Worst Customer Service - Never Try To Apply For A Loan

I have banked with Wells Fargo for around 5-6 years now.  I am looking to switch ALL banking services to another bank after the way my husband and I and my parents have been treated when looking into their loans for refinance and home equity.  I understand the laws are very strict now thanks to a slew of irresponsible banking practices and even less responsible and informed customers taking advange of these and causing our current financial disasters.  However, I at least expect to get treated with respect and receive periodic updates on these processes along with accurate information UP FRONT on qualifications required.  When my husband and I inquired about a refinancing opportunity that WELLS FARGO CAME TO US ABOUT, I specifically asked up front what the required credit rating was, how they calculated that rating (so I could calculate for myself up front before letting them pull credit) and any additional requirements (such as debt to income ratio which is a common standard).  They provided me some basics on the credit rating and neglected to cover debt to income ratio at all and then declined us (AFTER SENDING NOTIFICATION WE WERE APPROVED WITH DOCUMENTS TO SIGN AND A REQUEST TO RETURN IN THE PROVIDED ENVELOPE) based on debt to income ratio.  They also could not clearly explain to me HOW they calculated their debt to income ratio - I only know that what I came up with was different than what they did, so no clue on that one.  I was using the standard I could find online - maybe I'm off, but I did actually ask that question up front and told them I did not want to apply if I couldn't clarify I met the basic requirements up front and they neglected to properly inform me on these.  Just to clarify again, I understand why we didn't get the refinance - I'm ok with that.  I'm terribly upset at how things were handled from a customer service perspective - we were misinformed of the requirements we requested up front and then NEVER contacted or properly notified on status or issue.  We received the decline notice several WEEKS after receiving an APPROVED notice!!

During all of this, my parents had already started an application (unfortunately) with this bank for a home equity loan.  They started this process in JANUARY and it is now nearing mid-March and we still have NO CLUE where we stand on them getting the loan.  The process has been extremely confusing and upsetting to my parents and we have requested multiple times to receive the "elusive" 3rd party verfication affidavit which would allow me to handle things on their behalf.  A MONTH later we finally got the form and then discovered that ALL prior documents received on the same day had be processed with the exception of this one.  So they continue to call my parents, my parents do not understand what more they are asking for, they call me, together we call the bank back so that I can hear first hand the request (after much hesitation on their part despite the fact my mom is on speaker phone right next to me) and then I finally am able to help get what is requested and send it in.  And you would think it is the most impossible request in the world to get a check list of what documentation is needed.... the list doesn't exist.  Instead, we send in information that gets processed incorrectly - we are on our third attempt to get the information right - only to call back ourselves multiple times leaving messages over the course of 1-2 weeks and finally get some random person who updates us that 1-2 weeks ago it was documented further information was needed.  If we never called, we would never know things were on hold pending more documentation we didn't have a clue they even needed!!  A little more competence and customer service would be nice.  Be warned, you will not get either if you use this bank for a loan - I highly recommend against it!

Unfortunately, we have so much time invested now it would probably send my parents (and a very pregnant me) into the hospital to consider starting over again.  Again, I understand strict government rules and regulations due to the financial crisis, but I also expect a certain level of customer service to go along with that and this bank just doesn't have it.  If you at least TELL me what the requirements are, we might have a prayer of meeting them - but unfortunately no one has the capacity to return phone calls there.  Only after you hound them and ask to speak to a manager do you get one more step ahead - which isn't saying much because there will just be another unknown road block in front of you.  By the way, my parents happen to have STELLAR credit - scores in the 800s, next to no debt and they are looking for a loan on a house that is PAID IN FULL!!  You would think people would be beating down their door to give them a small loan (we are only asking for a loan of ~22% of the value of the paid in full home to complete some landscaping and updates to the house!).

Just sad - I miss the days of real customer service - they don't exist anywhere anymore it seems.