A proposed class action lawsuit has been filed against Wells Fargo by mortgage borrower Lance Baird, accusing the bank of making a “flippant” and inadequate effort to address alleged mortgage origination fee errors affecting thousands of consumers.
According to the complaint filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Wells Fargo has been sending “cryptic” letters since December 2022 informing mortgage borrowers that certain fees — known as return to float fees, assessed when a loan’s interest rate is unlocked — “may have been incorrectly assessed.” These letters included cashier’s checks intended to compensate borrowers.
However, Baird alleges that Wells Fargo’s response falls far short of an appropriate remedy. The letters failed to provide key details, such as when and how the fee errors occurred or a clear breakdown of how borrowers were financially impacted. This lack of transparency, Baird claims, leaves consumers unable to verify the actual damages they may have suffered.
“Wells Fargo’s flippant attempt to mitigate its liability is inadequate and has left consumers, including Plaintiff, facing ongoing harm and out-of-pocket loss that has yet to be reimbursed,” Baird stated.
Baird, who applied for a mortgage loan with Wells Fargo in 2010 without locking in a rate, received a December 2022 letter with a check for approximately $3,270. The amount was said to include over $2,500 in refunded fees, nearly $390 in interest, and compensation for the time funds were unavailable. Still, Baird claims the bank retained the full profits it earned from wrongfully charging these fees.
Baird is seeking to represent a class of potentially thousands of affected mortgage borrowers.
Wells Fargo declined to comment on the lawsuit. The case is Baird v. Wells Fargo Bank NA et al., case number 3:25-cv-05959.
Representing Baird are attorneys Brian S. Kabateck, Anastasia K. Mazzella, and Annie Martin-McDonough of Kabateck LLP, along with D. Joshua Staub and James C. D. Carr of the Law Office of D. Joshua Staub. Wells Fargo’s legal team includes Mark D. Lonergan, Rebecca S. Saelao, Erik W. Kemp, and Elizabeth C. Farrell of Severson & Werson.
