Consumer complaint received 2025-12-09 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — Escrow, taxes, or insurance
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CO

Complaint narrative:
I am writing to express my extreme dissatisfaction with the response I received regarding the handling of my mortgage escrow account and the excessive homeowners insurance premiums paid on my behalf. The explanation is not only inadequateit is deeply concerning. 
In the response, Wells Fargo attempted to contact my insurance company to understand why my premiums had skyrocketed to an outrageous {$8500.00} per year, but because you were unable to reach a live person, they simply proceeded to pay the inflated amount and passed the cost on to me. 
This is an unacceptable failure of duty. 
Wells Fargo had years of visibility into these escalating premiums. They had access to the exact amounts, saw each increase, and yet did nothing to protect me from what any reasonable person would recognize as an excessively high insurance charge. A single unanswered phone call does not constitute due diligence. It does not meet the standard of responsible escrow management. And it certainly does not meet the level of oversight consumers expect from a major financial institution entrusted with their money. 
They did not : -Escalate the issue internally, -Verify whether the charges were legitimate, -Notify me in clear, unambiguous terms, Or take any meaningful steps to prevent years of overcharging. 

Instead, Wells Fargo chose to take the path of least effort and greatest harm to the consumer : they paid whatever the insurer billed, without confirmation, without explanation, and without accountability. 
This is not a clerical oversightit is a systemic failure to uphold the banks fiduciary and ethical duty to safeguard the financial interests of their customers. Escrow accounts exist precisely to prevent homeowners from being subjected to predatory or erroneous charges. Yet, in my case, Wells Fargo facilitated those charges without question. 
The fact that I was immediately able to secure better coverage for {$1900.00} per year with another insurer reveals just how unreasonable and unjustifiable my previous premiums were. Wells Fargo either ignored or failed to recognize this glaring disparity, and I was left to shoulder costs that no responsible institution should have allowed to persist. 
Your response offers no real explanation, no accountability, and no indication that Wells Fargo takes this matter seriously. It reads as though the bank believes its minimal effort was sufficient. It was not. 
I am demanding the following : -A full internal investigation into how my escrow account was managed and why such egregious premiums were approved year after year. 
-A detailed explanation of what protocols Wells Fargo has in place to identify abnormal chargesand why those protocols failed in my case. 
-A statement of what corrective actions Wells Fargo will take to ensure this does not happen to me or any other customer.

-A determination of what financial restitution Wells Fargo intends to provide given the significant harm caused by your inaction.

For years, Wells Fargo managed my escrow account and paid my homeowners insurance premiums to XXXX XXXX without ever informing me that the premiums had reached grossly inflated levels. Despite having full visibility into the exact amounts being billed, Wells Fargo allowed my insurance costs to climb to an outrageous {$8500.00} per yearfar beyond anything reasonable for my XXXX sq. ft. home. 
I trusted Wells Fargo as my mortgage servicer. As a XXXX XXXX  I relied on the bank to act responsibly and transparently, especially with escrow funds meant to protect my home. However, when my escrow payments increased over the years, Wells Fargos statements simply listed the charges as insurance and taxes, with no explanation or breakdown that would alert me to the extreme rise in insurance premiums. 
Only after paying off my mortgage in XX/XX/year>XXXX  did I discover the truth. In XX/XX/year>, I received my first direct insurance billa staggering {$8500.00}. This was the first time I learned what Wells Fargo had been paying all along. 
When I questioned the bank, their response was alarming : they claimed they attempted to contact XXXX XXXX about the massive increases but didnt reach a live personso they stopped trying and continued paying the exorbitant premiums anyway. No escalation. No verification. No notice to me. No review of whether the charges were legitimate. 
The financial harm and lack of oversight became even clearer when I was immediately able to obtain better coverage for only {$1900.00} a year from a new insurer. This drastic difference underscores that the previous premiums were not just highthey were indefensible. 
The banks failure to intervene, verify, or communicate reflects a serious breakdown of fiduciary responsibility and regulatory obligations. Escrow accounts exist to protect homeowners from these exact situations, not to rubber-stamp unreasonable or predatory charges. 
I am pursuing this matter because what happened to me should not happen to anyone. I am seeking restitution for the years of excessive premiums paid, accountability from the institutions that failed in their duties, and assurance that steps will be taken to prevent other homeowners from being blindsided the way I was. 


Let me be clear : I will not accept a generic or dismissive response. I expect Wells Fargo to acknowledge its failure and provide a meaningful resolution.

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