19th July 2007

How To Avoid Wells Fargo Collections Dept. Via Phone

posted in Mortgage |

I am writing this post for 3 reasons:

  1. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage sucks and they just don’t care. Their goal, it seems, is providing bad customer service along with mortgage financing. You can read more about their bad behavior in this post and this post. After I wrote the first post, I was contacted by Wells Fargo corporate as detailed in the second post. Then, I received a letter saying basically we’re allowed to behave like this as specified in the mortgage documents you signed and we’re going to continue on like this and you’re going to like it.
  2. In this humble little blog, the first post (above) has been a freaking magnet for disgruntled Wells Fargo Home Mortgage customers. Every week since I made that post I get at least 2 comments and they’re all bad experiences from other home owners. Any more and I may set up a separate web site for this.
  3. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage collections department likes to use technology to “do their job better” in the form of a badly designed call-center automation system. Well, I can also play at that game. Wells Fargo, meet Asterisk.

I wrote about Asterisk earlier in this post about how to keep tenants’ and contractors’ phone manners in check using this system but it turns out that it’s also ideally suited to dealing with this annoying company as well.

First some background; Asterisk is an open-source telephony platform that runs on Linux. Basically it’s a pretty powerful phone system that can run on an old PC. It can do everything from handle VoIP calls to provide voice mail.

Another feature it has is called “zapateller.” This feature is used to inform the call-center automation system used by Wells Fargo and telemarketers alike, that your phone line is no longer in service. It does this by playing a special tone which is recognized by these systems.

When the call-center systems hears this tone, it removes your number from its list because it’s “out of service.” I’ve gone a step further and compiled a list of caller-id numbers that get this treatment. Oh ya, and by the way, the entire city of Des Moines, Iowa gets this treatment as well. Des Moines is where Wells Fargo’s headquarters are. In fact, when calls come in from any number on this list, my phone doesn’t even ring. They get the “out of service” tone and then straight to voice mail.

At this point, if Wells Fargo wanted to talk to me, they would need to send someone to my door or send a certified letter since most anything with the Wells Fargo logo on the envelope goes straight into the round file anyway.

Buffer

There are currently 15 responses to “How To Avoid Wells Fargo Collections Dept. Via Phone”

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  1. 1 On April 8th, 2008, Nick said:

    Go one further, http://www.trixbox.org.

    Self installing!!! All you need is a capable interface card, and you can get them on eBay (the cheap cards that is) for under $20!!!

    Go forth and enjoy a quiet phone free evening.

  2. 2 On July 8th, 2008, Joseph said:

    Maybe you shouldn’t be such a loser and pay your bills. Go back to your trailer park loser.

  3. 3 On July 8th, 2008, TheLandlord said:

    Read the post dumbass. And by the way, I live two blocks from the beach…..in Florida. Dumbass.

  4. 4 On July 23rd, 2008, James Elliott said:

    I believe Wells Fargo fails to understand the power of disgruntled people in large groups, or does not care. Why not have your bank send Wells Fargo a TEN CENT check (in addition to your regular payment) each and every business day? It takes MANPOWER to open envelopes and process all those EXTRA litte payments. Can you imagine what would happen if a MILLION people did that? We have to organize and maybe THEN Wells Fargo will listen. Thanks

  5. 5 On July 24th, 2008, Randal said:

    It’s not just the mortgage branch! Intrest accrued on an account I closed out 4 months ago and now I supposedly owe them an extra $85. When I try to call to get this staightenen out I get transferred all over the continental U.S. and still don’t get anywhere. I’m supposed to talk to my local branch manager but she has an office full of people to run interference and take a message. Amazingly enough she still hasn’t called me back.
    Anyone got any idea on how to handle this????

  6. 6 On August 26th, 2008, joe said:

    They also suck as far as their revolving accounts for business such as slumberland. They claim I bounced a check and have place me in collections. My bank continues to reassure them and document that I never bounced a check to them, but they don’t care, they just want the extra money they make on the late fees and bounced check fees.

  7. 7 On August 27th, 2008, Jennifer said:

    Or perhaps you should just pay your damn bills. Hmmmm what a thought.

  8. 8 On August 27th, 2008, TheLandlord said:

    You know, it would be good if Wells Fargo employees actually were to READ the posts BEFORE making stupid comments like the one above. But then again, I don’t think you have to know how to read to be hired by Wells Fargo. Cases in point:

    http://www.landlord-success.com/real-estate-investing/why-wells-fargo-home-mortgage-sucks

    http://www.landlord-success.com/mortgage/wells-fargo-home-mortgage-follow-up

    http://www.landlord-success.com/mortgage/incompetence-rules-at-wells-fargo-home-mortgage

    The first post has no less than 73 comments at the time of this writing. Trend maybe?!

  9. 9 On October 21st, 2008, m w said:

    It is quite refreshing to know that others are having the same drama that I have been having. I am truly disappointed in Wells Fargo, and I will NEVER do business with thm again. Anybody here understand the collection practices associated with REFUSAL OF PAYMENT and regulations set forth? I truly believe that my rights have been violated.

  10. 10 On February 11th, 2009, Clau said:

    Thanks for this post. I don’t even HAVE a Wells Fargo loan! But someone put my cell phone number down on their loan application, because now I get harrassing calls on my cell phone for some mysterious, probably apocryphal person named Kamo Issoyan (c’mon loan agents–can’t you spot a fake name?). After a 2 SECOND google search, I found this Kamo Issoyan’s work phone, home phone, and foreclosed properties. I even tried to give it to the collections guys on the phone but they refuse to take it, or take the suggestion of googling his name. I alternately plead and threaten this collections agency to remove my phone number from their rosters, but 1 or 2 weeks later, the harrassing phone calls begin anew. I have an HSA account with Wells and now I am thinking of cancelling it, as there is nothing else I can do to protest this shoddy service!

  11. 11 On May 22nd, 2009, Kirsten said:

    So, I haven’t had much luck with WF either. They screwed up my deferrment paperwork and now I’m paying the price! I have student loans through them and they have been non-stop harassing me for the last week. This is, mind you, after receving weekly phone calls and basically pleading with them to leave me alone. A rep finally conceded to put me on a weekly calling cycle (only once every 7 days), and that was status quo for about one week. So before a WF employee gets a wild hair up their @$$ and tells me to just pay my bills to make the phone calls stop, I have EVERY intention of paying my bills. I simply do not have the funds. I have tried to explain that, but the trite response is, “Well the phone calls will stop once you pay your bills!” Or, last night I got, “Well none of us like phone calls; that’s why we pay our bills.” If I could have reached through the phone and slapped her, I would have! But I digress. I cannot WAIT to get away from WF ASAP. And I have even considered suing them for harassment, because calling me everyday and asking for money does not magically create funds in my bank account. Doesn’t justify treating me like a criminal or talking to me like a child. Their customer service SUCKS! I am looking into Asterisk today! THANK YOU!

  12. 12 On June 9th, 2009, Mike said:

    I find it very ironic that the same institutions that have created a global economic crisis can be so arrogant. This is the same crisis that has helped me to loss everything financially I have spent a life time to build up. I have been a long time customer of Wells Fargo Bank. I have never had a late payment until the last 3 months. Now they have jacked my interest payments to 26%. I have call repeatedly to make payments for what I owe. I am trying to make all payments necessary to be current. What I am asking for in return is a reasonable interest rate as they sold me when I took out the loan. The people that I have dealt with have all given me different lines of crap on how to get current and what my interest rate will be after. I never thought I would be distrustful of the whole banking industry, but I now trust nothing they tell me. The people they hire to collect this money I owe do not have answers for any questions that I ask. Although they have plenty of smart a_ _ comments. They do nothing but look for an argument. They will not put anything in writing as to terms. So they can change the rules of the game when ever they like. Go figure why our tax money goes to bail out company’s that not only created the problem but act as glorified loan sharks.

  13. 13 On June 11th, 2009, Dan said:

    a few days ago, I’ve received several calls from an outfit that calls itself “Fargo Collection Agency.” The guy on the phone had a heavy accent, so heavy that I had a hard time understanding him. So I asked him to spell the name of the company, which he did, very slowly. Since I have a mortgage with Wells Fargo and am current with payments, I asked him what he wanted. He said I had won either a new Hummer or $60,000 and I could choose which one I wanted. I concluded that “collection agency” and winning anything simply doesn’t compute, so I told him he was trying to scam me and hung up. He immediately called back. I told him to f**k off and never call me again, and I hung up again. A minute later, his “supervisor” called me, and I told him the same thing in a series of 4-letter words. Then I hung up. Today, this same outfit called and got my wife on the phone. I took the phone from her and told the caller (a guy with a heavy accent) that he’s a scammer and that out phone number is on the Do Not Call Registry. Then he hung up. I don’t think this ourfit has any connection to Wells Fargo Mortgage Company. And I’m sure that in order to get what I “won,” I’d have to send a chunk of money for “shipping and handling,” “processing fees” or whatever else these thieves have dreamed up. This looks to me like a variation of the notorious Nigerian scam in which some “government official” pleads for help in transferring vast sums of unclaimed money from one country to another. Don’t fall for it. As Nancy Reagan said, “Just say no.” And hang up.

  14. 14 On September 28th, 2009, Bill said:

    Because your bill is due on the 1st. You are only hurting yourself and your credit score by waiting. the grace period is just that – grace so that you don’t pay the extra fee. BUT it’s due on the 1st. that means it has to arrive on the 1st or its considered late. Just do yourself a favor and get your payment schedule changed OR get the money there by the first of the month. Talk to wells fargo and say, “you’ll notice my payment is never mailed until the ninth. That’s my financial situation. Can you please change my due date to reflect that”. generally they will do it because, trust me, they dont’ want to speak to you anymore than you want to speak to them. AND you’ll improve your credit score. every time your payment is not there BY THE DUE DATE it’s a hit on your credit report.

  15. 15 On September 28th, 2009, TheLandlord said:

    Bill, on the contrary, paying your mortgage after the 1st but before the 16th does not affect your credit score. Also mortgages, at least in my experience, are not like credit cards where you can “request” a due date.

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