One of the emails I sent to John Stumpf, President of Wells Fargo.

To say that I had a poor experience in dealing with Wells Fargo is an understatement.  Applying for a loan modification was clearly a mistake.

The modification agreement dated May 21, 2009 that I received sounded great. 
Trial Period Payment:
1             $1,072.82           Due 6/20/09
2             $1,072.82           Due 8/01/09
3             $1,072.82           Due 9/01/09

After making those payments, I receive the Home Affordable Modification Agreement due back signed by 10/5/09. This agreement changed our monthly payment to $1,250.18. We were not behind on payments and our trial payment was $1072.82.

I made a phone call to Wells Fargo in which I was told that the increased payment was normal. I wasn’t satisfied with that. I called again on 10/20/09 and spoke to William, who actually decided to help me. He looked over things and determined that WF had incorrectly calculated our monthly income as $3773 when it was actually $3132, which would explain the higher payment. He had me refax our paystubs to Loss Mitigation.

I began documenting every call I made after 10/20/2009. Here is what I dealt with from 10/2009 to
09/2010 and I am still not satisfied.

10/26: Ally told me that my file said our income was being reviewed and to keep making trial payment.

11/11: Katie told me our file was being reviewed by negotiators. No additional information available.

12/7: No new information, keep making trial payment amount.

12/20: Travis recalculated our income AGAIN at $2728 (our income decreased more during this time).

1/18/10: Still in review. I was told to make trial payment.

2/17: Scott told me the requested information was received from Titanium Solutions. (Titanium Solutions visited me 3 different times requesting information for Wells Fargo) He told me he was sending an email to his supervisor and to call back in a few weeks.

3/17: Jillian told me to ask for a senior rep next time I called if no information was available and advised me to fax our paystubs for the 3rd time.

4/5: Marcus said he was sending an “escalation request.” I gave him my cell phone number to put in the file and told me to call back next week if I don’t receive a call

4/12: Still in review, no information available.

5/5: Someone from Wells Fargo called me at 5pm to request that I fax paystubs a 4th time. I faxed our paystubs on 5/6/10.

5/20: Letter dated 5/20 informing us that we may be eligible for HAMP.

5/24: I received a letters dated 5/16 and 5/23 stating that our loan is in default and was facing foreclosure. I faxed the financial worksheet, 2009 tax returns, and hardship letter.

5/26: I faxed detailed expenses sheet per request

6/2: Patricia called at 8:15 pm on home phone number, which I had specifically told them not to do because I did not have voicemail. Both of our cell and work numbers were on file. My caller ID only showed unknown numbers as missed calls. How would I know that it was WF?
*She was calling to inquire on the delinquency of our loan. She told me our loan mod was denied because they were missing info. She told me that WF called 3 times, could not leave voicemail (see above note), and since I didn’t return the call, they closed our file. She tells me to fax everything again and she would restart the process. I was told to make payment of $1301.91. I gave her my cell number again.

6/3: Faxed all requested documents at 1:50 pm.

6/4: I have a missed call from an unknown number on my home phone, still no call on my cell phone.

6/10: Received new agreement, dated 6/9. The new payment would be $1350.05 and my interest rate would stay the same. That was higher than my original payment.
On 6/10 I searched the internet and found the email addresses of some WF executives and sent in a letter quite similar to this one.

6/14: Received call from Robin Webb at the President’s Office. She told me I was not on HAMP. She would contact Loss Mitigation on my behalf.

6/21: Called Loss Mitigation to check on status but was told that I could only communicate with the President’s Office.

7/17: Received HAMP agreement, signed by Dianne Johnson. This time, our new payment is $937.71, which was perfect. Then, I read further and our interest rate had been lowered to 4.25% and loan maturity date went from 7/1/2037 to 8/1/2050, to begin on 9/1/10. I had 10 days to return the signed agreement or the deal would be cancelled. I had no other choice but to give in.

7/22: Contacted negotiator. I was told that the loan had to be extended to 40 years, which I know was not true. I was out of town and had poor cell service so it was hard to fight it.

7/28: Called phone number given and left message for Jeremy Norton at the Office of the President. I never received a phone call back.

7/29: Called President’s Office again to inquire about the agreement. She told me that they could only lower the interest rate 3% and they had to extend the loan to 40 years.
I know this is completely false because my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd agreements did not extend the loan to 40 years.

I am looking at information retrieved from the HAMP program website.  The series of steps to bring the payment to 31% of income states “First, reduce the interest rate to as low as 2%. Next, if necessary, extend the loan term to 40 years.” I was told by one negotiator that Freddie Mac required the loan term to be extended to 40 years. Another told me that our interest rate could only be lowered 3%. Our interest rate was lowered to 4.25% and term extended from 27 to 40. It doesn’t appear that Wells Fargo followed the proper procedure, now does it?
What really upsets me is that by the end of the modification, we had accrued $5,336.58 in interest because were paying $1,072.82 per month for 12 months while our account was being charged $1301.91 (our original payment). I understand that we were responsible for the difference in interest for 3 months’ payments during the trial period, which would come to $229.09 per month and a grand total of $687.27. Added to that amount would be the payment we were not asked to make in July 2009. So $1,072.82 + $687.27 = $1760.09. That number is a third of what we were actually charged.  The idea of paying additional interest for the next 40 years on that amount sickens me.  I was told to keep paying the modified amount, not thinking that I was going to be charged the difference for over a year. Again, I have a letter stating that “inadvertent miscalculations” were made by Wells Fargo on my 2nd and 3rd agreements. Why am I responsible for that?

When we started the modification, our principle balance was $147,216.05 and it turned into $152,368.63. We were not behind on our payments at this point either. Our original loan amount was $151,500 in 2007. That is ridiculous.

I was also charged late fees on 2/16/10, 3/16/10, 4/16/10, and 5/17/10 at $51.68 each for a total of $206.72. The agreement states Wells Fargo will “waive ALL unpaid late charges at the end of the trial period.” Because of errors on Wells Fargo’s part (I have a letter from WF stating that errors were made), we didn’t technically fulfill the terms of the trial period.  We made 12 trial period payments. I expect those late charges will be credited back on our account.
I have not received any part of the $1000 “borrower incentive” explained in my 1st and 2nd agreements. My trial period started in June 2009, so I should have had $2,000 in principle reductions to date. I am sure that Wells Fargo received its $1500 incentive for “modifying” our loan.

I have attached several documents, including my first complaint letter sent to Wells Fargo, letter stating that Wells Fargo made the mistakes, and our FOUR different modification agreements. 
I hope that Wells Fargo can do something to make this right.  I was so happy with the first modification agreement. I understand that mistakes do happen but they should be corrected. I know it has been a year since this modification was signed but it isn’t and never has been acceptable.  I feel that my case deserves another look to see what can be done.