Wells Fargo Home Mortgage ripoff, has cost us plenty!! Saint Louis Missouri

We can relate to the couple who filed Chapter 13 BK hoping that the court would protect them and have gotten ripped off for their trouble!!!

We refinanced our mortgage with Wells Fargo in 2003 with our first payment due in November, 2003. My husband lost his job after 17 years in 2001 and I was laid off againin September, 2003 so we filed for BK after years and years of financial struggle. We originally filed for Chapter 7 BK since we intended on re-affirming our mortgage and one car. We voluntarily repossessed our other car with (competitor's name deleted - see below), who, by the way, was EXTREMEMLY PLEASANT, EFFICIENT and PROFESSIONAL.

Our bank seized the money our checking account since we owed on a credit card. Because of this, our first payment check to Wells Fargo bounced and because we couldn't get the bank to release the funds they seized which exceeded the amount we owed, we went into first payment default. We immediately contacted our attorney who changed our Chapter 7 to a Chapter 13 on December 4,2003. Pay attention to the dates.

The BK court issued an automatic stay which forbade creditors from collection actions against us, reporting lates which had occurred after the BK filing and forced the creditors to submit their claims and adhere to the agreed payment plan administered by the TRUSTEE. I wonder where the TRUSTEE of the BK court is for that poor couple who are getting extorted thousands by Wells Fargo?

Wells Fargo sold the servicing on our loan to EMC Mortgage in July, 2004. (see our complaint filed on EMC Mortgage) We were never contacted by Wells Fargo regarding our payments but dealt exclusively with our attorney and the Trustee.

Finally, in September, 2004, after being laid off again, we decided to sell our house and look for work in another state. My husband liquidated the last of his retirement so that we could have money for moving expenses and closing costs on another house. We contacted our attorney and the Trustee and jumped through all the appropriate hoops.

When our credit report was pulled in association with our application for a new mortgage (our house sold quickly and closed in December of 2004) we were horrified to learn that Wells Fargo had reported five six mortgage lates, did not show paid off and did not note that debt was included in a Chapter 13 BK. We're fortunate that my new employer didn't run my credit because many people in the financial and banking field have been denied employment due to credit issues.

We couldn't get a mortgage anywhere from anyone. Even FHA turned us down. Finally, after sending BK papers and schedule F's to the credit reporting agency several times, we hired an attorney. We learned that Wells Fargo reported lates on our mortgage in 03/03 through 07/03. We didn't even have a mortgage with them until 11/03.

So, almost $500 and eight months later we pull our credit report and the 2003 lates are gone but we have five 150 day lates reporting from January, 2004 through July, 2004. Notice the report claims 150 days date in January of 2004 when the first payment was due in November of 2003. Do the math!!! That's 60 days not 150!!!

So. again we are denied credit although, miraculously, we were able to buy a house but only after we used the last of my husband's retirement to pay off and discharge the BK. I don't think they saw they new reporting before we closed!!! So, we can pay the attorney more money, which we don't have, or fight them ourselves. I've written to Wells Fargo but, as yet, there has been no reply. Figures . . . This is a real racket!!!

The creditors have no incentive to report correctly to the bureaus because they can charge higher interest rates even if you're late on another creditor's debt. You don't even have to be late on a particular account to get the "default interest rate" of 30% or more!!! (read the fine print on your account agreement. Banks and credit unions exercise this "right" too)

The credit reporting agencies charge consumers, through brokers and lenders, to "verify" or correct the information which is erroneously reported which fees get passed on to the poor borrower!!! Everybody, especially the attorneys, makes money except the consumer!!!

Oh, yes, you have the "right" to contact all three bureaus and "dispute" any information on your credit report but YOU HAVE TO PROVE THAT THE INFORMATION IS WRONG!!! The burden and expense of proof is on the party least able to afford it!!! which is why these abuses continue!!!

We, like many other American families, are just trying to get out of the hole we keep getting pushed back into and neither our government bureaucracies nor elected representatives are any help. Consumers unite!!!! Hold these people accountable!! Remember, we pay all of them plenty!!! Make them earn it!!! Don't let them RIP YOU OFF!!!

Barbara
Weiser, Idaho
U.S.A.

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