Jill Doppel, ABR

WELLS FARGO DUTCHESS COUNTY; CUSTOMER SERVICE BECOMING APPAULING!!

THUMBS DOWN!


All good things must come to an end, and that includes the good service of a mortgage company who cannot hold up to their end of the bargain.

Todays date: August 4, 2009. Date offer was accepted and entered into transaction with Wells Fargo: April 2009. Coming up on 4 months and still no closing date, Wells Fargo repeates it's favorite taglines: "We'll call you back.", "We'll try for tomorrow.", "We'll try for Friday", "Hopefully next week.", and my favorite line thus far, "Don't worry baby, we have everything we need."

After referring Stephen/Steve Betterton of Wells Fargo for over 5 years now, I watch my clients become stressed out, unable to eat or sleep, their lives turned upside down while they sit and wait for the seller of their dream home to tell them 'you're taking too long; the deal is off". Steve Betterton has been a phenominal asset to the real estate transaction for years, ranking amongst the top mortgage brokers in Dutchess County. And now as the clients sit and wait for "tomorrow" to happen, their chances of losing that dream becomes more and more real. It makes one wonder if Steve Betterton has any "pull" anymore in getting deals into a closing in a timely fashion. What's happening to Wells Fargo?!

Just last night I watched Wells Fargo's new television commercial, emphasizing the worry that homebuyers face when buying a home... not knowing what they can afford or who they should use for a bank. Wells Fargo conveniently left out one one part to that commercial... "We also know you worry about losing your home due to a bank that cannot meet a deadline, and we're one of them! But use us anyway!"

It is no secret, and becoming more and more evident through talking with fellow brokers about the unsatisfactory customer service of Wells Fargo. It appears we are not the only ones seeing this crisis. Buyers are waiting to get into a closing, while they continually hear the words, "Sorry, not yet..." Meanwhile, the rate lock they were once promised comes into question, as the higher interest rate creeps in to existence, and there's little the buyer can do about it. So by no fault of their own, they are forced to wait, wait a little longer, just a little longer, and potentially lose the dreamhome they tried so long to find. All because of a bank who can't get a handle on paperwork.

Think about calling a manager, and you'll be just as disappointed. Michael/ Mike Waters of Dutchess County Wells Fargo, sympathizes with the situation, and promises the buyer he will act quickly. Several days have gone by, while he continually repeates himself in saying "I'll see what's going on and call you right back." As I turn blue holding my breath, I put the call in again one hour later. The secretary who takes the call sharply blurts that Mike Waters is in a meeting, the Brokers' favorite line in the book. Ask to speak to someone in charge, and the first question they will ask you is, "Who is calling?"; Tell them your name, and mark my words, you will be told the professional is "in a meeting". Try to contact the processor, and you will get an auto email reply that states "Sorry, I am in a meeting."

While I have never been one to assasinate a company's performance, (unless a scammer or terrible dealings) I state facts that may help others in the future make an educated and informed decision on who they should really chose when buying a home.

Do you really want to retain the services of a company that fails to be aggressive for your benefit when you have so much to lose? Do you really want to use a company that continually advises you to "wait until tomorrow", or "wait until Friday", several weeks in a row? I don't know about you, but I can tell you one thing. My homebuyers hate to wait. When so much is at stake, and you are almost 4 months into a transaction, there is little or no way to maintain one's composure and continue to believe that this company is working for your best interests.
Stay tuned to see if the proof is in the pudding. Until then we recommend serious thought before making the decision of who your mortgage company will be. You may just be happy you found this article before using Wells Fargo of Dutchess County, New York.

If you still choose to use their company, you may contact them at 845-440-2300. A secretary with the attitude of a pitbull will be anxiously awaiting your call. We wish you better luck than we had.

SCAM ALERT FOR REALTORS: EPAGE LISTINGS, IPAGE LISTINGS, IPAGE REALTORS "LEAD PROVIDERS".

Well folks, obviously, EPAGE HOMES/EPAGE LISTINGS has gotten desperate enough to now DISGUISE their real name and call themselves: IPage LISTINGS. Upon calling their phone number, you'll hear an outgoing message (if it's after hours) saying: "This is EPAGE LISTINGS REALTORS." Funny, the scammers NEVER GIVE UP and are even willing to hide behind fake names, hoping the general public of realtors wont find the scams listed under EPAGE homes.

Bottom line folks: EPAGE, IPAGE, or whatever page they want to call themselves, are scammers. They sell old leads. Want some more info? Read my other blog on this site and search under keywork "EPAGE SCAM". You'll see just how many people were lied to and ripped off by these vultures.

Together, Realtors stand in unity, revealing the real truth about these bottom feeding companies. No, they don't have leads to sell you. They have a load of crap to sell you. Don't buy it.

TO MAKE MATTERS EVEN MORE INTERESTING, a gentleman called me back after I left them the message that I'm on to them and that they're scam artists. He claims he is new in the company and wanted to call me from a different number because he was unaware of the scams, but he'd been getting a lot of complaints lately that he was "handling". After calling me "dude" and me repremanding him, he sounded absolutely astounded and quietly asked me if I know someone by the name of (forgot name he mentioned). When I said no, he said he wants to do more research on this company and figure out what's going on. He also said he would call me later, AFTER HOURS from a different phone.

STEER CLEAR PEOPLE..... THEIR NEWEST WORKERS DON'T HAVE A CLUE who they're even working for.

I received yet another email from a company claiming to have a Buyer/Seller client in my area. Anyone who knows me knows I like to rat out the scammers to my colleagues. It is my intention to help everyone avoid getting ripped off. We're all in this together, and I feel for anyone who has not done enough research and has gotten scammed, and lost money.

Here is the feedback I've found on the internet about EPAGE LEADS: You may also visit the site yourself to read more.

http://e-page-listing.pissedconsumer.com/epagelisting-sends-invalid-leads-as-old-as-6-months-20080425119003.html

1. Written by Michelle, on 10-09-2008 10:12

Andy, YOU ARE FULL OF IT!!

I am a broker and did not recieve ONE good lead. All too old! Realtor's know how to work a lead when it's a good one

2. Written by jim, on 08-09-2008 20:53

I cancelled my E-Page agreement today. The so called leads were the worst I have ever encountered. I was told they were a bout a week old, but leads I contacted told me they bought 6 months ago, or they could not speak or understand English, or they were from over 100 miles away, or the phone or e-mail address was bogus, or the lead never remembered asking to be contacted by a Realtor, etc., etc., etc. STAY AWAY--FAR AWAY--FROM E-PAGE LISTING--In my opinion---it is a really seamy scam operation. A lot of lies. No substance whatsoever.

3. Written by idaliserrano, on 05-09-2008 16:21

Please understand I am not getting anything out of "trash" talking Epage. But, Natalie Giraldo of Epage is the worst customer service care representative I have ever come across. They charge you up front, and will NEVER refund if unsatisfied. They hold themselves to their contract, because they don't have a good reputation, or service to back them up! Don't be fooled, and invest your money in ANYTHING but Epage!!!

4. Written by Christy, on 05-09-2008 15:51

I am currently in a month to month contract with epage. Things started out VERY rocky and unreliable however; I do now get a good response from their customer service department. I am on my second month and still no contracts yet. I am giving it this month and then probably cancelling. Most of my leads have been OLD, or the clients bought and closed on their house already!

5. Written by Christy, on 05-09-2008 15:51

I am currently in a month to month contract with epage. Things started out VERY rocky and unreliable however; I do now get a good response from their customer service department. I am on my second month and still no contracts yet. I am giving it this month and then probably cancelling. Most of my leads have been OLD, or the clients bought and closed on their house already!

6. Written by Lisa, on 05-09-2008 09:30

Just got a fax today...decided to look up to see if they were a REALTOR...nope..so on to google search and found this. THANKS for saving me the headache!

7. Written by Nancy, on 03-09-2008 10:50

Just received an email from an Epage employee asking me if I can assist her clients looking to buy/sell in my area; is this legit or are they fishing for my business? Had to google them before answering.

8. Written by alex, on 29-08-2008 12:45

I was contacted by Andy, and he is a liar! They sell you on their monthly service fee, which is excessive, and they have no real value for what they are selling. Everything that was posted; old leads, no response, no customer service, is completely true. If you value hard work, honesty and ethics, do yourself a favor and stay away from Andy and Epagelistings!!!

9. Written by jim, on 29-08-2008 07:51

i have been getting "leads" for real estate from epage for 2 weeks now. They started off pretty disorganized. The leads were from over 100 away from me. None in the Zip Codes I requested. They said they would replace them. I have received more leads, but they have not been good quality yet. I will give them another week, then cancel. It sure sounded good at the start. There is no tutorial so it is difficult to refresh the potential customer's mind about why you are calling them with the information provided.

10. Written by Jay, on 04-08-2008 20:10

Epagelisting sends invalid leads 6 months old. Yes, i was ripped off here in Rhode Island. They operate out of California & everything the person above listed is TRUE. 100% Don't Waste your time or money!!!

Horrible experience!! Never do any business with this company they use referrals that are old and give the same ones to all agents in the same area.

I filed a complaint with the CA Attorney General I want to bring them down...

I am in the process of sending a complaint to the Better Business Bureau of Ventura County, CA.

Ms. Julie Sugar was my contact it took me forever to get to the Customer Service Dept. a guy name Mark and he didn't do much for me and was always unavailable. This company is bad news read all the reviews before you do business with them.

NEW INFORMATION: EPAGE HAS A "D" RATING WITH THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU. SUBMIT YOUR COMPLAINT HERE: http://www.la.bbb.org/BusinessReport.aspx?CompanyID=100066369