Posted on 09/09/2012 5:03:09 AM PDT by Altariel
Alvin and Pat Tjosaas, a retired couple in Woodland Hills, Calif., had the bad luck of having their home mistaken for a neighboring foreclosed home and being cleared by contractors hired by Wells Fargo -- not once but twice.
The Tjosaas' home before contractors mistakenly cleared it. (Courtesy Pat Tjosaas)
A retired bricklayer, Alvin Tjosaas, 77, was the caretaker of his late parents' two-bedroom home in Twentynine Palms, about 200 miles east of his home in Woodland Hills, north of Los Angeles. He is a part owner of the home with his sisters.
Alvin Tjosaas visited the home every four to five months, he said, for maintenance and to work on hobbies in the garage.
"He just loves it up there," Pat Tjosaas, 75, said. "He was in the process of getting ready to re-plumb the house, so he had lots of his tools up there – just a garage full of tools that any man would die for."
But on June 1, a neighbor in Twentynine Palms called the Tjosaas family, asking if they had authorized people to clear out their home.
"We assumed it was a break-in and, really, it was a break-in," Tjosaas said. "They weren't legally supposed to be there."
Tom Goyda, vice president of corporate communications for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, told ABC News the company had foreclosed appropriately on another property near the Tjosaas house and the error was made when a contractor mistakenly went to the Tjosaas house instead of the correct house.
The Tjosaas home had actually never had a mortgage or lien on it because it was paid for in cash as it was being built about 50 years ago.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I think someone was in the know on the tools and such, and I am sure they didn’t go to a landfill. Come on, it’s Wells Fargo and they did it twice. Right.
Once is a mistake, twice is a pattern. I think the homeowner has earned the fight to clean out a bank.
This is the second time in a month I’ve read of Well’s Fargo “ mistakenly” going into a wrong address on a forclosure.
Unreal!!
Except, the banks are insolvent, “cleaning them out” would mean assuming derivative exposure on worthless MBS.
Wells is beyond arrogant.
Do business with them and you’ll see.
The mistake was the contractor’s. So it sounds like the contractor is the one that likes to take other people’s stuff “mistakenly”.
As I recall the banks having been forced into derivatives by government wisely sold them to the perhaps eager Wall Street Brokerages, who resold them world wide.
Wells Fargo Bank N.A. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) which is headquartered in (surprise) San Francisco, CA. Not to cast aspersions, but it is a major corporate contributor to various California politicos (usual suspects!) It is the 4th largest bank in the US following Bank of America, Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase, but ranks 2nd in deposits, home mortgage servicing, and debit cards. A charter member of the “Too Big to Fail” club.
Reading the full article, somebody has great difficulty reading maps and/or coordinates. The second break-in was by a second contractor to WF Bank 3 months after the first instance and after these homeowners were already in contact with Wells Fargo.
FYI: This Yahoo story from Friday 09/07 already has 1347 comments! Most are obviously antagonistic towards the bank, but some even manage to attack Romney. If he gets elected I predict 4 years of RDS (do I need to spell it out?)
You need to read the story. Wells Fargo sent two DIFFERENT contractors to their home. Apparently, WF gave both contractors the Tjosaas’ address and a satellite image of their home.
Yup. I will never do business with them again. Last year, they reduced my line of credit by 2/3 even though my FICO is north of 800. So, I booted them to the curb and took my business to a credit union. Their credit department is full of condescending snarks, penny-wise and dollar stupid.
Cleaning out a branchmight cover the homeowners costs. There usually is a bit if cash on hand; they typically give the chump bank robbers $2-3000 to go away do there’s likely lots more than that on hand.
We had a run-in with Wells Fargo earlier this year - they kept pussyfooting around with paperwork while in the background they were trying to build a foreclosure case.
btw - we’re all paid up - they were just playing games with our checks - putting them into “holding accounts” and the like.
I don’t trust them at ALL.
The contractor is the banks agent. The owns the issue entirely. If the bank wants to go back and sue the contractor for the banks losses in this natter they can but the homeowner’s valid complaint is with the bank
The contractor was an agent of Wells Fargo, operating under their authority. Wells Fargo and the contractor should be held jointly liable and severally liable. The result of doing so would be that (1) Wells Fargo would be more careful in what contractors they hire, and (2) contractors would make damn sure they were at the right house.
He should count himself lucky that his neighbor didn’t have an outstanding warrant that might entail a visit from the DEA. No-knock raid in the middle of the night.
Meet the new owners of Wells Fargo.
I think were going to need to rewrite some lyrics...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaT0s6Gx2FI
People:
O-ho the Wells Fargo Wagon is a-comin’ down the street,
Oh please let it be for me!
O-ho the Wells Fargo Wagon is a-comin’ down the street,
I wish, I wish I knew what it could be!
First Voice:
I got a box of maple sugar on my birthday.
Second Voice:
In March I got a gray mackinaw.
Third Voice:
And once I got some grapefruit from Tampa.
Fourth Voice:
Montgom’ry Ward sent me a bathtub and a cross-cut saw.
People:
O-ho the Wells Fargo Wagon is a-comin’ now
Is it a prepaid surprise or C.O.D.
Fifth Voice:
It could be curtains!
Sixth Voice:
Or dishes!
Seventh Voice:
Or a double boiler!
Eighth Voice:
Or it could be
People:
Yes, it could be
Yes, you’re right it surely could be
Eighth Voice:
Somethin’ special
People:
Somethin’ very, very special now
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/m/music_man/the_wells_fargo_wagon.html ]
Eighth Voice:
Just for me!
People:
O-ho the Wells Fargo Wagon is a-comin’ down the street.
Oh, don’t let him pass my door!
O-ho the Wells Fargo
Wagon is a-comin’ down the street
I wish I knew what he was comin’ for.
Ninth Voice:
I got some salmon from Seattle last September.
Tenth Voice:
And I expect a new rockin’ chair.
Eleventh Voice:
I hope I get my raisins from Fresno.
Quartet:
The D.A.R. have sent a cannon for the courthouse square.
Winthrop (lisp):
O-ho the Wellth Fargo Wagon ith a-comin’ now,
I don’t know how I can ever wait to thee.
It could be thumpin’ for thumone who is
No relation but it could be thump’n thpethul
Just for me!
People:
O-ho, you Wells Fargo Wagon keep a-comin’
O-ho, you Wells Fargo
Wagon, keep a-comin’.
O-ho you Wells Fargo Wagon, Don’t you dare Mae a stop
Until you stop for me!
I believe Wells-Fargo is fully responsible for actions of its contractors, just as it would be for the actions of its employees. You can’t subcontract your dirty work to some guy and his brother-in-law who rent a U-haul and then wash your hands of responsibility. However, Wells-Fargo are entitled to try to recover from the contractor.
No jury will ever see this case. Wells-Fargo will make good the damages and then some.
Can everyone take their tin hats off. This sounds like a rural gps mistake. Ten to one Garmin or tom tom sends you to this guys house when you put in the address. Its a clusterorgy to be sure, but probably not the result of Wells Fargo management wanting this guys antique wheel collection....
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