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Embattled bank, Wells Fargo, was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging it charged mortgage holders extra fees by falsely accusing them of forgetting paperwork.
Lead plaintiff Victor Muniz alleges in his class action lawsuit that Wells Fargo gave him a quote for a 30-year fixed interest rate mortgage at 5.875 percent. However, Wells Fargo allegedly delayed his paperwork and then charged him a $287.50 fee when the bank missed the deadline.
To further complicate matters, Muniz says a Wells Fargo employee told him the fee would be waived because the delay was the bank’s fault, but that decision was overruled by a manager the next day.
Wells Fargo has also been battling litigation over the creation of alleged fake accounts that resulted in the departure of their CEO.
“Predictably, perpetrating this scheme caused extreme stress to Wells Fargo employees, whose job it was to explain to frustrated customers why they were being charged a fee through no fault of their own,” says the class action complaint. “Employee stress caused by pressure to perform unscrupulous practices was also a hallmark of Wells Fargo’s sham account scandal, and more generally is an indicator of corporate malfeasance.”
Those seeking a mortgage will be given a quote on the interest rate that is “locked” until a certain date, says the plaintiff. The sale of the home and loan must be completed by the date for the mortgage holder to receive the rate promised by the lender. Lenders charge a fee if the mortgage holder misses the deadline, but usually do not charge a fee if the lender is at fault for missing the deadline.
According to the class action lawsuit, Wells Fargo has been perpetrating a rate lock scam where the bank holds up the mortgage and then forces the mortgage holder to pay a fee to ensure the sale of the house they wish to own. Two former Wells Fargo employees confirm the scam, says the plaintiff, along with online comments and complaints to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
In online posts, says the Wells Fargo class action, mortgage holders complain of being charged several thousand dollars in fees by Wells Fargo for rate lock extensions that were needed because of the bank’s delays.
Muniz also alleges that in a report by ProPublica, a Wells Fargo employee explained that the bank is “just stealing from people” using rate lock extension fees.
The plaintiff is seeking to represent a nationwide Class of people who obtained a Wells Fargo Mortgage or refinanced their mortgage though the bank and were charged fees for a rate lock extension because of delays on the bank’s part.
The plaintiff is seeking damages as well as court orders declaring Wells Fargo’s actions unlawful and stopping the bank from such practices.
Muniz is represented by Matthew J. Preusch, Derek Loeser and Gretchen Freeman Cappio of Keller Rohrback LLP.
The Wells Fargo Mortgage Rate Lock Scam Class Action Lawsuit is Muniz v. Wells Fargo & Co., et al., Case No. 4:17-cv-04995, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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73 thoughts onWells Fargo Class Action Challenges Excessive Mortgage Fees
My husband and I were laid off in Dec. 2008. We asked WF for a modification, but were told we couldn’t get it if payments were made every month. We then stopped payments for 2 months, at which time we got the modification (March 2010).
My concern: WF is charging us $10,824.32 for the modification, under the title of
“Secondary Principal Balance” on the Loan Modification Agreement. We wonder if this is a valid and legal addition to our original principal of our mortgage.
Furthermore, in 2014 we tried to refinance with WF, or to re-modify. After complying with their request for information for about 2 weeks, I was told that the modifications were allowed only once on the life of the mortgage!
We believe there’s something wrong in the way WF conducts business, but we don’t have enough knowledge to identify it. HELP!
Add me to the list I have a mortgage with them
Add me to the list. 15 years with a Wells Fargo Mortgage 1998 to 2014.
MAESOA@AOL.COM PLEASE ADD ME TO THIS LIST. I HAD A MORTGAGE WITH WELLS FARGO
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I have a mortgage on my home with Wells Fargo and it doesn’t seem to be going down very much. In spite of me putting a large down payment on the home.
I also have an account with Wells Fargo. For years I have complained about money being taken out of my account and was always told it was some fee or was told it was spent on things we had purchased . This happened too many times to count.
Please add me
Please add Jerald Beaman Jr to this list. We still have Wells Fargo and they add fees almost every month!
We purchased our home back in 1999 and refinanced it with Wells Fargo but little did we know it was an interest only loan. How do you ever pay off a loan on that we need help. Thanks
Please add my husband Tim Colbert to this list we had this mortgage on our home a few years ago and no matter how much we paid the payment got higher and higher each month and we had to finally refinance with another company.
Please add me to this list. The first mortgage on my home was from Wells Fargo.