Wow! Wells Fargo just hung up on me!

[Moxie]

Our mortgage was sold to WF several years ago :glare:. I didn't pick them. I heard that they have a no-cost refinance available so I thought I'd call (I didn't really expect to qualify because we pay early or on time every month so why would they work with us??). After finding out that we don't qualify for the free refinance, the nice man offered me a "traditional refinance".

 

Me: Are there closing costs with that refinance?

Him: Yes, there are costs associated with this loan.

Me: If I have to pay closing costs, why wouldn't I just switch to a local bank?

 

Dial tone.

 

I know they aren't known for their customer service but I was really surprised that he just hung up on a customer like that!

[mommaduck]

Wow! All the more reason to switch (if you wanted or were in the position to).

[jplain]

If you're not thrilled with the local options, talk to a mortgage broker too. My parents' mortgage is held by WF. My mom called WF directly, and WF turned them down for a no fees no points refinance. But their mortgage broker found them a no fees no points refinance . . . from WF. Go figure.

[Giraffe]

Wells Fargo was bought by Wachovia, which has such a bad reputation for customer service that they took the Wells Fargo name in the merger!

 

Find another bank. Good luck!

[cjzimmer1]

Personally I would assume it was a mistake. I really have found their customer service to be very good - especially when dealing with my refinance. My previous 2 lenders weren't nearly as helpful. You can just go to their site online and they have a little program that you can determine if you qualify for their free refinance or not. I've done it twice and both times I initiated the process online and then just called when I had questions about the closing application.

[EarleneW]

Wells Fargo bought Wachovia and they are just finally switching over here in GA. I have never had a problem with Wachovia so I would assume you possibly got disconnected. Wachovia is the only bank I have found around here that we have had no problems or extra fees with. No idea how Wells Fargo will be- I guess we will find out though.

[Melissa in NC]

I am not surprised. I went through a refi and they put me through the ringer. I had to call and yell. I know several people who work at WF in Charlotte and the horror stories I hear would make your hair curl. If you want a mortgage, do not use them. If you want a name of a good mortgage broker who is a personal friend, you can message me and I will send you the data.

[nono]

Wells Fargo was bought by Wachovia, which has such a bad reputation for customer service that they took the Wells Fargo name in the merger!

 

Find another bank. Good luck!

 

Wow, that's interesting. I am guessing you have someone inside the organization which gives you that info. It's not exactly how the Federal Reserve painted it. Link to the order which approved the "merger:"

 

http://www.scribd.com/doc/6514174/Fed-Order-Approving-Wells-FargoWachovia-Merger

[Quiver0f10]

Our mortgage was sold to WF several years ago :glare:. I didn't pick them. I heard that they have a no-cost refinance available so I thought I'd call (I didn't really expect to qualify because we pay early or on time every month so why would they work with us??). After finding out that we don't qualify for the free refinance, the nice man offered me a "traditional refinance".

 

Me: Are there closing costs with that refinance?

Him: Yes, there are costs associated with this loan.

Me: If I have to pay closing costs, why wouldn't I just switch to a local bank?

 

Dial tone.

 

I know they aren't known for their customer service but I was really surprised that he just hung up on a customer like that!

 

WF has the worst CS ever. We will never bank or have another mortgage with them.

[justamouse]

what do you expect from the Bank of Satan? :D

 

I hate them. With a passion. Can you tell?

 

We moved ALL of our business accounts, personal accounts, payroll-EVERYTHING. HATE THEM. Obnoxious loan sharks.

 

 

http://moveyourmoney.info/

Edited November 1, 2010 by justamouse

[mommaduck]

Sounds like they are right up there with BoA.

[asta]

what do you expect from the Bank of Satan? :D

 

 

Ok, that is too funny. My sister worked for them in the early 80s - in their advertising dept, not even in the banking part - and thought they were evil. In fact, everyone who worked there thought that.

 

Maybe they're like Wolfram and Hart from Angel (the evil law firm).

 

 

a

[Parrothead]

Wells Fargo was bought by Wachovia, which has such a bad reputation for customer service that they took the Wells Fargo name in the merger!

 

Find another bank. Good luck!

Actually our car was financed initially through Wachovia. Well Fargo is now who we make the payment to. We had absolutely no problems with Wachovia. Wells Fargo on the other hand is a nightmare.

[dm379]

You guys are starting to scare me now. We've had WF for our mortgage for 2ish years now and haven't had a problem yet. But we've never had to call their customer service. I pay the bill online and that's it.

[cindergretta]

Dh's school loan was bought by WF. What a total nightmare! We hate them with a passion. :glare:

 

I would assume you were disconnected and maybe try again. It happens! But I still hate them! :tongue_smilie:

[Parrothead]

Oh, and I've got to clarify that although Well Fargo has been nightmarish for us, they are no where near as bad as Citigroup/bank/etc. I call them evil personified.

[lisamarie]

So if you refied your house under your bank (for me it was Fifth Third) and then you later get a letter in the mail saying they'd sold your mortgage to Wells Fargo (or Fannie Mae-I can't remember which), would you just leave it as it is or try to refi again? Our mortgage payments are paid through direct payment, so I can't even tell you if the payments are still going to 5/3 or if they are going to our new mortgage holder. It comes out of our account every month and we've had no issues since it was sold a year ago.

[amey311]

Wells Fargo was bought by Wachovia, which has such a bad reputation for customer service that they took the Wells Fargo name in the merger!

 

Find another bank. Good luck!

 

Actually, it was the other way 'round. Wells bought Wachovia, and prior to the purchase had no need for TARP money: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/15/business/economy/15bank.html

[DesertDweller]

what do you expect from the Bank of Satan? :D

 

I hate them. With a passion. Can you tell?

 

We moved ALL of our business accounts, personal accounts, payroll-EVERYTHING. HATE THEM. Obnoxious loan sharks.

 

 

http://moveyourmoney.info/

 

Sounds like they are right up there with BoA.

 

I was going to say, at our house the title goes to Bank of America!! But, Wells Fargo runs a close second. I would look elsewhere and have.

[Giraffe]

Wow, that's interesting. I am guessing you have someone inside the organization which gives you that info. It's not exactly how the Federal Reserve painted it. Link to the order which approved the "merger:"

 

http://www.scribd.com/doc/6514174/Fed-Order-Approving-Wells-FargoWachovia-Merger

 

Actually, it was someone in the industry who's usually right, but obviously wrong this time.

 

My bad.

[missmoe]

Wells Fargo wouldn't even help me see how much we would qualify for. Now they own our loan. Go figure.

[mommaduck]

Okay, question. We are looking at buying in 1-3yrs. We might get a VA loan. We were told that VA is through WF. Is there anyone else that manages VA?

[Hathersage]

There are lots of banks that offer a VA loan.

 

Okay, question. We are looking at buying in 1-3yrs. We might get a VA loan. We were told that VA is through WF. Is there anyone else that manages VA?

[mommaduck]

There are lots of banks that offer a VA loan.

TY :) Didn't know that. Maybe it's just who Prudential goes through?

[Hathersage]

TY :) Didn't know that. Maybe it's just who Prudential goes through?

 

It is because someone or other tries to steer your business towards certain lenders. And even go so far as to try and talk you out of a VA-loan.

This is what the VA says about how to go and find a lender:

 

VA-guaranteed loans are obtained by making an application to private lending institutions.

Lenders may be found by asking in the community in which you live what firms in the area make home loans. This information may be obtained from the local chamber of commerce, by looking in the telephone directory under "Mortgages," or by inquiring at banks, savings and loan associations, mortgage companies, real estate brokers' offices, and other public and private lending agencies.

[mommaduck]

It is because someone or other tries to steer your business towards certain lenders. And even go so far as to try and talk you out of a VA-loan.

This is what the VA says about how to go and find a lender:

 

VA-guaranteed loans are obtained by making an application to private lending institutions.

Lenders may be found by asking in the community in which you live what firms in the area make home loans. This information may be obtained from the local chamber of commerce, by looking in the telephone directory under "Mortgages," or by inquiring at banks, savings and loan associations, mortgage companies, real estate brokers' offices, and other public and private lending agencies.

Good to know!

[Mom0012]

Well, we've had our mortgage with WF for the last 10 years and never had a problem. I've done a no-cost refinance with them twice (and we always pay on time) where the same refinance would have cost me $5,000+ with Navy Federal Credit Union.

 

When we refinanced this last time, our payment date only allowed for a one week grace period instead of two and I like to pay all my bills once a month, so I was a little upset about that. I called WF and they said it was a mistake and fixed it right away.

 

Just another perspective.

 

Lisa

[Little Nyssa]

I've actually had good CS with Wells Fargo-- they have seen us through an episode of fraud where our account was hacked. I would actually recommend them. It might have been a mistake.

I would go see them in person.

[Rhonda in TX]

Well, we've had our mortgage with WF for the last 10 years and never had a problem.

 

Same here. We've had our mortgage with them for 8 years with no problem. When DH's company was not paying him for awhile about 6 years ago, I called them and told them we would be late with our payments and explained why. They were very nice and said they would make a note on our account and we would not have any late penalties.

 

We've had and repaid a line of credit with them with no problems either.

 

Maybe we've just been lucky, but I would not hesitate to get a mortgage from them.

[vettechmomof2]

Don't want to rehash old feelings here other than this :angry: but have had very poor dealings with WF. Would prefer NEVER to have to deal with them again!

[justamouse]

the woman who bought our house got a VA loan and it was HELL. Sheer frigging torturous hell.

 

Basically it was like this--we HAD to do what the VA wanted us to do (which was far above a conventional loan) and the buyer had no money down so guess who had to pay for it all? *moi* Because I had a deal on the other end I was going to have to pay a penalty for if I let it fall though. And there were days I was so nail splitting furious I was going to pay that fee willingly.

[KidsHappen]

Our original mortgage was with WF. We refinanced with them about a year ago. We shaved almost two whole percentage points off the loan and lowered our monthly payment by about $300. Of course, my hubby had to phone and email them persistantly for about a year before someone finally managed out case to completion but they were a real joy to work with through both closings, we have never had any problems with them and in the past six months they allowed everyone in TN that was effected by the flooding to postpone a single months payment if need be.

 

We also have our regular bank account with Bank America and have for at least ten years. I have heard tons of horror stories about them but once again we have had nothing but great service with them. Same with Capital One. Citi Bank is a mixed bag. My hubby had MC and one AMEX with them for his business accounts. The MC raised it's rates to some ridiculous amount (I think it was 29%) so we closed it but the other card's rate is 13% and really has a high enough credit limit that he doesn't need any other card.

[nono]

Actually, it was someone in the industry who's usually right, but obviously wrong this time.

 

My bad.

 

Eh, no biggie. I thought you had some inside "dirt" because often there is some, and it is quite different than the official black and white releases! :)

[mommaduck]

the woman who bought our house got a VA loan and it was HELL. Sheer frigging torturous hell.

 

Basically it was like this--we HAD to do what the VA wanted us to do (which was far above a conventional loan) and the buyer had no money down so guess who had to pay for it all? *moi* Because I had a deal on the other end I was going to have to pay a penalty for if I let it fall though. And there were days I was so nail splitting furious I was going to pay that fee willingly.

Hell for you, not the buyer, right? Thing is, when someone is coming in with no money down, you are "technically" paying the money down, but in the end, they are offering full price for the house and getting a larger loan in exchange.

We also have our regular bank account with Bank America and have for at least ten years. I have heard tons of horror stories about them but once again we have had nothing but great service with them.

We have BoA horror stories.

Edited November 2, 2010 by mommaduck

[Tammyla]

Well, that stinks. Did you get his name? I'd call back and complain away.

[Nakia]

Our van was financed through Wachovia/Wells Fargo, and we will NEVER EVER finance anything through them again. Let me briefly share why: We got behind on our van payment at the beginning of this past spring when we first started having financial trouble. We had NEVER been late with a payment before and only owed $3000 at that time. I was in constant contact with them, and they started out being very good with me about working on paying extra to get caught back up. Well one week, I was going to be late with the pre-arranged payment so I called them to let them know, and they assured me that was fine. Well the very next week, on a Thursday evening, they repossessed my van!! I called them while the wrecker was in my driveway because that was the day I was going to make the payment; I just hadn't had a chance to call yet. They refused to accept the payment because they had already issued the repossession papers. They "had no record of my call" from the week before. And they claimed I was two months behind, even though I knew I wasn't.

 

I got a list printed of all the canceled checks for the past year, and I was all caught up except for that one payment. Well, they had "lost" one of my payments when Wachovia sold my loan to WF. When I proved I wasn't two months behind, they said it didn't matter, that they can repossess a vehicle if someone is ONE DAY LATE!!! So now our credit is shot. That repossession will be on there for 7 years, and there isn't a dang thing I can do about it. I did get my van back after 5 days, but I ended up spending around $600 between the repossession fee and the storage fee at the wrecker lot. It was awful and so embarrassing. Thankfully, we paid my van off this summer.

 

I guess that wasn't brief and turned into a rant, but that's why I will never deal with them again.

Edited November 2, 2010 by Nakia

[Chaqar]

Wow. I have had very different experiences.

 

We have had our mortgage and several refinances with Wells Fargo for years. Never had a problem. In fact, every time we refinanced the lender was always glad to know that we were with Wells Fargo--it somehow made the process simpler?!? I haven't dealt with them much over the phone, and we always pay on time so maybe I haven't had the opportunity to really put their customer service to the test.

 

As for Citicards, we have had the BEST experiences with them! I have been a cardholder since college and they treat me like royalty. On the rare occasion that we have a late payment, they have ALWAYS been willing to "forgive" the late fee and refund any interest charged as well. We pay the entire balance off every month, and they always note my loyalty and prompt payment history as the reason for these benefits. Just yesterday I called them because our online bill payment program with Chase experienced a glitch back in August which resulted in a late payment. Chase quickly responded to this and credited our bank account with over $100 to cover the late fee and associated interest, but I was charged more interest the next month. Though Chase had already agreed to reimburse us for this as well, I called Citi to make sure this was the last of the interest and before I could even finish asking the question the rep. offered to again "forgive" the additional $60 in interest. It pays to maintain good credit!

 

As for the comment about VA loans...while I can appreciate your experience, that is not always the case either. We have always used VA loans which have allowed us to get a low interest rate with little to no money down. Yes, the VA does have a few costs that MUST be paid by the seller, but these only amount to $650! Savvy sellers/agents will, as a previous poster mentioned, make sure to increase the purchase price to cover this cost. That is what has always happened to us. I don't know all the ins and outs, but, again, if the buyer doesn't have money to cover additional out-of-pocket costs, the purchase price can be increased before agreeing to the offer. I only bring this up because we dealt with people who seemed very fearful of entering into a contract that involved a VA loan when in actuality they would have been dealing with a couple that had excellent credit and who were not asking for anything different than a regular loan might dictate. If someone has poor credit and/or is at the upper limit of their borrowing capacity then it might be a very different story, but that is not exclusive to the VA program.

 

Now, health insurance companies are typically the ones that give me customer service headaches!