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Wells pays $4 million for student loan servicing violations

08/22/2016
Fine Amount: 
$3.6 million
Penalty Type: 
Issued by: 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today took action against Wells Fargo Bank for illegal private student loan servicing practices that increased costs and unfairly penalized certain student loan borrowers. The Bureau identified breakdowns throughout Wells Fargo’s servicing process including failing to provide important payment information to consumers, charging consumers illegal fees, and failing to update inaccurate credit report information. The CFPB’s order requires Wells Fargo to improve its consumer billing and student loan payment processing practices. The company must also provide $410,000 in relief to borrowers and pay a $3.6 million civil penalty to the CFPB.

According to the Bureau's press release, the company violated the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act’s prohibitions against unfair and deceptive acts and practices, as well as the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Specifically, the CFPB found that the company:

  • Impaired consumers’ ability to minimize costs and fees: Wells Fargo processed payments in a way that maximized fees for many consumers. Specifically, if a borrower made a payment that was not enough to cover the total amount due for all loans in an account, the bank divided that payment across the loans in a way that maximized late fees rather than satisfying payments for some of the loans. The bank failed to adequately disclose to consumers how it allocated payments across multiple loans, and that consumers have the ability to provide instructions for how to allocate payments to the loans in their account. As a result, consumers were unable to effectively manage their student loan accounts and minimize costs and fees.
  • Misrepresented the value of making partial payments: Wells Fargo’s billing statements made misrepresentations to borrowers that could have led to an increase in the cost of the loan. The bank incorrectly told borrowers that paying less than the full amount due in a billing cycle would not satisfy any obligation on an account. In reality, for accounts with multiple loans, partial payments may satisfy at least one loan payment in an account. This misinformation could have deterred borrowers from making partial payments that would have satisfied at least one of the loans in their account, allowing them to avoid certain late fees or delinquency.
  • Charged illegal late fees: Wells Fargo illegally charged certain consumers late fees even though the consumers had made timely payments. Specifically, the bank charged illegal late fees to certain consumers who made payments on the last day of their grace periods. It also charged illegal late fees to certain students who elected to pay their monthly amount due through multiple partial payments instead of one single payment.
  • Failed to update and correct inaccurate information reported to credit reporting companies: Wells Fargo failed to update and correct inaccurate, negative information reported to credit reporting companies about certain borrowers who made partial payments or overpayments. These errors could damage a consumer’s ability to access credit or make borrowing more expensive.

The company was ordered to pay $410,000 in consumer refunds, improve student loan servicing practices, improve student loan billing disclosures, correct credit reporting errors, and pay a $3.6 million civil penalty.

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