Norwest Gave Us ~Mega-Stress~
Written: Feb 23 '00
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Pros: Monthly billing statements; good-faith efforts to make amends for mistakes
Cons: Had to contact BBB to resolve our conflict
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| frazzledspice's Full Review: Norwest |
In the three months I've been a member of Epinions, I've read lots of reviews, lots of praises and pans. Whenever I read a "pan", particularly of a nationwide company with many branches, it always gets my back up. I don't think that one person's bad experience is necessarily representative of a company's commitment to good service.
During this time, I have had a long, ongoing dispute with Norwest Mortgage, but I hesitated to write about it. I didn't think my bad experience (which was resolved on January 6, with a nice postscript today) meant that Norwest was a bad mortgage company, even if I, personally, would choose not to do business with them again.
I'm writing this review to provide information about how I resolved a mega-conflict with a mega-bank (which was acquired by Wells Fargo last year.) In writing about my problems with Norwest in this way, maybe other people who are experiencing difficulties with banks can learn some conflict resolution tips.
And so, without further ado:
A $2500 Error, Which Took Five Months to Correct
We had a 7.875% seven-year balloon mortgage with Norwest on our home in South Dakota, which we purchased in the summer of 1996. We chose Norwest because our corporate relocation company had a business relationship with them. We got a slightly discounted rate, and the relocation company paid all the closing costs to Norwest directly. We never considered any other options.
The day before closing, we were told that the check might not be cut in time for the closing to take place. It seemed as if the relocation company had sent us an appraiser who wasn't on Norwest's approved list. Norwest didn't discover the error until the very last day, and our mortgage was sitting on an underwriter's desk.
The moving van was scheduled to arrive the following morning, and the seller, an elderly widow, said we couldn't take possession of the house if she didn't have the cash-in-hand.
A late afternoon delivery allowed the closing to take place at 5 p.m., about seven hours behind schedule.
For the next two years, we enjoyed a cordial relationship with the "co-owners of our house." They sent us monthly statements listing the balance of our principal and escrow accounts. We never had any problems.
When we left South Dakota at the start of a housing recession caused by Gateway's moving 400 jobs to California, we had difficulties selling our house. We were with a new company and a new relocation company (we had moved back to St. Louis.) Although we received a "buyout" in February, 1999, the house didn't actually close until early August.
During this time we never received our escrow refund, although the balance was almost $2500. The relocation company reassured us that we would get our funds when the actual closing with an actual buyer took place. That happened on August 2, 1999.
We still never got the $2500. First we were told the check was lost and would be reissued.
In subsequent calls, we were told that the check had already been cashed. Customer service representatives kept putting in requests for the cancelled check, but they never received it.
Finally, in early December, I looked at the Yahoo Finance Company Profile Page for Wells Fargo (which had acquired Norwest Bank). I wrote a letter to its CEO, Richard Kovacevich. In the past, if I've had intractable problems with a company, I've reached successful resolutions using this method. It didn't work this time.
In late December, I searched the internet for the Better Business Bureau Online. I discovered which BBB to contact for Norwest Mortgage, which is headquartered in Minneapolis. The $2500 check was issued days later, and I received it in early January.
That's why I was surprised to discover a letter from the executive communications division of Norwest Mortgage in my mailbox today. They explained that they were responding to my letter of early December. They discovered that the situation had been resolved in early January. They wanted to send me a check for $100 (enclosed), representing 164 days interest on the $2500 at 9%.
It was the hardest $100 I ever earned! I'd much rather be writing Epinions!
Wells Fargo (formerly Norwest) Mortage Online
To familiarize myself with the mortgage programs of the newly merged Wells Fargo/Norwest Bank, I checked out their website. They offered many different mortgage instruments, and posted rate quotes for their four most popular programs--30 year fixed, FHA 1 year ARM, 5 Year Jumbo ARM, and Flex Fixed.
The site had the capacity for accepting online mortgage applications.
Calculators were available to help potential buyers make the decision whether to rent or buy, find out how much home they could afford, and compare their monthly and total costs using different types of mortgages.
Of more interest to me, since I am contemplating another move in approximately two weeks, were the "lifestyle" calculators.
I was able to see:
- school district comparisons for the area I was moving to, with the option of ordering free reports. Parochial and private schools were not listed; it would have been nice to see this comparison, since I have already decided on Catholic school for my daughter (after having made on-site visits to various schools.)
- community close-ups, comparing the community I live in now to four different zip
codes in Fort Smith, Arkansas, making suggestions as to which zip code would be
compatible with our lifestyle (they zeroed on the zip code we'd selected.)
- a moving task checklist. After looking at the things that should have already been
completed, and the things that I should be doing within the next few days, I decided
to cut short my website exploration and get my priorities straight!
Summation
Wells Fargo/Norwest is a very large mortgage lender. I have read all six other Epinions on Norwest, and they have been overwhelmingly positive.
We did have a very unfortunate consumer experience with them, probably one of the most unfortunate we've ever had, but they did try, in good faith, to make up for their error by sending a check for 9% accrued interest, a more than fair return by bank standards.
I would give them about 2 1/2 stars, but I suppose I'll round it up to 3.
If you ever run into an extremely difficult situation with a bank, take the following steps:
- try to resolve the problem through Customer Service. If that fails,
- write a personal letter to the company CEO. If that fails,
- contact the Better Business Bureau in the town where the company is headquartered.
It worked for us.
Recommended:
No
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