Consumer complaint received 2016-10-07
Product: Mortgage — Conventional fixed mortgage
Issue: Loan modification,collection,foreclosure — 
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY (CA)

URGENT UPDATE for complaint # XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX FR : XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX -- XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX email : XXXXXXXXXXXX RE : URGENT UPDATE Since my initial report, our home was sold last Friday at auction by XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX, for the mere sum of {$250000.00}. ( Our mortgage amount had been {$400000.00} in XXXX with a {$380000.00} current balance. It had been appraised in XXXX at {$510000.00} ). 
We 're now facing the urgent need to vacate our home and shut down our home-based publishing business this XXXX. 
The mortgage lender in XXXX was Wells Fargo ( which, by the way, scammed my wife and me not only for the illicit practices you recently charged against them, but other shady dealings as well on our business accounts ). 
After the crash in XXXX, Wells Fargo modified our conventional fixed-rate loan in accordance with federal law by lowering our interest rate to 2 percent for 5 years with a {$1000.00} per year reward incentive for on-time payments. We met those requirements but did NOT receive the {$5000.00} reward. Without explanation, Wells Fargo then sold our mortgage to XXXX XXXX real estate, which hired XXXX to service the loan. We continued on-time payments until a XXXX appraisal showed our market value had fallen to {$230000.00}. We had already paid over {$380000.00} for 20 years. No bank executive would throw away his money by continually paying far more than market value to the lender responsible for the crash, and we asked XXXX for a principal reduction. However, XXXX only followed foreclosure laws part-way, sending us mortgage modification applications, but then repeatedly refusing to qualify us, for not providing a document -- a prior year tax return -- which did not exist! We explained we were exempt from filing tax returns because of our income reduction and old age. Our XXXX tax return confirmed we did not owe income tax beyond the self-employment social security fee, which we maintained on a monthly payment plan that I had sent to XXXX to no avail. XXXX merely sent more copies of the same application forms including the same request for tax returns, until foreclosure a week ago when they profitably sold the house for half of what we " owed. '' Your website says mortgage modifications are available to homeowners at no charge, and you warn that any firms charging for modifications are not legitimate. But without home equity at age XXXX, a modification without compensation for our losses has no value. We needed a law firm -- and we got cheated by XXXX of them. The first law firm returned part of our money ( {$1100.00} ) after doing nothing for us. But the second billed us {$4500.00} in XXXX installments to begin litigation. After we paid {$3000.00}, they boosted the price to {$13000.00} plus office expenses, then failed to stop the sale of our house. They knew from my hardship letter that we could not afford the increased fees they tried to impose. They ignored my requests for accounting for the {$3000.00} I had paid. They are now ignoring my demands for a {$3000.00} refund. The company and personnel I have dealt with are : XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX - XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX # XXXX XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX XXXX XXXX & lt ; XXXXXXXXXXXX & gt XXXX XXXX XXXX & lt ; XXXXXXXXXXXX & gt XXXX XXXX XXXX & lt ; XXXXXXXXXXXX & gt XXXX XXXX XXXX & lt ; XXXXXXXXXXXX & gt ; They recorded phone conversations with me but put very little in writing. I have email correspondence to document the " bait and switch '' nature of the scheme they applied. They tried, without success, to have me sign an electronic " XXXX '' form for the {$13000.00} arrangement. That form does not yield a copy for the client ; so I made " screen shots '' for my reference.