According to a story in yesterday’s DSNews, a senior Wells Fargo executive was called into court to testify about why the company didn’t operate in good faith as it considered a loan modification of a homeowner in Phoenix.
The case, widely publicized by the New York Times, centered on a Phoenix homeowner who had recentlybecome unemployed and found herself struggling to make payments on her Wells Fargo-serviced mortgage. Bobbi Giguere testified that she submitted request after request to Wells for a loan modification, along with the proper documentation required by the servicer.
“I submitted the paperwork three times, and nothing happened,” Giguere told the Times, adding that each time she called to check on the progress of her request, the bank’s servicing department had no record of her appeal and asked her to resend documentation
Nothing new here, is there? Here’s her story in her own words…
I can’t tell you how many e-mails and comments I get that tell this same story. So what happened on the stand?
Ohayon [the Wells Fargo exec] told attorneys during preliminary questioning that Giguere [the homeowner] had repeatedly failed to include a financial worksheet with her submissions, the Times reported. But in court, Ohayon was asked to read a letter from Wells Fargo that Giguere retrieved from her files, which made no mention of any missed documentation.
On the witness stand, Ohayon said, “Mrs. Giguere is right. The letter did not ask for a financial worksheet.”
Oh…so they say they ask for paperwork they never asked for and then denied her application based on said information. So what was the executive’s response? According to the New York Times, Wells Fargo had denied the homeowner’s application back in March but she was never notified until last week in court. They just let he continue filing modifications requests even though she had no chance of being approved.
Now that’s beautiful!
So what did the exec have to say about it?
Ohayon said, “I don’t necessarily think we’ve done a poor job of communicating with our customers, but I think there is an opportunity to improve the overall customer experience during what is a very difficult time for them.
Does that make sense to you? I don’t think it’s even comprehensible.
Unfortunately, the judge didn’t even censure the exec or Wells Fargo. I don’t know that it would’ve meant anything if he had, though.
If you’re like me and you’re in negotiations with your lender, you probably don’t expect them to bend over backwards to help you out. But you (and I) expect them to at least act in good faith and give our packages due consideration and diligence.
Doesn’t seem like that’s happening, does it?
Tags: bankruptcy, lenders, litigation, loan modification, wells fargo
September 9th, 2009 at 7:59 am
Hey Todd, great article!
This is exactly why I recommend (and think you do, too) that customers send their packages certified mail, return receipt requested!
They can’t say “What package?” when someone in their company had to sign for it….
Arghhhh!
Becky
Hardship letter writer
HardshipLetterPro.com
Todd Temaat Reply:
September 9th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
I definitely agree with you, Becky. But even if you can say that Bob signed for the package on 8/31, they often just tell you to resend the info anyway because it’s lost. Of course, if you have a pattern of this, you can take the documentation to court with you if you need to.
It’s amazing how inefficient these companies are! Their efficiencies come on the lending side, not the servicing side…that’s for sure!
September 9th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
I put in a request for a loan modification with Country Wide prior to Bank of America merging with them. CW offered and I accepted a 10 year interest only payment. The interest only payment would have allowed my husband and I to keep our home; making other payments on the principal. Well BA took over and everything with CW went out the window. BA claims they don’t know anything about it and has denied my request for a loan mod stating that we are “900″ negative each month. Well, what is a hardship? I am very upset at the prospect of loosing our home.
Todd Temaat Reply:
September 9th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
My guess is that the $900/month they reference is how much you’re short of the lowest payment available under the Obama Home Affordable Loan Mod program. My heart goes out to you and your family. But please remember to plan the next steps you need to take. Depending on where you’re at in the process, you may have 9 months or more in your home without a payment. I know losing your home is upsetting, but use the time and money wisely to prepare for what you know is coming.
September 9th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
NACA is the solution in order for the banks to hear you out and give solutions. http://www.naca.com
June 4th, 2010 at 2:29 am
Todd, I have been in a modification with American Home Mortgage since August of last year. Finally, in January of this year my negotiator decided to start all over with my file with no apparent reason. I have never been able to talk with this lady ever. I’ve sent faxes, called and left messages on your answering machine, called supervisors, and to no avail I haven’t ever received any consideration. So, this week I said, enough is enough. I started calling two to three times a day, some with supervisors and some with customer service. They could never tell me why this woman would never communicate with me. So, I got someone from Obama’s office to due a three way call and finally she called me today to tell me that I was denied due to my unemployment were temporary income. I believe she knew all these months that she was going to deny me.
What I don’t understant is why her superiors allowed her to avoid me all these months without any communication until that three way call? I know that I do qualify for that HAMP program. It is for people on unemployment, but I don’t know where to go from here. I cannot afford a big time attorney…and who can I trust?
Do you have any advice for me?
Pearlie Ward
Todd Temaat Reply:
June 5th, 2010 at 5:05 am
I can’t speak for the bank and why they knowingly let the loss mitigator ignore you for so many months. Unfortunately, that’s just the way some mitgators are. The first one I had with my short sale was the same way…I’d literally call her 8 – 10 times a day for days on end before she’d answer. And then she quit and the new mitigator was great…even corresponded by e-mail and we never waited more than a day for an answer to our questions. It’s completely luck of the draw.
As far a HAMP goes…I don’t know enough about your situation to know whether you qualify or not. But if you don’t have sufficient income to pay your payments long term, the bank isn’t going to approve the modification. If your hardship is permanent rather than temporary, it’s unlikely they’ll approve it either. And you should also know that just because you qualify doesn’t mean the lender is obligated to approve you…it’s still up to them and/or their investors.
My advice would be to get with your local HUD office or a Hope Now counselor. Unfortunately, you may have a long wait and the qualifications and/or skill of counselors can be hit or miss. You can also check out the National Association of Consumer Advocates. They can refer you to a local attorney that may be able to take your case (if one exists) at low or no cost.
June 28th, 2010 at 7:38 am
I also put in several loan modifications through Wells Fargo Bank and it took months before I heard anything, and by the time they actually did all the paperwork, I was already $30,000 overdue which they had to apply at the end of my term. My loan went from $235,000 to $299,000. I underwent at least 3 modifications and months and months of waiting. At one time I had 2 different modifications from two different people from two different areas of Wells Fargo. It is very frustrating. My mortgage has not gone down, even when I sent them paperwork to prove I had been laid off, and they only lowered my payments for 3 months then I had to go back to my origianl payment. Very frustrating.