Wells Fargo Financial rip-off! Predatory Lending! Subprime mortgages! I'll never get out from under these vultures! Columbia South Carolina

HAHA!

This is one of the more sad things I have read.

Namely because of the self pity.

#1 what in gods name where you thinking getting a loan that you very clearly cannot afford?  If you knew what you were doing you would have got a loan that still alowed you to have extra money each month on top of your mortgage.

Not everybody gets a house.  If you cant afford it you get no house.  Poor little me I bit off more than I can chew and now im behind and the big bank isnt concerned about my problems.

Do you not realize that the bank coughed up $200,000 up front for you to buy that home?  Do you realize that they are much worse off than you?  So far you have not payed them what you owe them but they have gone out on a limb and gave you more money than you can save on your own.  Without them you have no house to begin with so be grateful for that at least.  Second of all.  Your dept to them should be #1 on your list of priorities.  It should be higher on your priorities than electricicty, vehicle insurance, gas, car payments, lawn mowing, internet, cell phones, washing machines, tv, garbage pickup, even food.  You can take the bus, or better yet you can walk.  Just that alone should allow you the extra $200 you need to make your mortgage on time.  Shutoff your telephones and internet and cell phones.  If you still cant make the payment let them shutoff your power for a few monthes while you catch up.  This is typical in America, people live outside of their means.  This is why the economy is failing.  If your job only allows you to barely get by then you need to make sacrifices and start living within your means.  Things happen and you need some headroom to work with when the unexpected comes along.  I cant believe you would pay the electricity before the mortgage.  In what world does that make sense to you?  These "vultures" as you call them could have left you with no home at all.

 

The reason I am so worked up about this is because I live so far below your standard of living that its insulting to hear you complaining.  I make $5000 a month and I live in a 1 room apartment.  Guess what happens if I dont pay my $600 rent?  I get the boot and I am out on the street.  I think of this and I know that I need to save money for when the unexpected happens.  Making the money I do I can comfortably live.  I didnt get greedy and say I need a house that I can barely afford.  I will gladly not eat for a week if its the only way to make my payments on time.  I am man enough to walk to work before I let the rent slide.  Go on craigs list and type in mechanical lawnmower.  You can find one for around $50.  It needs no gas or maintenance only some elbow grease.  You can mow your lawn every day.  You dont need to have that new model from sears so you can impress the nieghbors.  As someone suggested you need to suck up your pride and start living in the real world.

The best advice on here was from that guy who said you should sell your house.  Its only going to get worse for you so its about time you started living within your means.

I currently have a loan with Wells Fargo financial. We have recently discovered there are flaws with our loan that was made by the representatives of Wells Fargo. First, we had two sources of income when this loan was originated. We provided all the necessary documents that were needed, including the w-2's for these two different sources of income. We had assumed that is how the loan was obtained by the two incomes. Next, we were provided a loan for $21,000 above the actual value of the home. And third, I had been in a major car accident 10 days prior of the loan being signed, and the car totaled was included to be paid off. We requested the car loan to be removed due to the car being totaled out and the representative at Wells said no. The reason, was because of debt/income ratio due to the car payment amount, which would have changed anyhow since the insurance would have paid off the existing loan. Yes, my husband signed the paper, we do not deny that. The representative did not explain things thoroughly when my husband signed. We were not told our payments would be on the 23rd of the month. Nor were the other items that were suppose to be paid off from this refi, ever fully paid. Fast forward to last year. When we started finding it hard to afford the $1952 a month payments, we immediately contact Wells Fargo (as they say to do that) and asked to see if there was anything thing that could be done to make the payment more affordable. My husband had "lost" his second job, which lead to us hurting financially. After several months of being told to get rid of this and get rid of that, we missed a payment and had someone call us in regards to the missed payment. When asked why we were struggling, I mentioned about the lost of the 2nd job and the rep replied, "what second job?". They only had listed my husband's main job when the loan originanted. Three reps have told us this now. We have gone round and round with this organization in regards to trying to save our home. Yes, we did finally do a modification, however, with the way the economy has gone, the $1570 a month payment became too much. I have tried to find work with no success. Our interest rate is 8.5% for an interest only loan for 40 years! We should have never been in an 8.5 rate as our scores were up in the 700's.We now owe about 70-80 grand more than the value. We have had someone who works in the mortgage business look over the loan papers and were urged to seek counsel. We are behind on payments and are facing foreclosure. We are contacting an attorney to see if we have a case against Wells Fargo. And yes, providing us a loan for more than the value of the home is predatory lending! The representatives in this organization don't know what they are talking about. I had one tell me two weeks ago, they could not begin the foreclosure until we were out of the home. I reconfirmed with him before I hung up. Now, we are being told we have been sent to the legal dept. Will we succeed with a lawsuit, maybe. But I know one thing, after dealing with this, I will never let my children do business with Wells Fargo nor would I recommend anyone else.

Although I am sympathetic to call the people in this housing crisis that have lost their homes or are behind, you can not put the blame squarely on the lender. Consumers have to be smart when financing whether it's a mortgage, a car loan, credit card, or personal loan. Just because you are approved, doesn't mean you have to take it. It is the responsibility of the lender to fully explain all terms and aspects of a loan. As an ex-employee of Wells Fargo, I'm sorry if your loan officer was misleading in any way, however, I can tell you that the branches I worked for did things the right way and in no way did we ever practice predatory lending. All terms were completely spelled out including the payment, the interest rate, the total amount owed, and if you chose an ARM, we explained what your payment would be if the interest rate went up after the 3 year perior or if it went down so you knew exactly what you would be dealing with in the long term. Once you have all the knowledge, it is then YOUR responsibility to make sure you can make the payments. If the customer is unable to make the payments, he/she should not have financed that amount or taken out that loan. It's never a good idea to have to rely on two incomes to make your mortgage. I'm sorry that you are having trouble, but when you sign that note, YOU are responsible for paying the lender back according to the very terms you signed. You knew it was 11%, you knew the payment when you signed it, and they actually did do you a favor by dropping it down to 9% because WF didn't have to do that. Don't complain of a rip off if you knew all the terms going into it. Yes, there are some businesses that do predatorily lend, but I can tell you that Wells Fargo is not one of them.

Whenever I hear stores like this .. before i begin to sob with you ... I ask myself... what has changed for you that would make you not be able to make your payment? Why .. all of a sudden can you afford to pay your mortgage ... even though you said yourself the company lowered your rate and payment ... is it your spending habits? Lack of savings? The thing that keeps me feeling no sympathetic to most people is the fact that if they had been responsible and less careless with their money ... perhaps PLANNED for emergencies... you wouldn't be in this position.

So instead of realizing this ... it is the American way to blame everyone else. We are partially in this financial meltdown because of people like you who choose not to find a way to make their payments. Because of YOU people can't get lending! Because of YOU, people are being laid off left and right! No I do not feel sorry for you... I feel sorry for the people who are suffering because of peoples inability to live up to an obligation that you were ok with at some point. You want advice... stop trying to find an easy way out or a scape goat... make some sacrifices... get caught up or sell your house....bottom line

I work for WFF. Wells Fargo Financial has what is called an "A" paper filter. There are many criterium that come into play with this filter, and if a customer qualifies for a lower rate they are sent to another division of Wells Fargo to receive their loan.

If you don't qualify for this filter, you probably have bad credit. Then you get what you deserve.

I have bad credit. I didn't call HSBC a ripoff when they gave me a 18.99% credit card. I got what I deserved. My track record on credit card payments doesn't constitute anything less than that.

People want to complain about collections and forclosures??? That's a joke. Pay your bills on time and that stops. And don't live outside your means. If it takes 3 paychecks to make your mortgage payment, then you need to get a real job or live in an apartment.

Please consider joining us in a class action suit to fight back against these illegal processes.

My story is already out on this site. If you would do a search for Mortgagefraudwlsfargo! you will be able to find a review. I have been contacted by several other people with forced foreclosure an fraud mortgage dilemas.


Thank you for your time.
Cathy

P.S. I know its hard but don't give up hope. An remember togetherness makes us stronger. God Bless.

Starting off I am an EX-employee of Wells Fargo Financial. I left the company AFTER 3 months & I was one of the top producers, until I realized what was going on. Like a few of the EX-employees above I was misinformed about what the position entailed. I was young in the mortgage business (only 3 months with another company by the name of Home123, they went bankrupt) & learning more & more about what I was doing to people.

I currently work with a direct lender now as a Mortgage Banker. I also offer the best rates to ANYONE PERIOD. Here's what all you people need to know going to these financial companies; (i.e Wells Fargo Financial, CitiFinancial, HFC, etc) they can not get the best rates for you, & will not. These employees @ these companies for the most part are on salaries & they are pushed to get as many face to face appointments every day. This is fine, I do the same now. It increases the relationship with the client.

These companies DO NOT sell their loans hence they charge a higher interest b/c by keeping it in house they can't profit from selling your mortgage (much like a stock). There is a little known product to "sub-prime" borrowers known as FHA. The criteria for qualifying for these loans are pretty simple along with adverse factors.

#1 must have Debt to Income ratios of 43% or LESS for the most part.
#2 must have credit scores above 530-sometimes 580 where the industry is today.
#3 must be able to document everything (w-2's paystubs, last 2 yrs. tax returns, ID's)

Those are just some of the general guidelines, lots of folks get stuck @ the #1 part but that can often be resolved if the customer has a little equity to payoff high monthly payment accounts. I see this quite often. Then we are able to help!!!

When you customers go to Wells Fargo Financial for a quote, go to someone who offers FHA or Conventional loans such as Fannie Mae. See what the offers compare. WFF will LOSE EVERY TIME!!! I had a gentleman once @ WFF with superb credit, great income, VERY LOW DTI (Debt to Income Ratio) & his loan amount was over $400,000 the best WFF could do for this guy was 8%!!! We couldn't even get a sign off from the regional manager to offer him 7%!!!

We tried TRUST ME! 2 weeks later I left & went to work with a mortgage broker. He calls me 3 weeks later asking what happened to me. I ended up doing his loan b/c he said there was no way he could take those rates. I got him 6.125% people! He had GREAT everything & WFF couldn't help him! Now imagine what they do to all you sub prime borrower's who DON'T shop & are to cowardice to walk away from someone who is blatantly trying to keep you in debt forever!!! I love helping people & as a Christian I truly can't understand how anyone could work for a company such as this. You are ruining people's lives!

Morale of this story is simple: Financial companies are bad, simply b/c hands down they give you the worst financial product on the marker aside from loan sharks or hard money lenders. YOU MUST shop & do it with someone who can do FHA (Federal Housing Authority loans) or FANNIE MAE. You still may get a slightly higher rate than the other borrower's due to qualifications but you WILL get the best rate ANYONE can give you. PERIOD!

I truly could go on about the practices of WFF but I will leave it at this, I will reply to any posts, rebuttal's & will help any consumer with questions. Thanks & God bless!

I'm a WFF CM in Maryland. In Maryland, rates, points, etc all must be disclosed prior to closing. After closing, the customer has 72 hours to rescind. If a few of the Stores in the country are not acting properly, that does not mean the entire WFF Entity and Sub Prime Lending itself are trash. I think the main problem here is TV Commercials from Ditech and the like that offer 4% rates when prime is 7%. Go ahead and call them and see what rate you end up with.

My job as a WFF employee is to offer you the best rate or product that WE offer. If Citi or HFC had you approved at 10% and thought WFF could get you 9%, are they bound to tell you? It's not my fault if you don't shop around. And for the record, we use a form that the customer must sign, and it discloses the rate, points, total principal and after points LTV. We describe points as guaranteed interest that we will see from them for the loan, regarless of when it is paid in full.

I'm a WFF CM in Maryland. In Maryland, rates, points, etc all must be disclosed prior to closing. After closing, the customer has 72 hours to rescind. If a few of the Stores in the country are not acting properly, that does not mean the entire WFF Entity and Sub Prime Lending itself are trash. I think the main problem here is TV Commercials from Ditech and the like that offer 4% rates when prime is 7%. Go ahead and call them and see what rate you end up with.

My job as a WFF employee is to offer you the best rate or product that WE offer. If Citi or HFC had you approved at 10% and thought WFF could get you 9%, are they bound to tell you? It's not my fault if you don't shop around. And for the record, we use a form that the customer must sign, and it discloses the rate, points, total principal and after points LTV. We describe points as guaranteed interest that we will see from them for the loan, regarless of when it is paid in full.

I'm a WFF CM in Maryland. In Maryland, rates, points, etc all must be disclosed prior to closing. After closing, the customer has 72 hours to rescind. If a few of the Stores in the country are not acting properly, that does not mean the entire WFF Entity and Sub Prime Lending itself are trash. I think the main problem here is TV Commercials from Ditech and the like that offer 4% rates when prime is 7%. Go ahead and call them and see what rate you end up with.

My job as a WFF employee is to offer you the best rate or product that WE offer. If Citi or HFC had you approved at 10% and thought WFF could get you 9%, are they bound to tell you? It's not my fault if you don't shop around. And for the record, we use a form that the customer must sign, and it discloses the rate, points, total principal and after points LTV. We describe points as guaranteed interest that we will see from them for the loan, regarless of when it is paid in full.

I'm a WFF CM in Maryland. In Maryland, rates, points, etc all must be disclosed prior to closing. After closing, the customer has 72 hours to rescind. If a few of the Stores in the country are not acting properly, that does not mean the entire WFF Entity and Sub Prime Lending itself are trash. I think the main problem here is TV Commercials from Ditech and the like that offer 4% rates when prime is 7%. Go ahead and call them and see what rate you end up with.

My job as a WFF employee is to offer you the best rate or product that WE offer. If Citi or HFC had you approved at 10% and thought WFF could get you 9%, are they bound to tell you? It's not my fault if you don't shop around. And for the record, we use a form that the customer must sign, and it discloses the rate, points, total principal and after points LTV. We describe points as guaranteed interest that we will see from them for the loan, regarless of when it is paid in full.

There is a big misconception of the sub-prime industry, from what I've read so far. I manage a sub-prime lending office, similar to WFF, and the idea behind it is much different from what I've come across on this site.

People fall on hard times, this is a fact of life!! Unfortunately this labels you as a sub-prime customer, does this mean you have to be a sub-prime customer forever?? NO!!! Unfortunately most people are locked in to the 'here and now' of "rates" and they don't see 1 year down the road.

There are four parts of a loan, 1) rate, 2) payment, 3) term, and 4)amount financed. When you are a sub-prime customer the thing that should concern you the most is PAYMENT, b/c obviously if you have charge -offs and lates your monthy expenditures are too high!!!You should lower your monthly payments. Does that mean that you should not look at rate?? No, it doesn't, but it does mean that although you may not qualify for a 5% mortgage today, you want to put yourself in a position that you WILL qualify for that rate in a 1-2 years.

Most people have bad credit b/c of the amounts owed on lots of credit cards. If you are a homeowner, especially in California, you have the option of using your equity to pay those off. You could pay off all your credit cards at once to improve your credit score ( a lot of people actually believe they can or will) but if you owe 5k in cc's or above and you've owed that amount for over a year, you're NOT going to.

Consolidating your debt allows you to reduce your OVERALL monthly outgo and tricks your credit score into sky rocketing over the next few months (credit score doesn't differentiate between paying all accounts off cash or consolidating it into your mortgage) and, assuming you avoid using cc's you WILL qualify for those prime rates you've only heard about!! Its worked for all my customers that followed that outline!!

There are some bad apples out there, so be careful!! Read everything, and ask questions, if someone sounds or looks suspicious they probably are hiding something!!

My company does charge points, more than prime lenders, but, again, its because of the higher credit risk involved w/ the loan. The benefits definitely outweigh the costs!

As for the kids that USED to work for WFF, I did work for WFF at one point, and they sound an awful lot like disgruntled employees. I don't know what offices they worked in, but in the location I once worked all the employees were very good and honest w/ their customers.

A lot of people don't realize that the mortgage industry is very heavily regulated, especially in the great state of CA. Numerous disclosures are required by law, and they contain all the info you need.

As for the term "predatory lender", I don't like it , but its become quite popular these days, as popular as PREDATORY BORROWERS!!

I have just filed a Police report and an Affidavit of Forgery at the bank. When we demanded new copies of our loan...and stood in the loan office and watched to make sure we received every paper this time....we were given 18 additional papers not originally included in our loan copies. This included a copy of a check with a forged signature written by the loan officer back to American General.... as if we had given them over $700.00 from our loan to pay for one of two insurance policies. This second insurance was never disclosed to us! This check (WE NEVER SIGNED) has been verified by an attorney, police and the bank it is written on to have our signature forged on it. When AG refused to take action we were told to call the IRS and report them from possible tax fraud since they would have obviously never reported this stolen money on their taxes. This has gotten AG's attention and they are now taking action to fix our predatory loan since our local office will now be audited for tax fraud. I highly recommend taking your file and all copies of papers you received and matching them against what the office (that your loan is from) has on file. Make them get you new copies of everything including any checks mentioned. Copies of checks should only take them about a week to supply you with. Make sure you get copies of all papers with signatures on them and keep your original papers to compare. The bank told me to make copies of all the papers I have and keep them in a second location like a security box or family members home since they have seen this type of thing before and it would not be likely that American General would be willing to had over copies of anything quickly again. I hope this will help some of you who are fighting predatory loans. There are many ways to approach the issue and if you are able to find things like we have that are such obvious illegal activity then your struggle against the loan may go better. Good luck.

It's getting to the point where there will be no room for anything but huge banks, the little ones will be unable to compete and be driven out of business. All rhetoric about credit risks aside, these large institutions are out of control. Period.

Brenda, you are house-poor. Sell out now, before you are forced into foreclosure. It happened to me. There is no fighting them.

To Jeff and Rich and anyone else defending Wells Fargo Financial: please stop because you do NOT know what you are talking about. I am an ex-employee who quit. There is a laundry list of things that WFF does wrong, but here is just a sample of them:

1) Tells customers incorrectly that their loan-to-value is much lower than it is b/c they do not include the mandatory 4 points as being part of it. For example, your home is worth 100k and WFF is financing 90k + 4 points for a total of 93600. WFF will tell the customer that their loan-to-value is 90% and they shouldn't worry about consolidating all their debt onto their home b/c they still have 10% equity. As you can see, that's not true. They have much less equity left after the poins are put on the loan.
2) Flat out lies to consumers about what points are. Tells them they are "prepaid finance charges" and that if they pay their house of off in a couple years they don't pay all of it. WRONG, you pay all of your points as they are added on to the principle.
3) Lies to its inexperienced employees and tells them that the loans they are selling are the best the customer qualifies for when many times they could get something far, far better going through a conventional lender.
4) Instructs its employees to harass customers until they give in and meet with them.
5) Gives customers in already poor financial condition bad advice and leaves them in worse off condition.

Now here's how the whole WFF scam works. They heavily recruit at college campuses around the country. Graduates such as myself are impressed with the name Wells Fargo and the company history and the sales pitch the recruiter gives and come on board. So far, everything is good. But what happens is that when the recent graduate starts there, nowing next to nothing about the mortgage industry, they are fed lies by their managers (such as the points) which they then pass on to the consumer. And sometimes it isn't even the managers fault because they have worked for the company so long and have heard all those lies that they don't know any better. Where it really all starts is with the brass right at the top of WFF and WF Co. They know what they are doing and they know they are misleading people. As much money as Wells Fargo Co. makes, it decided to start up WFF to squeeze a few more dollars out of uneducated consumers - the heart and sole of WFF's business. What makes this so bad is that Wells Fargo Co. doesn't NEED this extra revenue. It is just driven by pure greed.

I was lucky and I kept asking questions outside of the company and realized the scam and left. Hopefully, other WFF employees will do the same. To Acorn, I heavily recommend that you contact us ex-employees as we would love to help you out in getting this place shut down.

as a former employee of wells fargo financial i can say that they have strict lending criteria. their rates and fees are out of control for not just people with poor credit. there are 4 points on all their loans and if you want a fixed rate no matter if you have perfect credit or not your rate will be over 8%. They do have their sales people try to get people to refinance out of good loans and put them on ARM loans around 7%. there isnt anything predatory in their practices because everything is disclosed to the customer before closed.

if you want a 7%ARM with 4 points on it then go to them

I myself have had the 6-10 phone calls a day from Wells Fargo Financial South Carolina for a car loan. My loan was due THAT particular day, and they started calling me, wanting my payment. Well, I could not hurry the postal system, and mailed it in plenty of time. This really got my goat, so next month. I deliberately did not pay my payment for 2 weeks, just to see how many times they would call me... At my last estimation, there were over 100 phone calls from these idiots, in that two week period. Insanity!! I cannot imagine if this was my home they were calling about. I sympathize with the original post writer. I wish so many times I could just tell then to come get my car and stick it... but my credit should not suffer because of these idiots.

I am contemplating recording there calls to me also, they have never been understanding, they are rude, obnoxious, and use nasty tactics to try to get you to give in and pay then and there, even if it is not feasible for you to come up with money. I have told them I should pay them and worry about insurance and electric later. My credit was going to suffer if I did not make their payment. HAHAHAHA!!... At that point I wish they would have asked me if I cared..

The point is, if it was them on my side of the phone, I am sure they would not like the way they would be being treated.

First, I would like all to know that I am in no way associated with any lending institution nor am I affliated Wells Fargo in any way.

Secondly, I empathize with the original poster. With that being said, I would like for someone to explain to me why Wells Fargo or any other lending institution is being labeled a "predatory lender".

Let me ask this question, if someone owed you money and they did not pay you back at the agreed upon time, what would you do? Most people would allow some type of grace period, very few would write it off but the majority would be in pursuit of our money until we got it.

If someone is constantly late with payments there is no excused that makes a difference.

Extraordinary circumstances happen and most lending institutions know this and provide some flexibility.

If there is excuse after excuse as to why they are not receiving their money the excuses will fall on deaf ears. back to the question I posed earlier, what would you as an individual do? Granted there are some over the board aggressive lenders out there but in my opinion they are the minority.

What it all boils down to is that no matter your risk level is if you owe Wells Fargo or any other institution money and you are constantly late or miss payments they will call you, write you, email you and do what ever it takes to get their money or their property. Just think about it, how often do they call you when your payment is made and received on time (the check is in the mail doesn't cut it)?

I am not defending by any means any less than honorable lending practices. All I am suggesting is that most people in less than desirable positions put themselve there. As a young man I screwed my credit up because in all honesty I didn't give a damned. My own actions led to me having the above 20% interest rates. I never blamed anyone else because I knew that I had bought a product and didn't pay or I got a loan and paid in back whenever. I found out the excuses didn't work and believe me I had enough of them. It was my fault no one else's. I am older and wiser now my risk level idicates that.

As for all the rogue lenders out there I agree they should be stopped. The excessive spending has to stop also. Extinuating circumstances do happen and we have to deal with them the best way we can but we must also accept the outcome of the decisions we make.

To Kansas City Mike:

Everyone knows Now there is a compelling argument, if ever I heard one. For some reason losers think that a bank considers it a profitable relationship if the debtor defaults. What do you think it benefits WF to write off an uncollectible mortgage?

Did they force you to sign the papers? Of course not. Your own life's decisions landed you in the sub prime market. When you wanted the cash, I bet they didn't seem so predatory then, especially if you had already been shot down everywhere else.

If I have $100,000 to lend and only two applicants for the monies who should I make the loan to? Would I make to the person with poor credit and a history of delinquencies, or would I lend it to the person making six figures with stellar credit? To most people, and maybe even you, the obvious answer is the person making six figures. For me to lend the cash to the riskier applicant I need an incentive. That incentive is a higher return (in the form of a higher interest rate). Why else would I lend it to the riskier person?

Now here is another revelation for you. Wells Fargo does not have limitless resources. They are not a charitable institution. Their primary responsibility is to return the maximum value possible to the owners of the company, the common shares holders.

If you can't afford a house, live in an apartment. If you are so close to the edge that a single set back can sink your ship, do not enter into long term debt arrangements.

Sorry Mike, just like WF, I don't owe you a thing. Your belief that I do is basically begging.

Wells Fargo is a huge corporation and could continue to make billions of dollars without practicing predatory lending. Nonetheless, Wells Fargo made a conscious decision to engage in methods that other lending companies have disavowed and are illegal in some states.

Wells Fargo does need to be a predatory lender, but Wells is targeting working class and elderly folks, deceiving these folks, and making deals with them with quite predicatably tragic results for the consumer.

With regards to Wells Fargo, let the lender beware. If you want to take a more proactive approach toward winning back what has been taken from you, please contact your local ACORN office or Legal Aid.

To defend the predators by attacking victims is the typical approach of those who profit the most from these scams.

I love it when rebuttals come in and start slapping the bogus sub prime label on people who were deliberately and maliciously maneuvered into high interest loans.

The industry knows the credit scoring system is loaded with crap to increase the number of victims in the pool, and they love to label people so they can justify usurious interest rates and then point at the bogus scores and say we told you so, they're deadbeats when the servicers turn on the meat grinder.

Shame on you Mike for trying to perpetuate the myth that sub prime borrowers are deadbeats. Most of them are products of concocted credit scoring and you and your ilk are guilty of keeping the scam going.

The sub-prime market exists because people continue to live beyond their means. I am not a credit risk. My interest rates reflect that. You are a credit risk. Your interest rates reflect that.

Since a lender is taking a bigger chance with you, they demand a higher return. Without that higher return, there is no incentive to take that risk.

I love this site. Every posting by a delinquent debtor starts with, My dog died, I became ill, I lost my job, I had to purchase, etc. Nothing but poor me letters. Why would you expect the bank to care? This isn't your mother or father. They have no emotional attachment to you. You are one of many people who think that others should pay more than their fair share so that you can pay less.

My mortgage rate is under 5%. In order for my mortgage company to lower sub-prime rates, they would have to raise mine. That would be blatantly unfair. Much like Wells Fargo, I really don't care about your problems and am unwilling to shoulder your burden.

For all you folks unfamiliar with finance let me explain a few quick facts. A mortgage loan is a securitized debt instrument that represents an investment to the bank. In effect, they are investing in you. The interest you pay is their return on the investment. Return is a function of risk. The higher the risk, the higher the expected return.

If Wells Fargo choose not to lend money to people such as yourself, you would accuse them of redlining your neighborhood or some other unfair bias. They lend you money at the rate that the market demands and they are predatory.

I do not work for Wells Fargo, I am not an employee of a mortgage company, and I have no other interest in this other then the annoyance I feel when I hear people blame the world for all of their troubles.

Poor Rich...Once again he has shared his tid bits of wisdom with us and after reading his statements all I can find truly useful in his sharing is that I can print it out and use it to wipe my a**. We are all truly blessed! It seems Rich has nothing more to do than find a report that has nothing to do with him and harass the victims of "money hungry" abusive corporations (including Wells Fargo) that prey on the poor, the elderly and the less financially savvy among us. These complicated mortgage forms and terms leave most people in the dark as to what they are truly getting into. Many people fall for the lies that these "money hungry" abusive corporations tell them because we all want to believe that they are really looking out for us like they say they are and that we can trust them (even a little). After all why would they want us to fail...right? Wrong...we are money...easy money at that. But no more. The Federal Government is standing up with us and telling these companies that we won't put up with predatory lending any more. (Hence the numerous multi million dollar settlements against many of these companies in the last few years..Do your own home work Rich...its all over the Internet and you can call any money hungry, ambulance chasing, frivolous law suit attorney to find out the facts as well.) There will always be a few like Rich who work in the industry and have enjoyed the prosperity of the money hungry, frivolous insurance selling, high fee demanding, signature forging, document altering and withholding, lying and swindling, predatory lending financial institutions. (Wether or not they personally assisted or participated in predatory lending or just sat back quitely ignoring the issues). They roar the loudest when the weak and abused finally have had enough and begin to fight back. Fortunately for us history stands on the side of the man who fights for justice and truth. Just look at what the tobacco companies have gone through with those they scammed. Take into account as well that no one forced people to buy and smoke cigarettes. In the end that wasn't what mattered. The lies and hidden truth brought the companies to their knees before the courts and they were made to pay for them. We all know that most loans are well done and fair but for those who suffer under not only oppressive but many times illegal terms, fees, and loss of ones own rights...there will be a chance for justice and for their voices to be heard. Even if a few of the predatory lending financial institution supporters shout back....it won't be long before they are drowned out by the victims who call for truth and justice. So shout all you want while you can Rich...not many will listen to you now and not mock you...soon you may not be heard over the roar of us!

Brenda.....I hope that as you go forward in your case you will find the justice you deserve. Do not let a few ignorant comments by those who could not hope to understand your struggle to pay on a predatory loan affect you. As my family seeks justice in our case we will be thinking of you. No one knows what its like to be under the burden of a predatory loan until it happens to them.... nor can they understand and fully appreciate the stress and pressure it not only places on your budget but your families well being and life in numerous ways. I am glad that you have taken the time to post on Rip off Report. The truth is getting out slowly but surely... and with each of us who puts our foot down and says "No More" the end for this type of "Crime" will come all that much sooner. I continue to wish you the best.

Brenda if you did like the rate or the fee the mortgage company brought you, YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE SIGNED THE DOCUMENTS. If you are a sub prime borrower you are more of a risk to a lender. Catherine, if you are sub prime borrower you are going to get a higher interest rate (it allows the company to make a profit because people like Brenda don't make payments on the loan). If you are a sub prime borrower, more than likely you are going to have high fees (someone that pays high fees is less likely to walk away from the loan). I hate to say it but, you get what you earn. Catherine, are you a money hungry, ambulance chasing, frivolous law suit attorney? Regarding your "hidden fee comment" read your d**n documents! You mention the HUD, Brenda and all of your other people who don't want to take responsibility for the actions their actions, read the HUD 1 it clearly states the cost and who it is paid to (it is not hidden). Trapping borrowers in a pre-payment penalty, come on, don't sign the document that is called "PRE-PAYMENT PENALTY ADDENDUM"! The pre-payment penalty guarantees the lender a profit and if you take a pre-payment penalty you get a lower rate than if you didn't. You are complaining about home much a CEO makes, give me a break. Are you jealous because you are not successful? Catharine states I have no idea what is going on with the lawsuits. Do you know of any convictions or action taken? I could sue you, it doesn't mean you did anything wrong. Catherine, if you have a mortgage, do me a favor and type in your mortgage companies name in the Rip off report, I guarantee it is there. I do hope that Brenda hangs in there but not in a home she doesn't pay for.

Catherine,

Please give me advise as to what mortgage company to use? Gosh you seem to have all the answers, and I need a new mortgage, please help? Are you telling me that a company the size of Wells Fargo just picked out poor old Brenda and said I bet we can make a kiiling off of her?? NO. Fact is, if you are late on a mortgage payment you are going to get a call to see where the money is and when it is coming, would you agree Catherine?

Brenda I know it has to be really hard to get back on your feet once you start getting behind on payments, but I think you do need to ask for help from family possibly.

No company is perfect in my eyes, but neither is not paying your mortgage on time, you agreed to pay on time when you singed the dotted line.

Stop the Stage Coach!
Campaign Launched May 5, 2003


ACORN's Campaign to Reform Wells Fargo's Predatory Lending
Watch out for Wells Fargo! Along with their better known "A" mortgages some parts of Wells Fargo also sell high-cost subprime loans, and some of these loans are abusive and predatory. Are you already a victim of Wells Fargo's predatory lending? Did the loan you got at closing turn out to be very different from what you were promised? Is the rate much higher than the lender led you to expect? Did you think you were getting a fixed rate loan, and end up with a variable rate loan which can only go up from where it started? Were large fees financed into the loan? Were you looking for lower payments only to find that you now have to pay your taxes and insurance on your own, outside of the loan? ACORN is working to stop Wells Fargo's predatory lending by organizing Wells Fargo victims and their neighbors to demand an end to these lending abuses. If you have received a predatory loan from Wells Fargo, please contact ACORN toll free at 1-877-692-0233 or acorndcadmin@acorn.org

Don't Get Run Over By the Stage Coach!
Wells Fargo is best-known as one of the country's largest banks. But they also make high cost predatory loans, especially through an affiliated company called Wells Fargo Financial.

Wells Fargo's abusive lending practices include:

Promising low interest rates, and then charging extremely high ones, even to borrowers with good credit.
Misleading homeowners into refinancing out of perfectly good first mortgages and into new loans which cost the borrowers much more.
Financing huge - and hidden - fees into loans. Many borrowers have been charged more than 10% of what they borrowed. And then have to pay interest on this amount.
Trapping borrowers with prepayment penalties which require them to pay thousands of dollars more if they want to escape into a better loan.
Trying to escape from any legal consequences of their actions by slipping mandatory arbitration clauses into virtually of their high cost loans. These clauses are designed to make it impossible for borrowers to enforce the law by take Wells to court.


While these loans bring misery to homeowners, they bring huge benefits to Wells Fargo executives. The CEO of Wells Fargo, Richard Kovacevich, received $8.2 million in compensation in 2002, plus another $64.3 million in stock options.

To See What's Happening Now Go to: http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=40
There are over a dozen update's on this on going case against Wells Fargo.


I am surprised that Rich from Phoenix, Arizona seems to have little or "no" knowledge of Wells Fargo's history of predatory lending, which is being investigated by the Government, HUD, Acorn, many state groups, and the list goes on... besides the numerous individual lawsuit's currently being filed against them. Anyone who has worked for Wells Fargo and is not "aware" of this nation wide issue doesn't seem like someone who's opinions on the matter are worth much here. Hang in there Brenda there are always a few who are happy to work with the evil doers in this world and try to claim that they didn't know the truth until it finally hits the fan. Thankfully the government agrees with us and is finally taking action against predatory lenders. (Yes... even against Wells Fargo Rich!) Look it up on-line or feel free to call the state numbers listed... they will tell you the truth. Heaven forbid Brenda defame a company that has helped "millions of people purchase a home" and scammed thousands of those purchasers with predatory loans in the process. Oh please! Brenda...Even when you do everything right you can still fall victim to predatory lending and it is not your fault. You also have the right to fight back like thousands of others are doing. Rich....You may want to investigate the facts more before stating such ignorant opinions for all to see and mock. Brenda...Good luck and God bless.

If you cannot afford your house please sell it. If you borrower money you should repay it on time every time. You have no right to defame a company that has helped millions of people purchase a home. I am sure you think I work for this company, I did in the past, but I now work for a competitor of Wells Fargo. I feel sorry for you Brenda, but you need to sell your home and move into something you can afford. Yes, it might be a small apartment. You need to swallow your pride and take responsibility for your actions.

The Ten Warning Signs of Predatory Lending

The questions below are a good way for you to know if someone could be misleading you about a loan and its costs to you. Just because you answer yesto these questions does not mean you are or have been a victim of predatory lending.

But, if you answer yes to some of the questions, we recommend you contact the appropriate state agency, listed below for more information and guidance.

1.If you have a balloon loan (one in which after a series of low payments the entire loan balance is due in a large lump sum), will you need to
obtain another loan to finance that final lump-sum amount?

2.Were you required to buy credit insurance, insurance that will repay the debt if you die or become disabled? (Note: Credit insurance is
optional and will not affect your loan decision if you decline to buy it.It can, however, add considerable cost to the loan transaction. You should decide whether you are going to purchase
credit insurance carefully.).

3.Have you refinanced your loan several
times, and in each instance increased either your monthly payment and/or the total amount you
owe on your home?

4.After settlement, were you surprised to find that the monthly payments on your mortgage loan were higher than you anticipated based on the initial disclosures?

5.Did you incur any unexpected costs at settlement that were not explained to you prior to the settlement?

6.Were you asked to leave signature lines or any other important lineitem of any form blank? Did the lender or broker alter any information you
entered on your loan application?

7.Check your loan file. Are any of the following disclosures missing?
Good Faith Estimate
Special Information Booklet
Truth in Lending
HUD-1 Settlement Statement

8.Do your documents reveal that your interest rate calculation will change to require you to pay daily interestin instances when your payments are late?

9.Is your loan amount on the loan you obtained higher than the value of the home?

10.Were you encouraged to include false information on your loan application?

Where to Report Suspected Predatory Lending.....
If you know of or have been victimized by predatory lending practices, the following federal and state agencies may be able to help. These authorities can either help you directly or refer you to another agency for assistance.

Don't let your rights be violated:protect yourself by calling the appropriate authorities.
Federal Contacts There are federal agencies that provide assistance to consumers with predatory lending complaints.

Here are a few key agencies: Agency Contact Information
Federal Trade http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/consumer.htm
Commission FTC Headquarters
(FTC) Financial Services Division
6th Street & Pennsylvania Avenue,NW
Washington, DC 20580
(202) 326-3224

Department http://www.hud.gov/fha/sfh/res/respa_hm.html
of Housing Director, Interstate Land Sales/RESPA Division
& Urban Office of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs
Development U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) 451 7th Street,SW,Room 9146
Washington, DC 20410
(202) 708-4560

Federal http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/complaints/
Reserve Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Board (FRB) Division of Consumer and Community Affairs
20th and C Streets,NW, Stop 801
Washington, DC 20551
(202) 452-3693

State Contacts

However,the best place to begin when making a predatory lending complaint is often
the Consumer Protection office in your state, which is often a division within the
Office of the Attorney General.

Many Consumer Protection Web sites even provide an online form to make filing a complaint easier for you. If you do not have access to the
Internet, you may contact your local Consumer Protection office by mail or phone to
request that a complaint form be mailed to you.

South Carolina http://www.state.sc.us/consumer
South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs
P.O.Box 5757
3600 Forest Drive, 3rd Floor
Columbia, SC 29250
(800) 922-1594 (SC only) (803) 734-4200 (803) 734-4286 (Fax)

I am going up against American General in North Idaho. We are paying 23% even though our papers say 16% and we have forged signatures on papers and much more.

Our attorney is helping us gather others in our area who have "predatory" loans with American General.

I would suggest that you place ads in you local paper to get others who have loans from the same company in your area...there will likely be others who dont know what to do or where to turn and there is great power in numbers... also I would call your local paper and news to see if they would like to do a "human interest" story about what you are fighting and that may help you get others in your area together like we are. Good luck!

These days mortgage companies are regulated so heavily that items such as fees and rates have to be disclosed well in advance. I am sure a company as large as Wells Fargo has a system in place to guarantee this is hadnled.

As far as your comment that you think they refinanced your mortgage without your knowlege - this is impossible. Before you can refinance your mortgage, even with your current mortgage holder, you need to present recent income documents (and possibly more information). Also, you would need to sign new mortgage documents upon approval.

You mentioned you tried to get a loan through Wells Fargo Home Mortgage but were denied based on your credit. If Wells can not approve you internaly they can try many other companies who take on higher credit risk to see if they will approve your loan. Obviously you are a high credit risk and although your home is the loan's collateral, lenders often loose money in a foreclosure as there are numerous fees involved. This is why you have a higher rate then other borrowers.

If your mortgage payment did increase after a re-finance that would only be due to the fact you were 2-3 (or more) payments behind and the refinance paid the back interest and payments to bring your mortgage current. If this is the case you should be thanking your company for the bringing you current and giving you another shot at a good pay history.

You might consider selling your home and living in an appartment with much lower rent payments, or living with family until you can get your finaces in order. This way you won't have to worry about mowing your lawn anymore!

Sorry to be so general, but I can think of any other way to put it:

Jeff is full of sh*t

Jeff,
Your points are well taken. Do you work for Wells Fargo Financial? I am guessing that you might - otherwise why on earth would such a person as yourself in good financial standing even have read these consumer reports on subprime lenders. Subprime lenders prey on "ignorant" consumers (yes, I put myself in this category).

They target us because we have no voice and aren't able for a variety of reasons to get "conventional" mortgages. The market is growing - they are making money off of us. You're right, my governor and legislators do have "better things to do" then deal with my issues.

The State of California didn't agree - they have launched investigations into the way Wells Fargo does business in their state. New Jersey, Alaska and several other states are looking into this company as well.

We encourage everyone to become homeowners, live the American dream. I am urging everyone to become financially educated and learn how to responsibly manage debt, credit and develop budgets. I am learning my lesson the hard way...

Ma'am, if you don't make payments on your mortgage they are well within their rights to call you and demand payment, so long as they don't personally threaten you with harm.

Unfortunately, your state senator and governor are not going to drop what they are doing to "go after" a bank to which you have been consistently delinquent on repayment.

Last, do not call the bank a bunch of "vultures" because your interest rate is 9.9%. You must have known that when you closed on your mortgage. Four years ago 10% was an average rate. Don't compare YOUR mortgage rate with 6% ones you hear about; apparently you don't qualify for them anyway.

Make your house payment the priority. Gas and electricity don't do any good if your house if foreclosed on.

ACORN filed a lawsuit against Wells Fargo on Monday, June 28 in San Francisco County Superior Court. On the same day more than 2,000 ACORN members from all over the country participated in a march against Wells Fargo protesting their predatory lending practices as part of ACORN's National Convention held in Los Angeles, CA. Here, ACORN National President Maude Hurd lifts the suit for the crowd to see in front of Wells Fargo in downtown Los Angeles.

ACORN is conducting a national campaign against Wells Fargo's various predatory lending schemes.

To find out more visit www.acorn.org or call 877 620 4999