Consumer complaint received 2018-11-30
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: MA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
I had an illegal mortgage with Wells Fargo, that I was sold in XX/XX/XXXX. I was one of the consumers they cheated when they sold me an adjustable rate mortgage that didn't pay off the principle ( it was interest only, and my mortgage principle kept getting bigger ). Of course, this was never explained to me at the time! When the crash came ( XX/XX/XXXX ), I wanted to refinance with the new HAMP or HARP program, because having bought in XX/XX/XXXX, my house had dropped in value. I argued with Wells Fargo for almost TWO YEARS to try to get a refi, and every single month, I had to call, send additional documents, etc. My representative kept changing. The whole thing was an absolute nightmare, and I ended up going into bankruptcy, to avoid losing my home. Finally, I called the CFPB ( new at that time ) and within TWO WEEKS Wells Fargo agreed to refinance my mortgage as a HARP ( or HAMP? ), under the following terms : 1. I was given a lower interest rate XXXX in the 2.5 % range ), that was supposed to slowly increase until it capped at 3.5 % FIXED. 
2. If I made my payments on time, I was supposed to get {$1000.00} taken off my principle per year, as a reward. 
3. The term of my mortgage did not increase. It stayed as a 30-year mortgage, so I had 24 years to go, when it was finally refinanced in XX/XX/XXXX. 
4. My mortgage number with Wells Fargo was XXXX. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, Wells Fargo sold my mortgage to a loan shark in California called XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. This is not a bank. Its address is XXXX. XXXX XXXX, XXXX, CA XXXX. My loan number with this institution is XXXX. 

XXXX has raised my interest rate and has a clause that says there is a prepayment penalty on the loan. How can there be a prepayment penalty on a mortgage? 
In addition, they are not honoring the terms of my mortgage : 1. Although I have always paid on time, I was not given my annual {$1000.00} off the principle ; XXXX. My mortgage just increased from {$2000.00} in XX/XX/XXXX to {$2200.00} in XX/XX/XXXX. 
3. My interest rate has increased to 3.625 %, which is higher than my cap. 
4. THERE IS A PREPAYMENT PENALTY! On a mortgage! Surely this is illegal? 

I called XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX to complain, and spoke with XXXX, Agent # XXXX. She told me to expect a call back on Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX. No one ever called me back. 

When I called Wells Fargo to complain, I told them that : 1. They had no right to sell my mortgage to a non-bank loan shark. 
2. If they insisted on selling my mortgage, it should be to a real bank. 
3. The new bank MUST comply with the terms of my mortgage. 
4. Alternately, Wells Fargo could re-assume my mortgage under the previous conditions. 

I spoke first with XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. His phone number was XXXX X XXXX. He referred me to XXXX ( no last name ) with whom I spoke on XX/XX/XXXX. His extension is XXXX. I spoke with XXXX again a couple of weeks later, when he called me to say that he was still researching the matter. He called me again just before I received a letter in the post. I missed his call, and he didn't leave a voice mail. 

Wells Fargo has refused everything, in a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, signed by XXXX XXXX, Executive Resolution Specialist, Customer Care and Recovery Group. The address on the letter is XXXX. XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, Iowa XXXX. 

They say that they have the right to sell my mortgage ( possibly true -- but not to a loan shark! ). They did not address whether or not the new lender honors the terms of my mortgage. 

They said that I asked for a refi, and so need to send documents. But I didn't ask for a refi. I suggested that Wells Fargo should re-assume my mortgage as it was. I know that they are just getting rid of mortgages at low interest rates so that they can make more money -- particularly since Congress had to intervene to stop Wells Fargo 's shady business practices -- but I do not see why I should suffer for their misconduct! 

If Wells Fargo does not want to carry my mortgage, they should only be allowed to sell it to a reputable bank that will honor the terms -- particularly considering that it took me TWO YEARS and the intervention of the CFPB to get those terms! 

I have written documentation, but no scanner and so I have no way to affix the documents to this complaint.

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