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Wells Fargo mortgage settlement overview:
- Who: Wells Fargo agreed to pay $94 million to settle a class action lawsuit with certain mortgage holders.
- Why: The plaintiffs claimed Wells Fargo automatically put struggling mortgage holders in a forbearance program during the pandemic without their consent.
- Where: The Wells Fargo settlement was filed in an Ohio federal court.
Wells Fargo agreed to pay $94 million to end claims the bank put the mortgages of borrowers struggling during the pandemic into forbearance without their consent, hurting their credit scores.
Lead plaintiff Brian Echard filed the motion for preliminary approval of the settlement Sept. 9 in an Ohio federal court.
The Wells Fargo settlement is the result of a nationwide class action filed Jan. 2021 on behalf of customers of Wells Fargo Bank whose mortgages were allegedly placed into Wells Fargo’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Forbearance program without adequate informed consent, the motion states.
Echard and plaintiffs Stephen and Heather Shimp alleged that Wells Fargo breached its contracts and violated the CARES Act and other laws by automatically placing borrowers into forbearance if they contacted the bank and said they were experiencing financial distress during the pandemic.
A section of the federal CARES Act allowed mortgage holders struggling financially during COVID-19 to ask for a temporary forbearance.
But the class action alleged Wells Fargo placed those who contacted the bank in forbearance without asking them, negatively affecting their credit.
Wells Fargo defended itself by saying the bank sought to make sure that every customer who needed help with their mortgage got it in the form of a forbearance, the motion says.
“While plaintiffs had an argument that Wells Fargo’s actions were profit-driven, that argument was far from a certainty,” the Wells Fargo settlement states.
Wells Fargo settlement compensates loan holders
The deal seeks to give about $165 each to owners of about 212,000 loans that were put in forbearance without their consent.
The remaining $59 million in the settlement would be set aside for those who can claim harm from being placed in forbearance, the Wells Fargo settlement states.
Attorneys seek up to a quarter of the settlement for fees and expenses. The agreement allows named plaintiffs to seek $12,500 in compensation each.
In May, Wells Fargo agreed to a $32.5 million Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) class action lawsuit settlement resolving claims it mismanaged the company’s retirement plan.
Were you affected by Wells Fargo mortgage forbearance decisions during the pandemic? Let us know your experience in the comments!
The plaintiffs are represented by Nathan Andrew Hunter of Hunter & Hunter LLC and Alyssa Koepfgen, Knoll Lowney, Marc Zemel, Meredith Crafton and Savannah Lee Rose of Smith & Lowney PLLC.
The Wells Fargo settlement is Echard v. Wells Fargo Bank NA et al., Case No. 2:21-cv-05080, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
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41 thoughts onWells Fargo settles class action over mortgages for $94M
WF gives you run around loan modification, disclosures, had to call repeatedly to get loan mod paperwork for months 2014 and then they don’t want to work with you when they know system had a glitch. No interest or fees etc they lie, cheat and steal … it sad the people suffer!! Please add me!!
Was in the forbearance during the Covid pandemic and they made me pay all the money back when I sold my. House that program was to freeze monthly payment
I was put on a forbearance never requested it. They knew i was trying to refinance. Wells Fargo is the worst .
Please add me ! I also busted WF bezzeling $65k from my escrow by force placing misc insurances that I already had at 4X the fair market price. And they did a predatory lending mortgage remodification .
How do I add myself
our house was put in foreclosure by wells Fargo mortgage because we were trying to get a modification loan and kept sending the information they were asking for and then they would send a email or phone message saying they didn’t get it time after time and gave us the runaround saying we would qualify to just send the information but it kept going on so long our house was foreclosed on and we ended up having to sell and pay off the mortgage. Basically we lost it because they were lying to us
I lost my home and had to file bankruptcy in 2015 because Wells Fargo would not work with me. They kept saying they didn’t receive my info I was sending them. My payment kept going up and I had lost my husband and they had no compassion. They foreclosed on my home
Please add me to the list!! Unbeknownst to me, they put my home on a sheriff sale. I was told by a friend that happened to be at the courthouse. I was on a forbearance plan that I paid $1,700 on time for 3 months. After that they ignored me for 3 months and told me they had my best interest. Now I am 6 months behind on my mortgage. Make a long story short they lied to me and took my house. And I had the money! This was back in the summer of 2011. They ruined me and my family. Please please add me to the list whoever can read this because I don’t know how to put my name on the list
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Please add us! We have our mortgage through Wells Fargo as well as credit cards
Dealing with the exact same problem from them. I’m fairly sure it’s going to cost me and my 10 yo daughter our home. Not only did they not explain the risks; but then rescinded the forbearance claiming several months were due at once. Making it likely impossible to refinance by my April deadline after being sued for contempt.
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Please add me.
Can I still get added to this lawsuit because I ended up selling my house to get out from WF corruption and when they requested the payout from title company they requested 30k over balance and it has never been corrected