Wells Fargo may have wrongly charged thousands of customers a total of $98 million in fees
Wells Fargo will reach out to 110,000 customers who may have been wrongly charged for "mortgage rate lock extension fees" between September 2013 and February 2017, the company said in a press release Wednesday. Four former Wells Fargo employees expressed concern about the way the bank was handling these fees in a letter to Congress last year.
CNN Money explains that the fees targeted Wells Fargo customers seeking mortgages. When someone applies for a mortgage through Wells Fargo, they are offered certain interest rates for that mortgage. If that interest rate offer expires before the borrower closes the loan, the borrower can pay a fee to extend the rate. But if Wells Fargo caused the paperwork delay, the bank would waive the rate extension fee. The bank said Wednesday that Wells Fargo employees may have charged customers the rate extension fee even when the bank was at fault for paperwork delays.
Wells Fargo is now questioning the validity of nearly $98 million in mortgage rate lock extension fees. The bank will begin to reach out to customers later this year and plans to refund the customers who they believe were wrongly charged.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Elianna Spitzer is a rising junior at Brandeis University, majoring in Politics and American Studies. She is also a news editor and writer at The Brandeis Hoot. When she is not covering campus news, Elianna can be found arguing legal cases with her mock trial team.q
-
Birthright citizenship under threat in US
The Explainer Donald Trump wants to scrap the policy he calls a 'magnet for illegal immigration'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The moon has been listed as a threatened historic site
Under the radar Human influence has extended to space
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: January 23, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor deal
Speed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden expected to block Japanese bid for US Steel
Speed Read The president is blocking the $14 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons merger
Speed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battle
Speed Read Murdoch wanted to give full control of his empire to son Lachlan, ensuring Fox News' right-wing editorial slant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rally
Speed Read Investors are betting that the incoming Trump administration will embrace crypto
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Enron mystery: 'sick joke' or serious revival?
Speed Read 23 years after its bankruptcy filing, the Texas energy firm has announced its resurrection
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US charges Indian tycoon with bribery, fraud
Speed Read Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been indicted by US prosecutors for his role in a $265 million scheme to secure solar energy deals
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Boeing machinists approve contract, end strike
Speed Read The company's largest union approved the new contract offer, ending a seven-week strike
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published