Another megabank, another man-bites-dog story of a wronged homeowner using a foreclosure to claim what he was rightfully owed. The ordeal of Philadelphia homeowner Patrick Rodgers, who had a mortgage with Wells Fargo, began in 2009 when he claimed he was improperly charged insurance-related fees.
When the bank didn’t respond to his complaints, Rodgers took the matter to court and won a default judgement based on Wells Fargo’s failure to respond to his correspondence. When the bank didn’t pay, Rodgers began foreclosure proceedings against the local branch. The bank eventually paid the original judgement amount of $1,078, but by this time Rodgers had paid additional filing fees to initiate the foreclosure. Not until local and national news outlets caught wind of the story, thanks to fliers Rodgers had posted all over town announcing the bank foreclosure auction, did the bank contact him to make good on the rest of Rodgers’ costs. A bank spokeswoman told the local affiliate of ABC News via email that Wells Fargo “could have handled Mr. Rodgers’ very unusual situation better.” A Wells Fargo spokeswoman declined to provide any additional comment to TIME Moneyland.