Consumer complaint received 2022-02-14
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CA
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Loan
Issue: Managing the loan or lease
Sub-issue: Billing problem

Complaint:
My auto loan with Wells Fargo I use the internet to make payments. 

I regularly make additional principal payments in a effort to lower my cost of the loan. 
Reducing interest paid on the loan and reducing the loan term. 

In particular on XX/XX/XXXX I made a {$3000.00} payment when a regular payment of {$1100.00} was use. 
I called Wells Fargo every time I make a payment since they refuse to have a option on the web portal to put excess payments towards principal. I spend half an hour just to tell them to apply it. I tell them to always apply excess payments to principal. 

This payment on XX/XX/XXXX was acknowledged by thier payment history they offer in thier website. it clearly states it was put towards principal of {$60000.00}. 
it clearly shows {$2700.00} going towards principle and {$200.00} going towards interest. 
this should have lowered my principal to {$57000.00} but it didn't get applied properly. The web portal says the next payment is due on XX/XX/XXXX instead of XX/XX/XXXX. Well Fargo doesn't give a free month with no payments. 

Then the web portal payment history says on XX/XX/XXXX a payment was made using the web portal of {$1700.00} which I made on that day. Wasn't due for another week or two. 
I do this in an effort to pay the loan off early which there are no prepayment penalties. 
Yet it seems I am getting penalties. 
then the portal says that this payment of {$1700.00} was reverse XX/XX/XXXX It also says the payment of {$3000.00} I made on XX/XX/XXXX was also reversed on XX/XX/XXXX It also says on XX/XX/XXXX XXXX regular payment were make and a principal amount of {$540.00} was made on XX/XX/XXXX. 
mean while my principal amounts jump from {$60000.00} on XX/XX/XXXX to {$62000.00} on XX/XX/XXXX then to {$58000.00} all on the same day of XX/XX/XXXX My point in all this confusion is my principal amount should have been {$57000.00} after making the {$3000.00} payment on XX/XX/XXXX. 
How can it be that a transaction on XX/XX/XXXX create XXXX transactions on XX/XX/XXXX. 
and my principal amount didn't go down. 
How is it that I make a payment in XX/XX/XXXX for {$3000.00} then another on XX/XX/XXXX of {$1700.00} and my principal loan amount goes from {$60000.00} to {$58000.00}. 
in easy to read words I pay {$4700.00} between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX and my principal amount only goes down only {$1500.00} I don't get it. its supposed to be simple interest. Yet even my wife a XXXX she is a XXXX XXXX XXXX and she cant make heads or tales from the Wells Fargo presented payment history compared with the actual payments made. 
Its very confusing and convoluted. 

they are purposely overcharging interest. 
and when you call up to get answers they have no clue and read a form telling you that a person will contact you within 10 days. 
Then they have no clue other then to say I got three options, Pay by mail ... I don't use this to make payments on anything its too unreliable Sign up for auto pay ... I don't use this for I change the days I pay as well as over payments or use the web portal and see what you get And this is what I get My problem is they take my money and I know that they hold it to apply it towards future monthly payments instead of applying it to my principal as directed. 
When they do this I get no benefits from overpaying on my loan when they hold my funds in a no interest bearing account. Wells Fargo holds my money and pays nothing in return other then providing a confusing website and then outsources service reps to outside the XXXX. 
Wells Fargo can easily fix thier website to allow payments that are in excess to be applied towards principle. They make it very time consuming effort for borrowers to make payments on principle amounts. You must call them to make them apply it and even then they do not follow the borrowers instructions. 
They are making more interest on the loan by stretching the payment period out. 
I feel that Wells Fargo based on my interactions with them purposely and systematically gouge consumers with this tactic. 
I know I am paying more interest on my loan due to this deception. 
I also know I am not the only one with this problem with Wells Fargo.

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