Consumer complaint received 2017-02-17
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: TX
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional fixed mortgage
Issue: Loan servicing, payments, escrow account

Complaint:
My husband XXXX XXXX passed away on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX. As you can imagine, I was devastated. We had been married for almost 50 years. He was the father of my children, my business partner and my partner in life. 

My XXXX for the first several months after XXXX passed away. Everyone kept asking me thousands of questions about our finances, our house, our vehicles, life insurance, etc., but I had no clue how to answer. XXXX had always handled our finances. I eventually figured it all out, and I transitioned most everything into my name within a few months EXCEPT our mortgage with Wells Fargo. 

For some reason, it was very difficult for me to make the call to Wells Fargo. I do n't know why. We were in a good position financially, and I continued to make all payments on time, but I still did n't want to make the call. In hindsight, I think I knew the call to WF would initiate closure to a life I was n't ready to close. I knew as soon as XXXX 's name was removed from our mortgage note and mine was added, it would be real. 

I gathered all the paperwork and wrote down my questions before I made the call. I needed to notify Wells Fargo that XXXX had passed away and ask what they needed to update the account and transition the mortgage loan into my name. NOTE - When XXXX and I purchased the home in XXXX, he was the only mortgagor ( borrower ) on the mortgage Note, and I signed the Deed of Trust and other required documents as a non-borrowing spouse in the state of Texas. 

On XXXX/XXXX/XXXX, I made my first call to Wells Fargo. I spoke with XXXX in customer service and notified him that my husband XXXX XXXX had passed away on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX. I also told him I wanted to have the Wells Fargo loan/mortgage transferred into my name and asked him what Wells would need to get that done. XXXX told me to submit my request in writing to Fax # : XXXX and to include a copy of XXXX 's death certificate. 

On XXXX/XXXX/XXXX, I faxed in my request along with a copy of XXXX 's death certificate. My request stated : 'As of XXXX/XXXX/XXXX I have contacted and requested that the loan # XXXX be transferred over to my name due to the fact that my husband XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX away on XXXX XXXX, XXXX of this year. Attached is a copy of my husband 's death certificate .... ' The XXXX-page fax was confirmed as 'received ' on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX at XXXX CST at fax # XXXX. 

On XXXX/XXXX/XXXX, I received a letter from Wells Fargo that stated : 'We have reviewed your request to determine if the loan referenced above is assumable. It is not assumable ... ' The response letter was very generic, and it only created more questions. Why was n't the loan assumable? Did they even notice the death certificate? 

I called Wells Fargo multiple times after my first call in XXXX. I talked to customer service, assumptions and the escalations dept. At WF request, I re-faxed my initial request + additional docs to a different fax #. Wells sent me many response letters, but none of them said anything new. 

My complaint eventually made it to the Office of the President, but unfortunately, their response put me right back where I was on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX. Their letter stated : 'Our records do not indicate any previous request or conversation with our assumptions department regarding the requirements or eligibility to assume the loan. As a potential successor you may call our assumptions department at XXXX to see if you meet the requirements to assume the loan ... ' If the Office of the President is the final step to resolve unresolved customer complaints, and they were n't able to locate my call with assumptions or my fax requesting the transfer into my name or the decline letter I received from assumptions, then I need to involve an outside agency. I need help, because every time Wells Fargo is directly involved, it is a waste of everyone 's time.

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