Consumer complaint received 2017-04-27
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: PA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC)
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
In connection with a home purchase in  XXXX , our regular mortgage w ith Wells Fargo was  combined with a home equity line of credit, with a variable interest rate. We refinanced the regular mortgage in  XXXX  wit h Wells Fargo , but for reasons unknown to u s, Wells Fargo was unwilling to fold in the HELOC with the regular mortgage in the refi.      The draw period under the HELOC ended at a contractual point in time, after which it would convert to a fixed rate mortgage dependent on market factors. In late  XXXX , when the draw period was nearing its  XXXX   XXXX  end , Wells Fargo m ailed us an offer to lock in a favorable interest rate in exchange for ending the draw period early and early conversion of the HELOC to a fixed rate mortgage. According to the information mailed to us, we needed only to return  to Wells Fargo a form we would sign that agreed to the early conversion.      We attempted to take advantage of this, but discovered that the process offered no written disclosure or confirmation of the interest rate that would result if we agreed to the early termination of draw rights and interest rate lock in. We telephon ed Wells Fargo at t he contact numbers given and asked for written confirmation of the interest rate we had been told by phone would lock in if we agreed to end the draw period early. Our request was refused, with the explanation tha t Wells Fargo  did not provide any such written confirmation of the fixed interest rate lock in they were offering in exchange for the early termination of draw rights under an existing HELOC loan.     We were told by  a Wells Fargo com pany representative that if we wanted, we could write that understanding on the form we were supposed to return  to Wells Fargo, so we  did that. Subsequently, we were contacted by a  Wells Fargo re presentative and told that the form we returned was unacceptable because it had extraneous writing on it, and that they would not accept an offer acceptance form that had the information on it that we had written.     We had numerous telephone conversations with vario us Wells Fargo re presentatives about this, in which they all insisted that they would not provide any written disclosure of the interest rate that was to be locked in if a customer agreed to end the draw period early on a HELOC, and that any attempt by a customer to document that on the agreement form would be rejected.     Without any resolution, in  XXXX   XXXX , our HELOC converted to a fixed rate mortgage under its terms, but at a rate usuriously and punitively above what had been offered  by Wells Fargo six months earlier. The fixed rate I tried to accept in   XXXX   XXXX   and that Wells Fargo refused to co nfirm in writing was 3.5 %. The fixed rate the HELOC automatically converted to in  XXXX   XXXX  was 6.55 %, which we have been paying ever since. Prior to  XXXX   XXXX , we had been paying the equivalent of 4.75 %, pursuant to a calculation under our HELOC agreement.     It is our belief and contention tha t Wells Fargos conduct as  described above is deceptive, fraudulent, and a violation of the federal Truth in Lending Act, Pennsylvanias Consumer Protection Act, and other applicable banking or consumer protection laws.

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