Consumer complaint received 2020-10-29
Product: Student loan — Private student loan
Issue: Incorrect information on your report — Account status incorrect
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY (MI)

On XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, Ms. XXXX XXXX, Research Remediation Associate for Wells Fargo, responded to complaint XXXX, and XXXX, attesting that Wells Fargo has billed and reported accurate credit information to the CRAs  in compliance with the FCRA. It appears that either Ms. XXXX XXXX was either providing false statements to the CFPB or was derelict in examining the information reported by WF internal systems because I have billing cycles that do not make any sense. According to Wells Fargo, my first payment for student loans went into repayment on XXXX XX/XX/XXXX with a statement date of XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. The next statement generated by their billing system has a statement date of XXXX XX/XX/XXXX with a due date of XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. No bill was generated for the period XXXX XX/XX/XXXX thru XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. Each subsequent bill is generated approximately one ( 1 ) month beyond XXXX XX/XX/XXXX : XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX. 

Under 12 CFR Part 1026 ( Regulation Z ) 1026.2 Definitions and rules of construction, while there is a permissible variance to account for weekends, holidays, and differences in the number of days in months, billing cycles MUST BE EQUAL. In this context equal requires that the actual date of EACH statement not vary by more than four ( 4 ) days from a fixed day or date. 

The interval between the statement with date XXXX XX/XX/XXXX and the next subsequent statement generated on XXXX XX/XX/XXXX clearly falls outside the statutory definition of equal as applied to billing cycles for my student loans. That is, each statement generated after XXXX XX/XX/XXXX constitutes a statement that is offset from the XXXX XX/XX/XXXX statement outside of the prescribed interval as established from the date of the first statement. The payment history and information for my student loans that Wells Fargo supplies to the CRAs is incomplete and/or incorrect and must be immediately removed. 

What Ive described above is not new behavior for Wells Fargo. The CFPB brought similar behavior to light regarding Wells Fargo 's illegal student loan servicing practices and announced enforcement action against Wells Fargo on XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. The CFPB found that Wells Fargo engaging in actions against consumers that constituted the following law violations : ( 1 ) unfair and deceptive practices related to payment allocation in violation of Sections 1031 and 1036 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 ( CFPA ), 12 U.S.C. 5531, 5536 ; ( 2 ) unfair practices related to payment aggregation in violation of Sections 1031 and 1036 of the CFPA, 12 U.S.C. 5531, 5536 ; ( 3 ) unlawful practices related to payment aggregation in violation of Section 623 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ), 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( a ) ( 2 ), and Section 1022.42 of Regulation V, 12 C.F.R. 1022.42 ( a ) ; and ( 4 ) unfair practices related to the assessment of late fees in violation of Sections 1031 and 1036 of the CFPA, 12 U.S.C. 5531, 5536.

It appears that Wells Fargo continues to flout enforcement action taken by the CFPB in XX/XX/XXXX. Judging from the statements of Ms. XXXX XXXX, they have little regard for the damage they inflict on the credit files of consumers, or due diligence in investigating complaints passed to them by the CFPB. Students are some of the most vulnerable during the pandemic and false information supplied to the CRAs can inflict long-term damage on a student after they leave academia. Employers, especially government agencies that require security clearances rely on credit reports to make hiring decisions.

I would point out that not only is Wells Fargo 's behavior illegal, it's also confusing, especially for an individual like myself with XXXX. The point here might have been to confuse and to alter the dates to meet some internal obligation. It is foreseeable that the illegal action taken on behalf of Wells Fargo is in part due to a push within the organization to wind down student loan operations and to polish the XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX dollar student loan portfolio for sale. The timing of the illegal action taken on my account is quite suspicious, considering XXXX XXXX published an article n XXXX XX/XX/XXXX quoting Wells Fargos website. The statement read " beginning on XX/XX/XXXX, only customers with an outstanding balance on a Wells Fargo Private Student Loan are eligible to be borrowers on a new private student loan for the XXXX academic year. In the article XXXX XXXX, a spokesperson for Wells Fargo is quoted as saying Wells Fargo has decided to narrow its student-lending focus. On XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX published an article stating that Wells Fargo is exploring a sale of its corporate-trust unit that could fetch more than {$1.00} billion and is considering whether to find a buyer for its student-loan portfolio, according to people familiar with the matter. The article goes on to say Wells Fargo holds a {$10.00} XXXX student-loan portfolio. The bank said earlier this month that it had notified customers of its planned exit from the student-lending business. 

Given that information, it is entirely conceivable that I have been caught in Wells Fargo 's internal push to force as many student loans into a repayment status as possible by a certain date to prepare their XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX dollar student loan portfolio for sale. 

The bottom line is that Wells Fargo appears to be a repeat offender of similar behaviors that have been exposed within the last decade and they need to be continually held accountable, especially during financially trying times for many individuals with student loans.