Consumer complaint received 2026-05-18 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC)
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage — Confusing or misleading advertising or marketing
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
I am a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. XXXX years of active-duty service. XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX. I initiated a home equity line of credit on XX/XX/year>. I came to Wells Fargo in good faith to obtain a HELOC on my primary residence ( secured by a VA loan ) a home with approximately {$600000.00} in equity. The Wells Fargo broker misrepresented a product and neglected to disclose information that directly influenced my lender, financial, and purchase decisions. The broker also opened an unauthorized loan application for my current home. At present, ongoing misrepresentation of the product and the failure to disclose its occupancy clause have put me at risk of mortgage fraud and made me financially liable for up to {$1.00} XXXX. We were told by the broker that our refi cashout on our current home will allow us to take a portion of our equity and use it on XX/XX/year>, to close on a home that we plan to move into as our primary residence on XX/XX/year>. Background : XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, my wife and I disclosed my intent to apply a portion of the money from the HELOC toward an earnest money deposit for a prospective property we planned to move into, ideally by the end of summer XXXX The broker verbally received the disclosure, acknowledged it, and continued processing my loan without raising any concerns. We explicitly disclosed this in writing, via email, on XX/XX/XXXX. No occupancy clause was disclosed. XXXX. On XX/XX/year>, my wife requested a preapproval letter for a prospective property that was accepting offers, and we wanted to put in an offer over the weekend. My wife received a XXXX XXXX XXXX letter from the broker for {$1.00} XXXX the evening of XX/XX/year>. On XX/XX/year>, I was emailed by the broker, who asked how it went with our offer. We responded back by email, Good afternoon, Thank you so much for your help. They should be making a decision tomorrow, but we did find another property that we are interested in just in case, and it's about $ XXXX cheaper. Do you have an idea about the ETA on the HELOC? I know we only have 5 days once our offer is accepted to give an earnest money deposit. Once again, thank you so much, and have a great day! No occupancy clause was disclosed. XXXX. On XX/XX/year>, an unauthorized loan application for my current home was created and submitted. When asked about the additional application for my current home via email on XX/XX/year>, to the broker and their manager, no response was given. On XX/XX/XXXX, the broker spoke to my wife by phone, and when asked about the additional application, they stated that they were not able to see it on their end because they had already deleted it, and that it was a dummy account made so that they could cut and paste our information for the VA pre-approval letter they started creating on XX/XX/year>. XXXX. On XX/XX/year>, the broker had a conversation with the sellers agent at XXXX XXXX XXXX guaranteeing a specific closing date and the pre-approval amount. Those misrepresentations were relied upon by the seller, the sellers agent, the buyers agent, and me. The brokers continued misrepresentation influenced the seller to accept my offer and influenced me to deposit {$50000.00} in XXXX money into escrow and enter into a purchase contract for {$900000.00}. I am currently liable for {$50000.00} to {$1.00} XXXX. No occupancy clause was disclosed. XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, the broker discouraged my wife from seeking other lenders by misrepresenting what other lenders can offer. XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, the broker told us that the underwriters requested a {$34000.00} reserve to cover XXXX months of rent for our current home, which will become a rental property in XX/XX/year>. No occupancy clause was disclosed. XXXX. On XX/XX/year>, I asked to escalate to upper management. The broker discouraged me and asked me to talk to their XXXX. XXXX. On XX/XX/year>, I spoke with the brokers XXXX. I was led to believe that my loans were escalated to other underwriters to look for human error and bias. While speaking with the XXXX, I said the broker sold us on a XXXX XXXX. The XXXX corrected me and said they do not have those products, and I am in a refi cash-out. The XXXX assured me that the refi of my current home and the purchase of my new primary home were on track, so I would be able to close on my intended primary home no later than XX/XX/year>. No occupancy clause was disclosed. XXXX. On XX/XX/year>, the broker told us that the underwriters needed a one-year signed lease, proof of a {$2000.00} security deposit, and the first months rent of {$4600.00}. No occupancy clause was disclosed. XXXX. On XX/XX/year>, via phone call, I was told by the loan processing XXXX that the team is on track for the refi cash out to be clear to close on XX/XX/year>, and a closing date for XX/XX/year>, and on track to close on the purchase ( the home loan ), which would become my primary by XX/XX/year>. I also asked why we were asked to provide a {$34000.00} reserve, as well as a signed one-year lease with proof of the security deposit and first months rent. The XXXX said he did not know. No occupancy clause was disclosed. Numerous times ( at least XXXX times ) from XX/XX/year>, to present, my wife and I have disclosed verbally and in writing our intention to use the borrowed equity to purchase a new primary home to move into in XX/XX/year> and maintain our current home as a long-term rental property. No occupancy clause was disclosed. Additional XXXX for XXXX : XXXX. I want to provide you with some additional information that is likely relevant to your investigation. From what I see on my Customer Dashboard, on XX/XX/XXXX, an application was opened and submitted ( tied to my current home in CA ). On XX/XX/year>, an unauthorized loan application for my current home was created and submitted. When asked about the additional application for my current home via email on XX/XX/year>, to the broker and their XXXX, no response was given. On XX/XX/XXXX, the broker spoke to my wife by phone, and when asked about the additional application, they stated that they were not able to see it on their end because they had already deleted it, and that it was a dummy account made so that they could cut and paste our information for the VA pre-approval letter they started creating on XX/XX/year>. After 8 days of waiting, a VA pre-approval letter was not received, nor were any requested updates given.

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