THE AUDACITY OF NOPE

Wells Fargo Executives and

The Audacity of Nope

Dear esteemed Senators Dodd and Schumer and U.S. Dept. of Treasury members:

My wife and I just turned fifty. We’ve been together for 30 amazing years. We have an excellent credit score, have never missed a payment of any kind, have zero credit card debt and own one car, a Prius.

We are two very thrifty, very responsible people, who live in a 1,500 square foot house in Florida that we bought in 2006. It’s the biggest house we’ve ever lived in. It’s all we need.

WELLS FARGO owns our mortgage. Qualifying for the mortgage was a snap. WELLS FARGO didn’t even ask for a survey. Not even sure they required an appraisal. Stated income was all WELLS FARGO required. We complied. Then the economy went south.

In March, the Obama administration launched a $50 billion plan to give the lending industry financial incentives to modify mortgages, lowering payments for struggling borrowers such as ourselves. We qualified for a loan modification, so, hat in hand, I called WELLS FARGO to ask about modifying our loan. I would have had better luck calling Donna Fargo. Or Fargo, North Dakota . How ‘bout Fargo Feed & Seed? I called again and again and got nowhere. I bypassed the 800 numbers and called WELLS FARGO headquarters. Did I get any help?

NOPE.

So I contacted the WELLS FARGO EXECUTIVES via e-mail. Not just any executives mind you. I’m talking about Howard Atkins CFO, John Stumpf CEO, Richard Levy and Mark Oman, both VP’s. Out on the links a caddy must have been alerted and my phone rang minutes later. Wow—the power of the internet.

We were told we qualified for the loan modification but first had to go through an application process. Nightmare doesn’t begin to describe it. We slogged through piles of paperwork. We jumped through hoops of Ruthian proportions. We did everything asked of us. Then we waited. And waited some more. Weeks passed. Then months.

We wondered if our loan would ever be modified. And we wondered. And wondered some more. Fed up, I tried the numbers WELLS FARGO left us and – you guessed it – nothing. So I tried e-mailing WELLS FARGO EXECUTIVES again.

Bingo. I suppose the brass doesn’t like being bothered when they’re having their hair done. We finally got an answer to our question about the loan modification. And here’s what WELLS FARGO had to say:

“NOPE.”

When I asked why, I wasn’t given an answer. So I e-mailed the WELLS FARGO EXECUTIVES again and again and again. Over fifty times. They handed me off to a representative from Hell. So I asked her why we were denied a loan modification. Her reply stunned me and I’m thinking it will stun you:

“Mr. C., we cannot modify your loan because you do not make enough money.”

Well, duh.

I told her that was exactly why I needed a loan modification. Her response?

“Mr. C., even if we modified your loan, it wouldn’t help you.”

Theater of the Absurd? Lost episode of Candid Camera, perhaps? Punked by Ashton Kutcher maybe?

NOPE.

This is what STEPHANIE SANTI, EXECUTIVE MORTGAGE SPECIALIST, WELL FARGO’S OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT actually told me. She called it "WELLS FARGO POLICY."

It gets crazier. STEPHANIE SANTI further explained that saving money would not matter to us. That avoiding foreclosure would not matter to us. That ruining our perfect credit rating would not matter to us. She suggested a short sale. She suggested bad credit rating for years to come. She suggested foreclosure.

She suggested shame.

Then, as punishment for even broaching the subject of a loan modification, WELLS FARGO began inundating us with threatening letters and voice-mails. Tons. For no reason. We had not fallen behind on payments. Still haven’t. But the calls persisted. And the letters. And they persist to this day.

Meanwhile, on August 6th, WELLS FARGO said it was increasing the salaries of its top four executives, including CEO John Stumpf (john.g.stumpf@wellsfargo.com). Executive compensation at banks has been a hot-button topic in recent months, especially for firms like WELLS FARGO that received government bailout funds last fall. WELLS FARGO received $25 billion as part of the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program, which was launched at the peak of the credit crisis. Some of that money is mine.

WELLS FARGO is also raising the salaries of Dave Hoyt, Mark Oman, (mark.oman@wellsfargo.com) and Howard Atkins (howard.i.atkins@wellsfargo.com) . Hoyt serves as head of wholesale banking. Oman is the bank's head of home and consumer finance, while Atkins is WELLS FARGO’S chief financial officer.

But none of these extremely important, overpaid, self satisfied, well groomed and manicured executives with such wonderful teeth will allow us to modify our loan. And that just doesn’t make sense. Here’s why:

We qualify for a loan modification…
We pay taxes…
WELLS FARGO took TARP funds…
Nevertheless, all we get from WELLS FARGO is:

“NOPE. NOPE. NOPE.”

Can somebody please explain this to us? It defies comprehension in our opinion.

WELLS FARGO EXECUTIVES can be reached at:

richard.d.levy@wellsfargo.com
john.g.stumpf@wellsfargo.com
howard.i.atkins@wellsfargo.com
mark.oman@wellsfargo.com

Sincerely,

Shawn C. To: Herbert Allison herbert.allison@do.treas.gov;
Meg Reilly ; Jenni LeCompte jenni.lecompte@do.treas.gov;
Gabrielle Trebat ; Andrew Williams andrew.williams@do.treas.gov;
Senator Chuck Schumer ; bryan_deangelis@dodd.senate.gov;
George Hearst ; Steven Swartz sswartz@hearst.com;
Ronald Doerfler ; James Asher jasher@hearst.com;
ctsmyhon@yahoo.com; jedelson@kamberedelson.com; jmurdoch@newscorp.com; ccarey@newscorp.com;
Alan Murray ; Wall Street Letters wsj.ltrs@wsj.com;
Richard Levy ; Mark Oman mark.oman@wellsfargo.com;
John Stumpf ; Howard Atkins howard.i.atkins@wellsfargo.com;
Julie <4juliec@verizon.net>; Gary Waid garybwaid@yahoo.com;
D Devoe ; Arthur Sulzberger publisher@nytimes.com;
Eddy Hartenstein eddy.hartenstein@latimes.com

Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 11:37:18 AMSubject

BRAVO SHAWN C!

STEPHANIE SANTI? I believe it was time for you to go home
a few months ago.

WELLS FARGO YOU'RE LOSING IT! And, did you really even ever have
it to begin with?

Shawn, beautifully put. Thank you for including me in your e-mail distribution.

I am featuring you up front in 'WELLS FARGO CAUGHT!' a blog for people uniting to share support, stories, and now joining together in class actions suits all across the country because instead of being treated like the valueable customers and homeowners they are, they instead are walked on and made to feel about as important as the dirt on which their homes sit. One thing I know for sure...WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND. Wells Fargo WILL REAP what they have sewn. Shawn, you and Mrs. C are in my prayers. I believe you will receive the help you seek.

The Home Equity Theft Reporter

The Home Equity Theft Reporter

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http://www.wfhmcaught.blogspot.com/google3a0d089982a6f3f1.html

http://www.wfhmcaught.blogspot.com/google3a0d089982a6f3f1.html

IT'S NO SURPRISE WHY LENDERS AND MORTGAGE SERVICERS ARE DRAGGING THEIR FEET

WHY IT'S CERTAINLY NO SURPRISE
MORTGAGE LENDERS AND LOAN SERVICERS
DRAG THEIR FEET TO SPEED UP MODIFICATIONS.

BUT

YOU'D THINK THE REALITY OF THEIR SOON TO
BE EXPOSED PREDATORY TACTICS WOULD MOTIVATE
THEM TO AT LEAST WANT TO APPEAR COOPERATIVE.

SOON, VERY VERY SOON I HOPE AND PRAY THE NATION WILL REALIZE 93% OF EVERY SINGLE HOME HAS BEEN PAID FOR 50-100 TIMES OVER, THANKS TO THE BUNDLING OF MORTGAGE BACKED ASSETS, SECURITIZATION AND LIQUIDIZATION, TRANSFORMING THE SECURITY INSTRUMENTS INTO STOCK PAPERS TO BE SOLD TO INVESTORS IN THE FORM OF BONDS, CASH INSTRUMENTS.

IF YOUR LENDER CLAIMS "OWNERSHIP" OF THE ORIGINAL NOTE THAT SECURES AN INTEREST IN YOUR HOME, INSIST HE PRESENT YOU WITH THE ORIGINAL CERTIFIED, NOTARIZED DOCUMENT PROVING ORIGINAL SIGNATURES.

IF HE IS UNABLE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH AN ORIGINAL, DO NOT ACCEPT A LOST NOT AFFIDAVIT!!! CONTACT THE Securities and Exchange Commission AND ASK THEM TO HELP YOU FIND OUT IF YOUR PROPERTY WAS LIQUIDIZED, SOLD, AND BECAME PART OF A POOLING AND SERVICING AGREEMENT.

This usually happens THE SAME MONTH YOU PURCHASED YOUR HOME. However, because of the rise and fall of so many mortgage companies have them help you by looking up your address, or by name, mortgage lender, servicer, etc. They are extremely helpful.

THEY'D BETTER START MOVING OR THEY WILL
SUFFER THE BIGGER BRUISE AS A RESULT
OF STILL ANOTHER STUPID DECISION.

Impatience Grows Among Lawmakers
With Lenders, Mortgage Servicers
On Lack Of Progress On Loan Modifications

The Washington Independent reports:

A top Democrat on Monday warned the nation’s banks that, unless they get more aggressive in modifying mortgages to prevent foreclosure, Congress will renew previous efforts to empower families to keep their homes through bankruptcy. But Sen. Richard Durbin (Ill.), the upper-chamber’s second ranking Democrat, also gave the banks three months to comply with his ultimatum — a span over which roughly 1 million new homeowners are projected to enter foreclosure. [...] “I want to put the banks and mortgage servicers on notice today,” said Durbin, who sent letters Monday to each of the 34 banks that have already signed on to participate in the administration’s modification program.
The comments arrive just days after another powerful Democrat, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), issued a similar threat to revisit cramdown. The statements are evidence of a growing impatience among some lawmakers with the banking industry’s efforts to stabilize the still-volatile housing market.
For more, see Durbin Gives Bailed Out Banks ‘Cramdown’ Ultimatum (Senate Democrat Threatens to Bring Back Bankruptcy Law Change).
posted by Home Equity Theft Reporter at 4:03 AM links to this post
Thursday, July 30, 2009

Lenders, Mortgage Servicers Continue To Force Borrowers To Waive Legal Rights As Part Of Loan Modification Process
The Washington Independent reports:
Even as the Obama administration presses the lending industry to get more mortgage loans modified, the practice of forcing borrowers to sign away their legal rights in order to get their loans reworked is a tactic that some servicers just won’t give up on. Waivers requiring borrowers to give up any legal claims related to their mortgages, even in cases where borrowers may be victims of predatory lending, are showing up sporadically in loan modification agreements under the Obama administration’s Making Home Affordable plan, consumer attorneys say. They were stunned to find the legal waivers still being used, despite more than a year of efforts – including calls from lawmakers – to get rid of them.
“It was shocking to see that people are still being asked to waive their legal rights,” said Bruce Dorpalen, national director of housing counseling for ACORN Housing Corp. “I mean, this should be abolished. It’s incredible that it’s still in there.” [...] The Treasury Department’s published guidelines for the $75 billion taxpayer funded program specifically prohibit the waivers. Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac removed the waivers from their standard loan modification agreements earlier this year. But Diane Thompson, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center, said she has seen legal waivers resurface in loan modification agreements by Aurora Loan Services, Ocwen Financial Corp., and other firms. She also is getting complaints about waivers in Bank of America agreements. “The waivers continue to be an issue,” Thompson said.(1)
For more, see Loan Servicers Work the Fine Print in Obama Foreclosure Plan (A Year After Calls for Reform, Borrowers Still Forced to Waive Legal Rights for Loan Modifications).
(1) It may be time for the Obama administration to stop throwing money at the lenders and servicers for loan modification programs and redirect the cash towards establishing and supporting foreclosure defense programs for financially strapped homeowners the way Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum recently did. See Attorney General Launches Multi-Million Dollar Grant Program for Foreclosure Defense Assistance (The Florida Bar Foundation will help administer $4 million in grants to legal services applicants).
The thought of having to deal with "producing the notes," and otherwise establishing proper legal standing to initiate foreclosures, as well as addressing allegations of fraud and violations of the applicable consumer protection laws is sure to get the attention of the mortgage industry, in my view. After all, why else are the loan servicers so intent on getting homeowners to waive their legal rights?
posted by Home Equity Theft Reporter at 9:53 AM links to this post
Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Admistration, Mortgage Servicers Meet; Agree To Increase Pace Of Loan Modifications
Bloomberg News reports:
Mortgage servicers meeting with Obama administration officials pledged to step up the pace of loan modifications, according to the U.S. Treasury. “With over 200,000 trial loan modifications already under way, we are on track to meet our goals,” Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a statement today. “Still, too many homeowners are at risk of foreclosure right now. Today’s meeting was an opportunity to identify ways to accelerate the program and bring relief faster.” The administration is setting a goal of beginning at least 500,000 trial modifications by Nov. 1, according to the statement.
For more, see Mortgage Servicers Pledge to Step Up Pace of Loan Modifications.
posted by Home Equity Theft Reporter at 4:09 AM links to this post
Monday, July 27, 2009

Mortgage Servicers To Explain Themselves To Administration Officials Regarding Failure To Keep People In Their Homes
In Washington, D.C., ABC News reports:
Mortgage servicers accused of not doing nearly enough to stem the nation's foreclosure crisis will sit down with the Obama administration tomorrow to tell their side of the story.(1) The meeting, the results of which are not expected to be made public until early next month, comes amid escalating criticism that both mortgage servicers and the government are ill-equipped to carry out Obama administration programs designed to help keep people in their homes. [...] The National Consumer Law Center, which presented testimony to the Senate earlier this month, has identified dozens of ways in which some mortgage servicers have failed to follow guidelines set by the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), a five-month-old Obama administration program that pays servicers at least $1,000 for each loan modification.
Reportedly, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., has asked the administration to investigate alleged abuses of the program by mortgage servicers, which include:
Charging advance fees for loan modifications,
Telling homeowners they must be in default before becoming eligible for loan modifications,
Starting foreclosure proceedings even while a homeowner is under consideration for a loan modification.
For more, see Mortgage Companies to Meet With White House (Meeting Comes Amid Mounting Criticism of Obama Housing Programs).
(1) The mortgage servicers are responding to this recently extended invitation from Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan to get together for a "friendly chat."
posted by Home Equity Theft Reporter at 7:51 AM links to this post
Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Frank Threatens To "Cramdown" Lenders, Mortgage Servicers For Foot-Dragging On Loan Modifications
The Associated Press reports:
A senior House Democrat threatened banks Wednesday that if they don't volunteer to save more homeowners from foreclosure, Congress will make them. In a sternly worded statement, Rep. Barney Frank said Congress will revive legislation that would let bankruptcy judges write down a person's monthly mortgage payment if the number of loan modifications remain low. Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, also said his committee won't consider legislation to help banks lend unless there is a "significant increase" in mortgage modifications. Frank's statement was aimed at adding momentum to a deal struck Tuesday between Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and more than two dozen mortgage companies. The two sides agreed to set the goal of adjusting 500,000 loans by Nov. 1.
***
"People in the servicing industry and in the broader financial industry must understand that if this last effort to produce significant modifications fails, the argument for reviving the bankruptcy option will be extremely strong, and I think there is a substantial chance that the outcome will be different," Frank said.
For more, see Frank threatens banks to stop foreclosures.
posted by Home Equity Theft Reporter at 2:49 PM links to this post
Thursday, July 09, 2009

Schwarzenegger Squeezed By Lenders, Servicers To Demand Rule Prohibiting California Attorneys From Accepting Retainers For Loan Mod Negotiations???
A press release issued by three California consumer advocates(1) announces:
The lending industry and loan servicing lobbyists have successfully pressured Governor Schwarzenegger to demand that language be included in SB 94 that would prohibit attorneys from accepting retainers for loan modification negotiations with their loan servicers.(2) The language, if adopted, will prevent homeowners from seeking legal representation to save their home from foreclosure.
For the rest of the press release, see Lending Industry Attacks California Homeowner's Rights to Legal Representation (California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger told the legislature over the weekend that he would not sign AB 94, a law that would protect homeowners from mortgage modification companies, unless they included a clause that would prohibit attorneys from accepting retainers for performing legal services to prevent foreclosures).
(1) Martin Andelman, of mandelmanmatters on ml-implode.com; Alan Jablonski, a Long Beach, CA based consumer rights attorney, J. Arthur Roberts, a bankruptcy attorney located in Newport Beach, CA.
(2) Reportedly, the language proposed is as follows, according to Martin Andelman:
"5) Prohibits persons including attorneys, until January 1, 2013, who negotiates, attempts to negotiate, arranges, attempts to arrange, or otherwise offers to perform a mortgage loan modification or other compensation paid by the borrower to do any of the following:a) Claim, demand, charge, collect, or receive any compensation until after the licensee has fully performed each and every service the licensee contracted to perform or represented that he/she would perform."
posted by Home Equity Theft Reporter at 4:06 AM links to this post

The Home Equity Theft Reporter: Kansas AG Files Five Lawuits Against Outfits Allegedly Running Loan Modification & "Foreclosure Redemption Rights" Sca

The Home Equity Theft Reporter: Kansas AG Files Five Lawsuits Against Outfits Allegedly Running Loan Modification & "Foreclosure Redemption Rights" Scams

Well, they say the wheels of justice turn slowly, but I thank Steve Six his aggressive pursuit against Apple Assets LLC and Rush Properties. I lost over $100,000 in equity in a home I had owned for over 18 years with a perfect record prior to a lender error which snowballed.

I've also published my story about my experience with Apple Assets, and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage who, if not for their original error and their ridiculous 8 month ballet perfectly executed to keep me hanging on long enough for them to steal my home. They began to service my mortgage in 7-2004 when Waterfield Mortgage stopped originating mortgage loans.

I lost a lot more than money. I lost myself. Beware of these predatory lenders. They are predatory in every way.

God Bless You Steve Six!!

Invitation to connect on LinkedIn

LinkedIn I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn. - Kelly L. Hansen http://wfhmcaught.blogspot.com/ ctsmyhon@yahoo.com Learn more: https://www.linkedin.com/e/isd/673312435/Dx-6d6l_/ © 2009, LinkedIn Corporation Subscribe to: Posts (Atom) DO YOU NEED HELP TO AVOID FORECLOSURE? If you would like to receive information on how you might avoid the foreclosure of your home, please e-mail me your name, address, and phone number. Someone from our office will be in touch right away to assist you. With Warm Regards, Kelly L. Hansen, HOMEOWNERS HELPING HOMEOWNERS, ctsmyhon@yahoo.com Google + ID Search This Blog Blog Archive ►  2014 (73) ►  October (4) ►  September (1) ►  August (6) ►  April (2) ►  March (26) ►  February (23) ►  January (11) ►  2010 (167) ►  July (7) ►  June (20) ►  May (45) ►  April (53) ►  March (40) ►  February (2) ▼  2009 (72) ►  December (10) ►  September (4) ▼  August (6) THE AUDACITY OF NOPE The Home Equity Theft Reporter http://www.wfhmcaught.blogspot.com/google3a0d08998... IT'S NO SURPRISE WHY LENDERS AND MORTGAGE SERVICER... The Home Equity Theft Reporter: Kansas AG Files Fi... Invitation to connect on LinkedIn ►  July (3) ►  June (5) ►  May (10) ►  April (7) ►  March (2) ►  February (11) ►  January (14) ►  2008 (2) ►  December (2) Popular Posts FORECLOSURE FRAUD POSTS THE FABRICATED NOTES ACTUALLY SUBMITTED BY JPMORGAN CHASE AND THE FLORIDA DEFAULT LAW GROUP Foreclosure Fraud of the Week – Two “Original” Wet Ink Notes Submitted in the Same Case by the Florida Default Law Group and JPMorgan Chase ... (MERS) MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS (MERS) MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS Related articles   MERS cannot foreclose unless it is the holder of the underlying no... I AGREE WITH YOU, MR. COX. IN ADDITION, I THINK RICHARD CORDRAY IS AWESOME! AND BY THE WAY, AMERICAN'S CAN'T RELY ON GOVERNMENT AT ALL TO PROTECT THEM. SO, THERE IS MY TWO CENTS! SENT IN BY DEONTOS!  THANK YOU! Servicing "Hero" foreclosure attorney slams Christopher Whalen, mortgage servicers Not kind ... ERIC HOLDER RESIGNS. I VOTE FOR ERIC SCHNEIDERMAN TO REPLACE HIM! SEPTEMBER 29, 2014 Eric Holder Resigns Here's John Cassidy at the New Yorker:  Why Didn’t Eric Holder Go After the Bankers? ... L E V E R A G E . . . MBS Crime...Season 4, Episode 1 | "Alan said theywere seizing properties they didn't even own and signing foreclosureforms without even reading them..." Ford replied .... L E V E R A G E . . . MBS Crime...Season 4, Episode 1 | "Alan said they were seizing properties they didn't even own and signing fo... NEIL GARFIELD, OF LIVINGLIES, ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STATUE OF LIMITATIONS Before You Sign Anything, File Anything, Consider the Statute of Limitations  by Neil Garfield With tens of thousands of cases running many ... JUDGE ZLOCH, FINALLY, A JUDGE WHO "GETS IT." WordPress.com Neil Garfield posted: "In a short written opinion Judge William J Zloch, formerly of Notre D... A Gift.... Uhh, I mean a GIF A Gift.... Uhh, I mean a GIF Credit:  Deontos  Related articles Kangaroo Court: a Dad's Motion to Vacate Due to Violations of Constituti... YVES SMITH OF NAKED CAPITALISM REVEALS HIS KNOWLEDGE OF THE PRETENDERS IN THE SERVICING INDUSTRY Thank you, Deontos! Chris Whalen Goes Off the Deep End,   Issues Error-Filled Screed in Defense of Mortgage Servicers Posted on   March ... BOFA SETTLEMENT IS THE TENTH FOR THE FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY, WHICH IS THE AGENCY THAT REGULATES FANNIE AND FREDDIE BofA To Pay $9.3B To Settle With Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Regulator Pages Home VICTORIES! LEGAL SELF HELP HOMEOWNERS REACHOUT STATE LINKS FILE COMPLAINTS! Awesome Inc. theme. Theme images by molotovcoketail. Powered by Blogger.