Michael Heid, co-president of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, testified in a hearing conducted by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that borrower error is a main factor in Wells Fargo’s inability to approve loan modification packages. 

His testimony comes as Wells Fargo attempted to offer an explanation for the lack of loan modifications his employer has managed to approve since the institution of President Obama’s Home Affordable Modification Plan (HAMP).

Although Heid blames borrower error for his organization’s inability to modify loans he did state that Wells Fargo will soon implement a policy requiring each homeowner to be paired with one Wells Fargo representative from the beginning of the loan modification process to the end, which is meant to alleviate some of the problems that borrowers face when they have to deal with multiple representatives distributing different information.

Industry experts retort that if Wells Fargo noticed a problem of ineligible, incorrect, or incomplete application forms, they should have implemented a program to offer assistance to borrowers who needed help filling out the forms.