BOCA RATON — A Boca Raton woman has filed suit against Wells Fargo, alleging the bank violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).
Theresa Deiuliis England filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
A foreclosure action was filed against England on Jan. 25 of last year and on March 18, the plaintiff retained Loan Lawyers LLC.
On Oct. 26, 2016, England received her October mortgage statement, which showed Wells Fargo had imposed both a $210 fee labeled only as “Advance” and a $4,796 fee labeled only as an “unpaid advance balance,” according to the claim.
England’s attorneys wrote a letter to the bank to request an accurate statement of the total outstanding balance of the loan and to provide the full name, address and telephone number of the current owner of the mortgage note.
Wells Fargo sent a fax back, allegedly saying it was unable to confirm the name provided was an active borrower and it was unable to match the loan number and property address with the loan on record.
"The claims contained within the Defendant’s fax that they were 'unable to confirm the name(s) provided as an active borrower,' or otherwise 'unable to match the loan number and property address with a loan on record' was and is belied by the fact that the identifying information such as the property address, loan number and borrowers’ names were pulled directly from the statement Wells Fargo themselves provided to the Plaintiff in October 2016," England’s attorney wrote in the complaint.
The complaint also stated that the plaintiff’s request "was a boilerplate attempt by Wells Fargo, to preemptively excuse their willful disregard for RESPA and ultimately for the Plaintiff’s exercise of her congressionally conferred rights to obtain information about her federally related mortgage loan and the basis for charges imposed."
England’s attorneys filed a notice of error, but the complaint said the bank still refused to provide the plaintiff with the identity of the owner of the obligation, as well as its address and telephone number within 10 business days of receipt of the plaintiff's request for information. The complaint alleges the bank refused to provide England with the amount of her loan obligation.
The plaintiff’s attorney then filed suit, seeking damages after the bank allegedly violated RESPA. The plaintiffs are filing for photocopying and postage costs, reasonable attorneys fees. The plaintiff is also alleging damages in the form of emotional distress, anxiety and embarrassment.