Consumer complaint received 2017-01-23
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: WI
Product: Consumer Loan
Sub-product: Vehicle loan
Issue: Managing the loan or lease

Complaint:
I spent years cleaning up my credit report so that when and if I need credit I would be able to get it. My credit and score has been great for some time as a result. My brother in law who has little to no credit needed a new car, so I took him car shopping and offered to co-sign a loan for him. Obviously Co-Signers know there is risk in Co-Signing a loan but when doing so we provide our contact information so in the event of an issue the loan provider will call or contact us so we can do what is needed to get things back on track. When we applied for the car loan we had several options but chose Wells Fargo because they came back with the lowest interest rate. When completing the application at the dealership I specifically asked, if there is ever a problem with the payment they will call me right? I was told they would so I signed with confidence that if needed I would be contacted. The loan was signed in 2014. Today I received a notice from one of my credit cards that my credit line was being reduced due to a delinquent payment on my report. I checked my report and found that there were 2 payments made over 30 days late to Wells Fargo. I called Wells Fargo and after waiting on hold for over 15 minutes got an represented. I asked her why I was n't called when the payment was n't made timely, she stated calls were made just not to my phone number. I asked why and she stated she did n't have a contact number for me. I explained to her that it was on the application to be called in the event a payment was n't made. She replied " Well its on there now ''. I told her that does n't help me since I know have 2 late payments on my credit report after not having a late payment reported by anyone else in over 10 years. My credit score fell and at least one credit card was reducing my credit line. The Wells Fargo agent could offer no explanation as to why my cell phone number which was provided on my application along with proper consents to contact me was not on the account. When I asked to have the late payments removed from my credit report she stated she could not do that. I asked for a supervisor and was placed on hold again for several minutes. Then a male came on the phone, I explained the situation and asked what could be done. He stated I could dispute the late payments with the credit bureaus or with Wells Fargo internally but unless the payments were made on time and it could be proven they could not " Do me a favor '' and remove the late payment due to the FCRA. I explained that if I had been called when the payment was one day late it would have been paid that day, I again asked what could be done and he repeated the dispute process. No apology or explanation was given as to why my phone number was not in the system and why I was not called. No care was given to the damage this company 's negligence ( losing my phone number from my application and not calling me ) and poor customer service ( apathy towards my clean credit report being negatively impacted by them ). When I continued to persist, the agent stated well since you co-signed so you were late on the payment just as the one you co-signed for. So basically I was told " too bad '' and if you dispute it wont matter unless you can show the payment was made on time. This company 's negligence and poor customer service has cost me dearly by blemishing a credit report with XXXX delinquencies where none existed before simply because they failed to use a co-signer for what they signed for, which is to make sure the payment is made if the borrower fails to do so. I am sure any other company would have called prior to the 30 days and negative impact to mycredit report in which case I would have immediately made a payment. I have to live with the mistake of using this company for at least 7 years until these late payments fall off my credit report.

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 non-monetary relief