Consumer complaint received 2021-03-29
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: IL
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action
Sub-issue: Seized or attempted to seize your property

Complaint:
I was a tenant at a property owned by XXXX  XXXX XXXX but Wells Fargo acted as Trustee when the property foreclosed ( XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, CA ). Wells Fargo illegally conspired to sell their secondary mortgage interest to XXXX  XXXX XXXX just prior to the foreclosure auction and was rewarded by being named as trustee. As a tenant, my lease continued with the bank as subsequent owners. 

As a tenant, I paid rent to the bank by means of cashier 's checks issued by Wells Fargo to XXXX XXXX XXXX. However, the bank failed to pay utilities as required in my lease ( 1 of 3 bedrooms so rent included utilities ) and power was turned off. XXXX XXXX present on the property sent me to the hospital, and I was paid to leave the property while the mold was remediated. I returned after work was completed but the Bank now refused to pay for my medical bills despite agreeing to do so beforehand. XXXX and XXXX withdrew as counsel for the bank. 

After legal representation was changed to XXXX XXXX XXXX , XXXX XXXX  XXXX refused to accept rent checks as did XXXX XXXX. Furthermore, violations of the building code were not corrected ( permits not obtained for mold remediation and bathroom repairs ) and the Department of Building Inspection held an enforcement action against the bank which the bank failed to attend. As a result, an order was issued denying the Bank the right to collect rent or evict until violations were corrected. My rent was therefore paid into a separate bank account expressly for said purpose. An offer was also formally made to purchase the property but was ignored. 

Attempts to contact XXXX XXXX were ignored. Without providing me with adequate notice and without notifying the Court of the enforcement action, I was illegally evicted. My possessions were sold even though I tried to retrieve them. I once called the police when I saw that someone had broken into the property and stolen or destroyed a lot of my belongings. I only entered the property when directed to do so by the 9-1-1 operator but the Bank nevertheless attempted to charge me with trespassing when the police arrived to investigate the break-in. Eventually an alarm system was installed by the Bank to prevent future robberies but was not properly registered and a fine from the City was placed against me. 

I was not provided with money from the sale of my possessions including several very valuable, irreplaceable items. In addition, XXXX XXXX obtained a default judgment charging me for rent already paid. The default judgment remains unpaid as well as the fine for the alarm system. The electric company also seeks payment for utilities that were not my responsibility. Electricity was put into my name after being shut off for non-payment. I paid bills that were not my responsibility in order to restore power and heat to the property. No money has been paid to me for the illegal eviction or my expenses ( also paid for gardening and fence repair ) and the Court judgment has done irreparable harm to my career. To make matters worse, the bank placed a sign on the property afterward disparaging my character. The sign on the back gate said that drugs were no longer on the property and that the property was under surveillance. There is no justification for this sign and it impugned my reputation in the neighborhood.

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 monetary relief