submitted by me, contacted WFEFS, and as usual, WFEFS provided them with the same incorrect information. I am not sure why these credit bureaus are relying on the information provided by a creditor that is not credible at all based on its track record handling student loan accounts in the past. 
Based on Wells Fargos inability or unwillingness to correct the error in credit reporting ; inability to explain the continuous increase in the principal loan amount, inability to properly explain the allocation of the payments made by me and their decision to let the account accrue interest daily and charging compounded interest, seems that they are again fraudulently taking advantage of an innocent student loan borrower like me. This is clearly unfair because WFEFSs conduct is causing me a substantial financial injury which I can not reasonably avoid, and which is not outweighed by counter-veiling benefits to me as a consumer. Additionally, WFEFSs conduct is abusive because it interferes with my ability to repay my student loan in a timely manner and understand the repayment structure of my student loan. My reasonable reliance on WFEFSs determination of the monthly payments amounts, causing WFEFS to benefit from it by maximizing their profits at my expense, is clearly unfair. This type of conduct is evidently abusive under the above-mentioned law. 
I am humbly requesting your bureau to step in and further investigate this matter. Only your assistance and investigation can help me to get out of this vicious payment cycle that WFEFS has created for me and to delete the unfair and erroneous credit reporting.

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