Consumer complaint received 2021-03-09
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: HI
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
These are the facts in my complaint : In the second week of XXXX, XXXX, I applied for a 15-year refinance loan at 2.00 % ( with 2 points ) for {$440000.00} with Wells Fargo Bank On XX/XX/XXXX, I received and accepted Loan Estimate papers from Wells Fargo with the aforementioned terms Although from the first days, I was told on more than one occasion that my income was close to the wire for acceptance, in those conversations I was also constantly told by my Home Mortgage Consultant, XXXX XXXX, that he had received assurance that there was no problem, that all was well In an email on XX/XX/XXXX, on my own, I volunteered to pay down the loan amount by {$50000.00} if it would help On XXXX XXXX, my wife and I received and signed a counter offer by which we would pay down the loan by just {$16000.00} and accept a fifteen year mortgage for {$430000.00} at the 2.00 % rate On XX/XX/XXXX Wells Fargo sent us an Interest Rate Lock agreement with those same terms. All was well. 
Then, on XX/XX/XXXX, shortly before I was expecting to close, out of the blue, Wells Fargo, sent me a ridiculous second counter-offera thirty year loan for {$430000.00} at 3.125 % interest! When I insisted on them honoring the first counteroffer, they refused to grant the mortgage claiming the amount of credit requested is too high relative to your income. They then closed the loan, removing all of the paperwork from the Internet, presumably so that I could not use it against them. All of the above is documented in the paperwork I have submitted. 
Previous to their asserting that my income was too low, I sent them proof that I have roughly {$200000.00} in cash that has been sitting in the bank for a year ; I showed pictures of {$90000.00} in gold coins that I have in my closet ; I noted that I have a {$1.00} XXXX in equity in my home which their assessors valued at {>= $1,000,000}, while the loan from them is only {$440000.00} ; I showed that I had paid {$45000.00} in cash for a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX electric car ; I showed that I had just paid {$47000.00} in cash for a solar roof, thus reducing all car and gas costs to XXXX. All of this proof is presented among my documentation materials. Any claim that I wont be able to repay the loan because the amount of credit requested is too high relative to my income is ridiculous. 
I have zero unpaid credit card charges. I completely pay all monthly credit card bills each month, and often pay not just the statement amounts, but all the additional charges accrued since the billing date. 
I have only one monthly bill, a {$52.00} installment-charge for a mattress. It will be completely paid off in two months. At that time, I will owe not owe anybody any money whatsoever, except the holder of my mortgage. Clearly, I will have the money to make my payments. 
My credit ratings have been consistently above 800 for decades. I havent missed paying a bill in years. This includes twelve  years of making on-time mortgage payments to Wells Fargo for my current mortgage. 
Let us go back and take a look at how insulting and money-grabbing this second counter-offer of XX/XX/XXXX was. My current 30-year mortgage with Wells Fargo began in XXXX, XXXX. I have 222 months left. My interest rate is 3.875. My current principal and interest payment is {$2600.00} a month. By the final payment date, XX/XX/XXXX, one day after I will turn XXXX XXXX XXXX, I will have paid only another {$590000.00}. 
Their second counteroffer was another 30-year mortgage, ending in XXXX when I am XXXX years old. Their interest rate XXXX5 %, is just 6/10ths below my current rate. I would pay {$1800.00} principal and interest for 360 months. My total outlay would be {$670000.00}. 
With their new counter-offer, I would be making payments to them for twelve years beyond my current mortgage termination, and during that time I would be paying them, Wells Fargo, {$75000.00} more than if I hold onto my current mortgage. 
I believe that Wells Fargo is treating me unfairly, and may well be doing the same to many others. I believe they suck customers in with promise of very low mortgage rates. They pretend to agree to the terms until the customer sends them a non-refundable {$690.00} to pay for an appraisal of their property, which is for most customers a huge amount of money. ( They charged my credit card for this amount on XX/XX/XXXX. ) Wells Fargo knows that most customers will not walk away from that large amount, so they then make counteroffers gouging the customers. 
I well recall Wells Fargo paying a {$2.00} XXXX fine for its role in the XXXX financial crisis in which investors lost billions. I thought they had learned their lesson and straightened up their act. I encourage the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to look into this case carefully, and to check on similar cases with other complainants. 
I personally feel abused, insulted, and forced into circumstances against my will, where, if I were to agree, I would be paying my abuser more than {$75000.00} for their abuse. I believe Wells Fargos actions are criminal.

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