Consumer complaint received 2025-11-26 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — Trying to communicate with the company to fix an issue related to modification, forbearance, short sale, deed-in-lieu, bankruptcy, or foreclosure
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
To the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau : I am writing to file a formal complaint against Wells Fargo and XXXX XXXX ( dba Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing, successor to Specialized Loan Servicing - SLS ) for failing to inform me of mandatory CARES Act forbearance options, manufacturing fraudulent documentation, engaging in bad-faith servicing, illegally accelerating my loan during a federal foreclosure moratorium, and engaging in the prohibited practice of dual tracking. 

Background My mortgage loan with Wells Fargo is federally backed by XXXX XXXX, making it subject to CARES Act protections and the federal foreclosure moratorium active until XX/XX/XXXX. Due to severe financial hardship from the COVID-19 pandemic, my loan went into default. When the loan was transferred to Specialized Loan Servicing ( SLS ) while in default, they became " debt collectors '' under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ). XXXX XXXX ( XXXX XXXX Mortgage Servicing ) is the successor to SLS following an acquisition.

Chronology of Events & Timeline Issues Wells Fargo Failures ( Late XXXX XXXX ) : Inaccessible Home Preservation XXXX : My assigned XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX consistently inaccessible and failed to provide guidance on appropriate workout options ( Payment Deferral, Flex Modification, etc. ), which is a violation of servicer duties. 
Failure to Disclose CARES Act Options : Throughout my interactions, I was never informed that the immediate, mandatory CARES Act forbearance was a viable option, despite my documented hardship. 

Unviable Loan Modification Offer & Misinformation : The " Flex Trial Payment '' offer was found much later in general paperwork ; I was never verbally notified about it at the time it was supposedly issued. Wells Fargo proceeded with this offer without proper underwriting or collecting current financial documentation reflecting my pandemic hardship. This offer did not align with XXXX XXXX COVID-19 Flex Modification guidelines designed to ensure sustainable payment reductions. It also doesn't make chronological sense to have a loan modification offer generated before a home preservation specialist ( XXXX XXXX ) was assigned to me to " walk me through the process. '' The offer appears to have been prematurely or improperly generated outside of a proper application process. 

Executive Office Misrepresentation : An executive case specialist, XXXX XXXX, provided explicitly inaccurate information, stating the trial payment was only " designed to bring the account current '' and not necessarily lower my payment. This misrepresentation highlights systemic failure or intentional misinformation. 

Wells Fargo 's Written Admission ( XX/XX/XXXX ) : In their formal response letter, Wells Fargo explicitly admitted : " We are unable to locate documentation from you requesting payment assistance or application. '' This is a critical admission : it confirms my requests for assistance were lost, ignored, or never logged into their system. It invalidates their prior claim that they removed me from assistance for " not responding. '' This proves their process was flawed and likely fabricated. The fact that I was assigned a home preservation specialist ( XXXX XXXX ) specifically to " walk me through the process '' serves as clear evidence that contact was initiated and an application process was, in fact, started. This makes their later claim of no documentation highly suspicious and likely false. 

Improper Property Preservation Fees and Dual Tracking Evidence ( XXXX ) : I was improperly charged property preservation fees starting from the period I was actively engaged with Wells Fargo 's home preservation specialists ( specifically XXXX XXXX and another specialist prior ). My payment history and the detailed breakdowns provided by XXXX confirm these charges. Crucially, the dates of my active engagement with these home preservation specialists and the dates of the property preservation charges clearly corroborate, providing direct evidence that these charges were applied during the time I was actively seeking loss mitigation relief. I have included property service inspection invoices from XXXX XXXX XXXX, working on behalf of Wells Fargo, which are explicitly labeled as " foreclosure inspections '' and dated during this period, as clearly shown in the documents provided. This serves as compelling evidence of illegal dual tracking, a violation of RESPA, as the servicer was pursuing foreclosure activity while my loss mitigation application was pending. 

Specialized Loan Servicing ( SLS ) and XXXX XXXX Servicing Violations ( Post-Transfer and During Moratorium ) : Failure to Provide Debt Validation Notice : Following the loan transfer to XXXX, I was never provided a written validation of debt notice within the required five days, as clearly shown in the documents provided, which is a clear violation of the FDCPA.

Fraudulent Breach Letter and Forgery : Specialized Loan Servicing ( SLS ) generated a fraudulent breach letter associated with an invalid tracking number and an alleged forged signature on the certified mailing receipt. This letter was supposedly sent out during the federal mortgage foreclosure moratorium ( which was active until XX/XX/XXXX ). The servicer 's actions constitute an unlawful acceleration of my loan, as proper written notification was never validly delivered as required by law and the loan agreement, and was prohibited during that timeframe. 
Violation of Foreclosure Moratorium : The issuance of this breach letter and the acceleration occurred during the federal mortgage foreclosure moratorium ( which applied to federally backed loans like mine ), as clearly shown in the documents provided, a clear violation of protections.

Deceptive Reinstatement Practices : I was provided with a reinstatement quote that explicitly stated {$0.00} for legal fees, property preservation fees, late fees, and other fees. However, these fees were, in fact, charged to me, as clearly shown in the documents provided in my payment history. I can also provide a detailed breakdown of property preservation fees that XXXX shared with me each month from XXXX to XXXX. This is a direct contradiction of their written quote and constitutes a deceptive practice under federal law.

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