Consumer complaint received 2022-10-14
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — 
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY (CO)

After working with various Wells Fargo officials since XX/XX/XXXX there has been a continuing pattern of internal miscommunications, failure to comply with Wells Fargos established procedures, failure to follow-through on promises made, and returning calls with requested information so we could accomplish final goals in loan mitigation. 
The combination of these most recently culminated with Wells Fargo cancelling the suspension of my loan without notifying me, after I had been in close communications with the appropriate officials. I have had to document all interactions with Wells Fargo and intend to lay them out in my complaint. 

Putting my residence in foreclosure without following established Wells Fargo procedures now puts me at personal risk. This is so, after I have made every effort to work with Wells Fargo, as their staff with whom I have worked will attest to. These interactions have lead to XXXX XXXX, loss of sleep and overall health, and leading up to having a nervous breakdown. 

HISTORY LEADING UP TO FORECLOSURE I have left off the names of all Wells Fargo representatives, but can provide them if necessary as I have a complete documentation and record of names, phone numbers, some recordings, and copies of resolution letters. 

XX/XX/XXXX : XX/XX/XXXX : At the beginning of the Pandemic, my husband was going through financial hardship due to loss of income from clients who couldnt pay their bills. We decided to accept a 3-month forbearance payment assistance being offered by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage XXXX 

XX/XX/XXXX : In a letter from Wells Fargo, the mortgage account was confirmed approved for a 3-month mortgage suspension ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ). Also stated in the letter : At the end of the initial 3-month suspension, if you need more time, you have the option to request and additional suspension. 

XX/XX/XXXX : Spoke with a Wells Fargo representative about account options after the first 90-day forbearance. She said if we wanted another 90-day extension we could do it online ; click extension to sign up for additional forbearance. Before we signed up for the additional suspension, we wanted to confirm the terms with someone in the loan department. We were transferred to another representative who outlined the following : We were given three Options : Repay entire amount, Repayment plan, or Deferral : The representative said we are eligible for deferral with no documentation required.

Interest stays the same Length of loan the same Pay back amount at end of loan We were assured we were eligible for deferral without documentation, so we sign up for another 90 days. The representative extended the forbearance ( XXXX XXXX XXXX  ) ; she said we can use deferral at the end of 2nd 90 days. 

XX/XX/XXXX : Spoke with another representative who confirmed we are enrolled in the forbearance program. She made sure this was updated on her end and said wed receive a letter soon. 

XX/XX/XXXX : We started getting calls from Wells Fargo asking when we were going to pay back the 6 months of forbearance. We called another representative to find out why are we were suddenly being contacted by Wells Fargo asking for documentation to go through a full review to qualify for deferral after we had been told we did not need to qualify for deferral. Our issue was escalated to the Executive Office. We had been clearly advised that we were eligible for deferral without documentation or we would not have signed up for the second round of forbearance. 

XX/XX/XXXX : Received call from Wells Fargo that they are reviewing the case. 
Listening to calls from XXXX XXXX Researching if documentation is required and if investor is requesting it. 
Hopes to have completed by XX/XX/XXXX. 

XXXX XXXX, XXXX : Receive resolution to our inquiry from Executive Office. In the letter she said they have determined the account was handled properly. When we reached out to the representative about the call on XX/XX/XXXX, and discussed the fact that you advised us that she told you that you were approved for the deferral and no documentation was needed for the deferral, she advised that she was not aware, at the time of the call, that your investor requires documents and the account is not automatically approved for the deferral. The request for documents is a guideline set up by your investor. Your investor has its own stipulation and they advise that you will need to submit a full application and provide financial documents to qualify for these solutions As she was not made aware of this information until after she spoke to you on XX/XX/XXXX, we apologize for the miscommunication. 

We escalated our complaint again because Wells Fargo admitted they gave us inaccurate information. We signed up for forbearance based on this info. 

XXXX XXXX, XXXX : Resolution Second case : Executive Office writes, In your inquiry, you stated you were advised that the account was approved for a six-month forbearance and the missed payments would be put at the end of the loan. You are now being advised that you will have to repay all the missed payments. As we previously advised in our letter dated XXXX XXXX, XXXX, the representative was not made aware of the changes in the investor guidelines when she spoke to you. We are unable to make an exception to complete the deferral as this decision stands. 

XXXX XXXX, XXXX : After this decision, we addressed more concerns about misinformation to the Executive Office and another case was opened. 

XX/XX/XXXX : Resolution letter from Executive Office ( XXXX, EXT XXXX ). He writes, We can confirm the call from XX/XX/XXXX, and can confirm that the information given to you was correct, at that time the loan could be eligible for a review or to extend the forbearance without documentation. We can confirm that on that same day the investor for your loan had updated their COVID 19 requirements for additional assistance to require a document review. 

XX/XX/XXXX : We talked with another WF associate who told us that we could sign up for a third round of forbearance. This also ended being incorrect. 

XXXX XXXX, XXXX : In resolution letter from XXXX XXXX she states, We reviewed the phone call you had with a team member on XX/XX/XXXX and confirmed you were incorrectly advised your account could be review for an extension. 

XXXX XXXX, XXXX : At this point we started going through a full documentation review with Wells Fargo Home Preservation because there seemed no other choice. 

I research other homeowners who had similar Wells Fargo forbearance situations and found a news story about a woman in XXXX Arizona who went through a carbon copy situation to ours. 

https : XXXX As quoted from the news story : XXXX began receiving mortgage relief in XXXX after her wedding photography business crashed because of the pandemic. 

They were wonderful at the beginning and said we will take those three months and put them at the back of the loan. You dont have to requalify for anything, XXXX XXXX. 
XXXX says when she called Wells Fargo, she was told the investors who backed her mortgage did not agree to a full nine months of forbearance and that the rules changed in XXXX. 

A representative of Wells Fargo tells XXXX XXXX the bank has agreed to correct its mistake. 

Were sorry that we initially provided XXXX XXXX with inaccurate information about investor requirements regarding a portion of the payment deferral she received and for any concerns that created for her, said XXXX XXXX, a spokeswoman for Wells Fargo, in a written statement. We appreciate her patience and willingness to work with us and are pleased we were able to resolve the matter to her satisfaction. 

Wells Fargo agreed to pay for three months of XXXX deferred payments and allow the remaining six months to remain in forbearance. 


FORECLOSURE : On XXXX XXXX, XXXX the loan was removed from Home Preservation. We were unaware this had happened. I found out the home went into foreclosure on XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX when I received a random call asking if she was aware of my property foreclosure. 

Monday, XX/XX/XXXX : I called Wells Fargo Office of the President Team : I was told property was in active foreclosure with a sale date of XX/XX/XXXX. I asked for steps to be taken to reactivate the loan so the loan mitigation could be continued. 

Over the next six months : We worked with Home Preservation through the loan mitigation process and uploaded many requests for multiple documents. 

XX/XX/XXXX : More forms requested and uploaded to Wells Fargo Portal. Wells Fargo requested 1099 forms from my husband for XXXX and XXXX. He wrote a letter explaining that he did not receive 1099s for all income. This letter was uploaded to the Wells Fargo Portal. 

XXXX XXXX, XXXX : I contacted Wells Fargo Home Preservation at XXXX to return a voice mail received from home preservation specialist. My specialist was not available so I spoke with different representative, who said she could assist with the account. She told me they still needed 1099s for XXXX and XXXX her husband. I told her that husband had already uploaded a letter explaining that he did not have 1099s for all income during those years and asked if there were any other options for providing other income verification ( i.e., canceled checks, etc. ). The representative said she would send an email to the underwriters to ask this question they would let us know. I also asked her to leave a message for our primary specialist to call me. 

XXXX XXXX, XXXX : I still had not heard back from Wells Fargo so I called Home Preservation and spoke to another representative. I expressed my concerns about the pending XX/XX/XXXX foreclosure date, but representative assured me the foreclosure was still in suspension. Representative looked at the notes and saw the request to get information from the underwriters regarding what other forms of income verification could be submitted instead of 1099s. This was a week after the original request for information from underwriters and we still had no answer. Representative said he would follow up with underwriting again to see if they had an answer and would be back in touch with me soon. He said he would have someone reach out to my husband to discuss income verification options. I also asked him to make sure I was contacted so I would know the current status of the loan mitigation. 

XXXX XXXX, XXXX : This morning, I called Wells Fargo Home Preservation since I still had not heard back from my specialist or the other representative from XXXX XXXX call. To my dismay, I discovered Wells Fargo removed our loan from home preservation the day before ( XXXX XXXX, XXXX ) and that the foreclosure was active with a sale date of XX/XX/XXXX. This means we lost our chance to file a to Obtain Cure with the county! I have been advised by an attorney that Wells Fargo should have given us a definitive answer as to whether what was submitted was sufficient or not. We were still waiting to hear from Wells Fargo on whether the underwriter would accept other income verification in lieu of XXXX. 

Ive been on the phone with Wells Fargo COHP Department and other departments for three hours this morning trying to get the loan reactivated. This account never should have been closed until we received answers about to our questions, as promised by Wells Fargo representatives. 

I was told by a Senior Home Preservation Specialist that specialists are only allowed to reach out to home owners every 7 days and she included the call I made to Wells Fargo on XXXX XXXX as one of Wells Fargos allotted calls. 

Ive also been informed by attorney that the deadline for filing the notice was 15 days from XX/XX/XXXX. Because of the lack of communication from Wells Fargo, this deadline has been missed. 

My attorney made the following comments after hearing the current status of the loan : I hope you saw in the email I sent you the link to the CFPB 's website on filing a complaint. If so, I would urge you to file a complaint ASAP, so that they can contact WF about this. This may provide the push you need to WF to take your request seriously. Wells Fargo is supposed to have provided you with reasonable time to provide this documentation, and they should also give you a definitive answer as to whether what was submitted was sufficient or not. Right now, it seems like the communication with WF is not very clear. Finally, I seem to recall you saying that in the worse-case scenario you would be able to pay the amounts to bring the loan current. I don't know if that remains an option or not but if so, you may wish to file a Notice of Intent to cure with the Public Trustee to obtain the cure figures in the event that you need to pay the amounts to reinstate the loan. The deadline for filing the notice was 15 days from XX/XX/XXXX but you may wish to submit one anyway. I would go to the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 's website to see about how to submit that.