Wells Fargo Fined for Wrongful Foreclosures

Are you currently facing foreclosure, or was your home foreclosed on as a result of actions taken by Wells Fargo? If so, it is critical to learn more about recent actions taken by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) against the bank for unlawful acts, including wrongful foreclosures. Last month, the CFPB announced in a news release that it was ordering Wells Fargo “to pay more than $2 billion to redress consumers and a $1.7 billion civil penalty for legal violations across several of its largest product lines.” Indeed, according to the news release, “the bank’s illegal conduct led to billions of dollars in financial harm to its customers and, for thousands of customers, the loss of their vehicles and homes.” Our Oak Park foreclosure defense lawyers want to provide you with more information about the recent action taken against Wells Fargo and the specific issue of wrongful foreclosures.

Wrongful Fees and Misapplication of Payments

How did Wells Fargo’s actions result in wrongful foreclosures? As the news release from the CFPB explains, “consumers were illegally assessed fees and interest charges on auto and mortgage loans, had their cars wrongly repossessed, and had payments to auto and mortgage loans misapplied by the bank.” In other words, foreclosures resulted from homeowners being improperly charged fees and interest that they could not pay and from homeowners’ mortgage payments being improperly applied to their mortgage debt.

In addition to misapplying payments and charging unlawful interest or fees, Wells Fargo was also cited for improperly denying mortgage modifications to homeowners, which could have prevented foreclosures in some cases. The CFPB’s news announcement specifically notes that the bank’s improper denial of modifications—a number in the thousands—led, in some cases, “to Wells Fargo customers losing their homes to wrongful foreclosures.”

CFPB Enforcement Action

According to CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, “Wells Fargo’s rinse-repeat cycle of violating the law has harmed millions of families . . . . The CFPB is ordering Wells Fargo to refund billions of dollars to consumers across the country. This is an important initial step for accountability and long-term reform of this repeat offender.”

In order to remedy the variety of improper and unlawful actions taken by Wells Fargo, the CFPB has taken a series of enforcement actions. Not only will the bank be required to pay more than $2 billion, but it will also need to pay penalties and change the process for assessing certain types of fees.

Contact an Oak Park Foreclosure Defense Lawyer Today

If you are facing foreclosure, you should get in touch with an experienced Oak Park foreclosure defense attorney who can discuss your options with you. Depending upon your circumstances, you could be eligible to consider a short sale, a deed in lieu of foreclosure, and other options. If you faced an unlawful foreclosure, or if you believe you are currently facing an unlawful foreclosure like those discussed above, our firm is also able to assess your case and provide you with more information about your options. Do not hesitate to get in touch with our firm to find out more about how we can help. Contact the Emerson Law Firm today.



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Wells Fargo Admits to Hundreds of Wrongful Foreclosures

A number of erroneous foreclosures have been linked to Wells Fargo bank. Back in August 2018, Wells Fargo admitted that it had “accidentally foreclosed on” almost 400 homes due to a software glitch that denied homeowners the ability to seek mortgage modifications, according to a report from CBNC. This week, Wells Fargo announced again that it had “improperly foreclosed on 545 customers after wrongly denying them mortgage loan modifications, up from the 400 borrowers the company disclosed in August,” according to a recent article in Bloomberg.

While Wells Fargo is based in California, it provides mortgages to homeowners across the country, including in the Chicago area. What should Oak Park residents know about these “accidental foreclosures” and the harm caused by Wells Fargo’s actions? First, we want to provide some background information about the wrongful foreclosures that were reported in August, and then to speak to the new information this November about additional “accidental” foreclosures that have affected consumers and homeowners.

Alleged “Glitch” Results in Hundreds of Foreclosures That Should Not Have Happened

As the CNBC report explains, between 2010 and 2015, almost 400 Wells Fargo mortgage customers “lost their homes when they were accidentally foreclosed on after a software glitch denied them the ability to modify their mortgages as they sought federal aid,” In August, Wells Fargo “apologized” to those homeowners who were affected, and planned to remedy the serious errors by providing $8 million to customers who were impacted. According to Tom Goyda, the senior vice president of Wells Fargo, “during the course of an internal review, we determined that an automated calculation of error may have affected the decision on whether or not to offer or approve some mortgage modifications between April 13, 2010 and October 20, 2015, when the error was corrected.”

Goyda apologized for the “error” and said that Wells Fargo had plans to provide “remediation to the approximately 625 customers who may have been impacted.” While 400 homeowners actually lost their homes due to Wells Fargo’s mistake, as the report underscores, hundreds more were affected.

New Errors Revealed Regarding Wells Fargo Mortgage Accounts and Foreclosure

In August, Wells Fargo issued an apology to homeowners affected by its so-called “accidental” foreclosures and provided a remedy of $8 million, yet just this month, the bank again reported that nearly 150 additional homeowners were foreclosed on “accidentally” due to Wells Fargo errors. While the bank indicated that 625 customers in total had been affected when it made its announcement back in August, now it says that 870 customers in total actually were affected.

It is important to also underscore that these “accidental” foreclosures are not the only problem currently linked to Wells Fargo. The bank has been cited for improperly assessing fees on certain accounts, and fraudulently openning accounts for up to 3.5 million Wells Fargo customers who never wanted an account opened.

Learn More from an Oak Park Foreclosure Defense Lawyer

If you were one of the hundreds of homeowners with a Wells Fargo mortgage who faced foreclosure as a result of the bank’s error, you may be eligible for compensation. If you need assistance with foreclosure defense and keeping your home, you should speak with an advocate about getting started on your case. An experienced Oak Park foreclosure defense attorney can assist you. Contact the Emerson Law Firm for more information.

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