Consumer complaint received 2021-01-06
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: NJ
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
This complaint is that Wells Fargo maliciously and without just cause rejected a mortgage refinance application causing money damages. 
First, some background information, I am the non-resident co-borrower of the mortgage on my daughters, residence at XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, PA XXXX. I do not have an ownership interest in the property I merely provide the cash to pay the mortgage. Uninterrupted, on time payments on the mortgage have been made to Wells Fargo for twelve plus years. The house, based on recent sales in the neighborhood is conservatively valued at {$380000.00} to {$420000.00}. My credit rating is over 800 and my daughters is around XXXX. We are seeking to refinance a {$140000.00} mortgage and we filed an application to do that XX/XX/XXXX. 
By letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, a period spanning 133 days, our application was rejected citing the following : The credit application is not complete Amounts owed are too high relative to your income Change in employment status since original approval does not meet guidelines I have the following comments to make regarding those allegations : The credit application is not complete because Wells Fargos Loan Tracker system does not work and rather than fix it the customer is required to bend over backwards to provide the information. Their people, always courteous, in my judgement, are less than competent because many mistakes are made that the customer is also required to fix. Its very frustrating and after a while, after many attempts that are either lost or rejected, you just refuse to comply. 
With regard to the allegation that amounts owed are too high relative to my income is simply not true. I provided Wells Fargo with a written statement that capital gains were a long standing part of my adjusted gross income since I retired as a general partner of a member firm of the New York Stock Exchange in XXXX and partially substantiated that position by providing four years of federal income tax returns. Why they elected not to include them in the calculation is an error in judgement on their part and causes injury to me. 
With regard to the allegation that my current employment status does not meet Wells Fargos guidelines is discriminatory on its face. I was not aware that retirement disqualifies a person from refinancing a mortgage. In my defense, I have provided my tax returns as well as mutual fund statements to show that I have the income and the assets to support the debt that I incur. 
I am unhappy that Wells Fargo rejected the application and I think the real reason for the rejection is because I had the audacity to complain, in writing, to the CEO of the Corporation about their systems and procedures and poor customer service rather than the reasons given. That letter was responded to by their Customer Complaint Resolution Department by letter that addressed some of my complaints but ignored the suggestion that the whole department needed a review because their systems and procedures are defective. 
I suggest the following remedies : Specific performance, that is, issue a mortgage commitment in the amount requested at the lowest current rate Reimbursement of the money lost calculated by multiplying the estimated savings of the new mortgage vs. the old mortgage ( approximately {$500.00} per month ), times the number of months of delay. Months of delay calculated as beginning 60 days after XX/XX/XXXX and ending with the settlement date of the new mortgage. 


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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