At best, dysfunction. At worst, deception. Either way, it's not good.

I am writing this on September 17th, 2009, so while I wish I had documented in detailed form all of my dealings with Wells Fargo in my pursuit of their assistance in getting my mortgage modified, I am doing my best to recollect what happened along the way. I promise nothing here is exaggerated or embellished for dramatic effect. It is what it is and it is a very sad statement not only about how the largest mortgage company in the U.S. does business, but where this country is right now.

After months jumping through hoops, navigating their system, interpreting bizarre letters and recordings, having meaningless conversations with no confirmations they ever took place, and hours and hours invested, they gave me nothing. Actually worse than nothing. The only offer I have thus far doesn't help me at all. It could only hurt me. Big time.

Look, I Know How This Looks to Some People
Regardless of the position one might have regarding a homeowner not being able to afford a mortgage, the fact is that the government set this stimulus package in motion for people like me. I've had the type of home I've had for 20 years now, and never had a problem affording it. The economy affected industries which I relied upon, and home values in my neighborhood have dropped, primarily because bankers got rich on this system and abused it. So, that being said, as a taxpayer, it is fair to me to investigate the use of these taxpayer funds.

Good Guys Finish Last

In October of last year I put in a call to Wells Fargo Mortgage, the company that holds a substantial mortgage on my house since I refinanced in January of 2007. I had heard about the government's loan modification program and since the economy had taken its toll on my ad agency, and my income was way down I thought it didn't hurt to find out what was out there. I told them I was current but was worried that my mortgage was going to become a hardship for me if I was going to have to keep pulling out of savings and borrowing against lines of credit to pay for it, and other monthly expenses. I was told that if I wasn't behind on my mortgage there was nothing they could do for me.

I suggested I thought I was doing the right thing by calling BEFORE that happened, but while the person on the other end agreed he still told me the program was only for those who had already fallen behind. He actually suggested that I might want to call back "after I missed a few payments", but if I chose to continue to be on time with my mortgage, I should continue to check in to see if the guidelines had changed. I thought it odd that he would almost be suggesting or wishing I missed a few payments. I also noted he was typing something in the background, perhaps noting in my file that I might be a future problem for them.

Every few months I would check back. And then in June I noticed a number appeared on Wells Fargo's website for those interested in a home loan modification under the government's program.

The On-Ramp to Nowhere-Away We Go!

The person on the other end asked me for my monthly expense data and then told me what I needed to do next was write a hardship letter and include my profit and loss statement over the past few months. That was a simple spreadsheet showing exactly what income I had, along with business expenses. Along with that, I included the expense statement I had given the representative over the phone. The information detailed my expenses, including my mortgage, and after losing a number of accounts as the economy fell over the past year or two, I had been netting about $5000 less a month over the prior three months to cover those expenses. I sent the required documents via fax, and called to make sure they got it. I was told they did and it was complete, and they'd get back to me when they had an answer.

My Dog Ate Your P & L

Approximately three weeks later I got a call from another representative saying they were missing my profit and loss statement and asked me to fax it in. I did that. So, three weeks had passed and we were back to the beginning. I had gone out of my way to call to ask to make sure they had everything three weeks' prior. They told me they did but they didn't.

When August 1st came, I got an apologetic call saying that since another month had passed, I'd need to send in my income and expenses for July. I sent it in immediately.

A Taxing Issue
A few weeks before that I got a letter from Wells Fargo indicating that I was behind on my taxes, and if I didn't bring them up to date, they were going to pay them for me and start an escrow account. When I originally got my mortgage my broker had suggested that I not have an escrow account, because since I was self-employed, if I had a bad year, I could fall behind and the county would simply charge me interest but not care about the overdue balance for a reasonable period of time. After getting this letter from Wells Fargo, I called Clackamas County. The person in the tax collector's office told me that they weren't concerned about the overdue amount--it hadn't yet been a year and they normally don't take action until tax bills are overdue for two years.

The previous year I was about $700 short by October, and Wells Fargo sent me the same notice. I paid the taxes immediately. It wasn't that large of an amount and it was basically an oversight on my part. This time, however, I was well aware that I hadn't paid the $5500 due (now $6000 after interest) because I simply didn't have the income to cover it. But I wondered why all of a sudden they were sending me this letter in July, four months earlier than last year, instead of in October as they had the prior year, especially in light of a climate where banks were supposed to be more forgiving and working WITH their borrowers to help them avoid crunches. I thought it made no sense on one hand to be "working with me" on my home loan modification, and on the other be telling me that they were going to start escrowing both last year's and this year's amount, which essentially now added $1000 to my monthly nut.

I called and I told them it made no sense for me to be seeking relief on one end, but for them to be telling me they were going to be charging more on the other. I was told that I could ignore the notice because every customer like this gets two notices and I could wait it out to see if I got the home loan mod before I responded.

I again called Clackamas County and they said they had sent nothing to Wells Fargo to initiate this action.

Pinball Wizardry
I called Wells Fargo to tell them of this, and what followed was a constant deflecting of any interest in the matter. If I called the Wells Fargo Tax department, they would tell me it was a matter for Loss Mitigation. When I called Loss Mitigation, they would tell me it was a matter for the company Tax department. This went on for days-- hours and hours worth of phone calling, waiting and talking. At one point, someone in Loss Mitigation had told me that it wouldn't matter anyway if I paid the bill, because once I accept a home loan modification, one of the conditions is that I automatically agree to an escrow account. I would try to explain that line of logic assumed I was going to accept an offer and I hadn't yet even gotten one.

Then after repeated calls and holds and drops and calls again, an Alicia Cox, "supervisor" in the Loss Mitigation Department told me that the fact that I was seeking a home loan modification would automatically take precedence over the letter, and so the new date (I got a new letter) of August 13 as the deadline to pay my taxes without consequence was no longer an issue. She said that the loan modification would automatically push that escrow date out two months after the loan mod offer was made. I asked for something in writing, and I was told "we never provide an Email. And on this matter we don't send out letters", effectively making me take her word for it. That was a very difficult thing for me to do at this point. So I called back a half hour later to confirm that this was the case, and I was told there was no such stipulation regarding seeking a home loan modification and the tax bill due. I asked how anyone could have told me such a thing, especially a "supervisor" for whom I had to wait on the phone for quite a bit in order to speak to. I was told she must have been making it up because there was no such policy.

I eventually took the $6000 out of my business credit line and paid the taxes two days before the deadline so it wouldn't be an issue.

Dear Mr. President

I also thought the people in the executive offices would have to be surprised at the way customers are treated, thinking that if they had to deal with such insanity, they'd be just as frustrated and pissed as I was. Of course, I am also aware that it's possible they have initiated this game, in order to make the company more profitable. I found Mark Oman's name, who is in charge of the loan division at Wells Fargo, and Emailed this:

Hello Mr. Oman:

You don't know me. And I am not sure if you are the right person to which I should send this letter. Please forward or let me know to whom I should write if there is someone in the position of authority and responsibility to respond to such a letter.

I am an educated rational man who happens to be a Wells Fargo Mortgage customer. I am writing you because compared to talking to your "customer service department", looking up a name of an executive at Wells Fargo whom I thought might be interested to hear what it's like on this side of the customer service equation, was simple.

I was thoroughly exhausted on Monday last week (I tried to send this last week and had difficulty with the Email for some reason) primarily because the foundation of my day --3 hours--starting at 7am PST--was spent on the phone being bounced between numerous people in your customer service department and your loan modification department, including "supervisors". I was about to sit down and chronicle the insanity on what should have been one simple issue (a follow up on my request to put off the deadline at which point a tax escrow account was set up for me until at least I'd heard about my loan modification), but frankly I can't see investing more time on this right now than a short letter would entail, especially when it's freshest on my mind.

There were numerous untruths told to me--point blank--that were refuted moments afterwards by the next person I talked to. The issue I was dealing with was (having nothing to do with the loan modification for which I applied) a date on which Wells Fargo was going to initiate an escrow of my taxes and insurance because I was behind. I thought it made no sense on one hand to be working with me to ease the pressure of the monthly mortgage payment I was trying to make, and on the other hand begin adding $500 a month to my monthly nut. All I was looking for was to put off that arbitrary date until after the loan modification was reviewed. The county stated they weren't concerned about any taxes in arrears less than two years. Mine weren't even a year past due yet.

One misleading conversation in particular was with the only person whose name I happened to ask for and write down. An Alicia Cox (at 8:45am 8/10 PST) said, among other things, "a letter was sent out on August 5th indicating that your escrow will not take place until two months from the date that letter was sent out. That will supersede the letter you got from us about the escrow account on August 13th". That letter arrived last week, in fact, and it says absolutely nothing about an escrow account. It's the same form letter I was sent twice before after I submitted all my information seeking consideration for a loan modification (only to be called back week later to ask for the same information again.) Further, the next person I spoke to in the department Ms. Cox said would have that information told me that not only wasn't that in the letter; it simply wasn't true, and said "I have no idea why she would tell you that". If I start writing you even more of the incongruent things that were told to me by her and others over the last six weeks, I'd be going on and on here, and I don't expect that you'll read all of it. I'd be happy to put together a chronology if anyone would like to see it.

Everyone I have spoken with has been pleasant, I suppose. At best they are powerless. At their worst they are imparting odd and misleading information.

My objective in writing this is based on the belief I have that any educated person who takes pride in working for Wells Fargo wouldn't be very proud of what I have experienced since I began applying for my loan modification, and I feel someone should be aware. I called about I resolved myself, by paying my property taxes before the deadline for an escrow account kicked in. So, other than attempt to offer some constructive feedback for Wells Fargo, and hope that in the future the customer service I wait on the phone for a long time to experience will improve, the last thing I want to do is rock the boat, because I believe I have a fair case and do need the help the government sponsored program will hopefully provide in order to keep my home for my family. I have a small advertising agency which has specialized in providing advertising services to mortgage companies and auto dealers for the past dozen years. I'd prefer to be too busy to write this.

I welcome your call or anyone you deem appropriate. If it's anyone in "customer service", I'll pass. I also am hopeful that Wells Fargo will work with me to mitigate any loss on either of our parts on my home during this difficult time.

Sincerely,

Chris Angelus

No response.

I was told along the way that the modification evaluation process would take 60-90 days, but no one could tell me whether that was from the date I initially replied, or from the two dates where updated or lost information was asked of me.

During this period I got probably three letters telling me they had all my information, and all I had to do was wait, and again--Wells Fargo really cared about me.

I will say that for the most part, most everyone I spoke to was friendly. But they just never seemed to know anything. They seemed to be just conduits to ask other people information. But no one would give me a name or an Email address or a phone number. They were all anonymous people at my bank with no accountability. I often thought, who else does business like this? They will never send me any written confirmation of what was just said or agreed to. In essence, it rendered each conversation meaningless, because there was no record of what was said. And in many cases, I needed that record, because in subsequent conversations there was nothing in my file to indicate that I was told, was actually the case.

Honey!! Look What Came in the Mail! Oh, Wait. Never Mind.

In late August, I got a letter with my offer:

1) Skip the September, October and November payments.
2) Pay those amounts, plus December's amount due, for a total of $12,028 on December 1st. There would be no usual grace period to December 15th, as usual. If that balloon payment was not received by Wells Fargo by 12/1, on 12/2 my loan was in default and they could begin foreclosure proceedings.
3) The bank would report the late payments to the credit bureau as late.

I digested what this offer meant, and it didn't take long for me to see that

1) There was absolutely no funds given by the government to the bank in this offer, other than perhaps some lost interest during the three month period of time.
2) My credit would be damaged.
3) By agreeing to this, I was putting myself in jeopardy of foreclosure on 12/2. I could just as easily skip these payments (and I had no intention to) and be in the same position on 12/16, two weeks later, but perhaps be protected by the government's moratorium on foreclosures. That, of course, assumed I was in that much trouble. And I am not.

I couldn't figure out who at Wells Fargo thought that this offer could really be of help to me. My financial problems were going to take longer to fix than 3 months, and having to come up with a balloon payment that soon (sooner than I would have to have the last payment in anyway) surely didn't give me much time.

"Forty Minutes, One Hour and Seventeen Minutes" x 5

I called Wells Fargo and asked the person on the other end how she thought this offer was of help. She said, "Well, Mr. Angelus, we're giving you $300 off for three months". I asked her to explain that one, because my letter said nothing at all to that effect. After taking a few moments, she explained to me that the first offer was just a preliminary one, and more "offers" would be forthcoming, the most immediate of which was the one she was looking at. Annoyed now, I then asked her why I would get a letter with one offer (and not a very reasonable one at that), when if they knew another one was forthcoming, why the first letter didn't tell me that. In fact, it asked me to sign the agreement in a given period of time to accept the offer. As I was saying this, I heard a click.

She hung up on me.

When I called back, I got a recording. The recording went on to say that it was a particularly busy time, and that the hold time was "Forty minutes. One hour and seventeen minutes" (sic) I was told that I could leave a message and my number and get called back, or hold for "that" period of time. While it was mildly amusing that they would announce the "forty minutes. One hour and seventeen minutes" together, still, I found it curious that in my four months of calling Wells Fargo--the same number--I'd never waited longer than a minute to maybe 10 minutes, and never heard that prompt. Even the call where the woman hung up on me, just minutes earlier, I got right through (after all the annoying prompts to input my loan number only to be asked what it was again when the representative got on the phone). So, I tried again. Same thing. Three more times--same thing. Thinking that I was actually put on a "bad customer" prompt and now wasn't going to be able to get through, on the fifth attempt, I decided to wait it out. After an hour of being on hold and hearing constant standy by messages, my call was dropped. I always wondered how people who have jobs that don't allow personal calls can handle this. It would be impossible.

If I'd Only Known, I'd Have Doubled up on My Xanax

I tried again and waited out what turned out to be about an hour and a half. A woman answered, and I explained what I had just gone through that morning. Of course she apologized, but also said there was no system in place to designate my number as going into a lost prompt of time hell. She then looked up my file and read to me the conditions of another offer that had a date on it of 8/28: I could take $300 off for the next three months, and they my situation would be re-evaluated. I asked what that re-evaluation would entail. She didn't know. I asked if she could Email or fax me that offer so I could see it (along with all the fine print), and she said it should be going out in the mail any day. We actually had a nice conversation. She was sympathetic. I told her she was the nicest person yet that I had spoken to (even though I wasn't getting the information and answers -- AND OFFER -- I was looking for) and asked her name so at some point I could put in a good word for her to someone at Wells Fargo. She hesitated, and gave me her first name, saying she wasn't allowed to give me her last name. Her name was Marquita, but she could give me her User ID, which was DP2. Still, I wonder, what kind of retail business could ever operate like this? No accountability, no confirmations, nothing. It's really abhorrent especially for an industry where oversight is the buzzword. And to top that off, in reading some of Wells Fargo's press releases online regarding processing loan modification requests, WF executives are actually quoted as saying that they welcome transparency.

The Opposite of What it's Supposed to Be

Weeks earlier, before I got my "offer" I had called a woman my brother had heard about who has worked on a number of these home loan modifications on behalf of stressed clients/homeowners of her bookkeeping/personal assistant business. She first advised me that I had done everything right and she generally helped those who didn't have the time to do what I've done, or didn't know how to go about it. She asked me to call her back after I got my offer because she wanted to hear what mine was. So, after I got my offer I called her back. She confided in me that she has been very uneasy for months since she realized that what is going on is an effort by the banks to speed up the foreclosure process, rather than slow it down. My offer was utterly indicative of that--it was designed to give Wells Fargo the opportunity to foreclose me by December 2 on a mortgage for which I hadn't even ever been late.

That night I had a pit in my stomach. It wasn't so much because I realized that all the time and effort I had put in to get some real relief was for naught, although that bothered me, of course. But what really kept gnawing at me was that if President Obama, or Congress could know that THIS was what was happening with the billions in taxpayer money they had forked over to companies like Wells Fargo, they'd be appalled. And most assuredly, taxpayers would be, too. Then I started Googling "Wells Fargo Home Loan Modification nightmare", and found some amazing stories, which in fact, made mine look easy. I am not in foreclosure or in immediate jeopardy of losing my home. There were people, I read, who were told NOT to pay their mortgage by Wells Fargo (similarly to what I was initially implied to me), and then were served eviction notices. Story after story. I couldn't sleep.

Deep Throat (I Wish)

So, the next morning, I was going to write a letter to The Oregonian, Time Magazine, and other publications. But then I realized that I'd done that in the past and by the time they cull your letter down to two small paragraphs, they either dilute the point or lose it entirely. So, I decided to write David Sarasohn, a columnist at the Oregonian with whom I had exchanged a few Emails over the years, referencing our mutual interest in the NY Mets. I told him the public should be aware of this farce called home loan modifications.

He asked if he could buy me coffee. We met. I outlined some of my story and gave him a copy of my offer. The next day David wrote me to tell me he was running with the piece, and after some phone calls and assurances on his part that he wouldn't portray me as a businessman about to lose his home, I agreed to let him use my name. He also told me he had contacted Senator Merkley, who is on the Senate Banking Committee, and sent him the copy of my offer after telling him of my status (not in foreclosure or behind on my mortgage), and he said that even though Senator Merkley had seen many of these "offers", he thought mine was the worst example of a solution he'd seen yet, and cited the fact that my credit would be damaged as terrible aspect of the offer.

This article ran yesterday:

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/david_sarasohn/index.ssf/2009/09/to_get_your_mortgage_modified.html

I'll Have My Office Call Your Office

Yesterday afternoon I received a message from a Dawn Nelson from "the office of the President of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage", requesting a call back. I will do so today. I have no idea whether it was my letter to Mr. Oman or the article in The Oregonian that prompted her call.

I spent about an hour on the phone with Senator Merkley's office. Some of that time was spent with his media relations director, talking about how it has occured to me that the only way to pressure Wells Fargo into start acting responsibly would be to use the media. He agreed, and also put me through to the very kind person Senator Merkley had hired JUST TO DEAL WITH THESE HOME LOAN MOD COMPLAINTS, since there are so many of them. She and I spoke for a while, and she was very empathetic, also telling me that there were so many nightmare stories out there it was hard to fathom.

She told me if I didn't get satisfaction from "the office of the president" to call back and she would do what she could on her end.

Three-Card Mortgage Monte

It's now September 17th. I have yet to get that second offer in writing. What I have gotten since that last call are thes:

1) Two letters from Wells Fargo indicating they have gotten my complaint, and will be getting back to me. I am not sure what this is referencing, but I assume it's my letter to Mr. Oman on 8/17.

On the same day, yesterday, 9/15, in two separate envelopes, both dated 9/11:

2) Another form letter telling me my information had been received and accepted, and Wells Fargo was working on my loan modification, and that I didn't have to do anything but wait. This is about the fifth such exact letter I've gotten.

3) A letter informing me that Wells Fargo was doing everything possible to help me retain my home (keep in mind that I have never been even late on a payment), and they have received my inquiry regarding my loan, and to process my request for a LOAN MODIFICATION, the following information is needed. Anything marked with an X indicated required documents:

__ 1 Financial Worksheet
__ 2 Tax Retern for __ (empty)
__ 3 Proof of income
__ 4 Profit and Loss Statement
__ 5 Listing Agreement (I am not selling)
__ 6 Signed Purchase Contract/Est. Closing Statement
__ 7 Hardship Explanation
__ 8 Buyer's Prequalification Letter

Here's the amazing part. Not one of those items was checked with an X.

The letter then goes on to say that (in bold) If ALL of this information or a request for an extension is not received with ten (10) days of this letter, we will consider this request canceled.

Simply amazing. Do they just click on any form letter and send it out to anyone randomly?

Where's the Beef? Show me the Money. Which microscript applies?
Hopefully for my sake, I'll get some actual answers, and more importantly, an offer that will help me through this difficult period, in the spirit in which Wells Fargo keeps telling me they want to help. It's hard for me to believe that I still remain hopeful, but at least I have some conduits other than calling Wells Fargo Customer Service now.

But in the larger picture, I am hopeful that the government will get their shit together and create some oversight that won't make insanity like this possible.

And the big question: WHERE IS THE MONEY? Where are the billions that these banks got to implement this program. Is it going for administration? While it's got to be expensive to hire all these people to shuffle phone calls and paper, it can't be that expensive. They haven't even bought the software to track their lies. And they don't even have computers or Email.

These banks are taking it from us, and then giving it to us (but not in a good way). It sincerely feels as though nothing has changed. The greed is still there.