Wells Fargo has agreed to a $56.85 million settlement to resolve a California class action alleging it misreported pandemic-forbearance mortgages to credit bureaus. If you owned California property with a Wells Fargo mortgage that entered CARES Act forbearance on or after March 27, 2020, while current, and the bank then reported it as “in forbearance” instead of “current,” you are likely a class member. No claim form is required. A San Diego County Superior Court judge is scheduled to hold the final approval hearing on April 17, 2026, after which automatic payments would go out to eligible borrowers.1Desert Sun. Wells Fargo California Settlement COVID Forbearance
Who Qualifies
The settlement class is limited to California property owners who meet every one of these conditions:
- You owned property in California with a mortgage serviced by Wells Fargo.
- You received a CARES Act mortgage forbearance on or after March 27, 2020.
- Your mortgage account was current (not delinquent) when the forbearance was granted.
- Wells Fargo reported the account to a consumer reporting agency as “in forbearance” or a similar designation rather than as “current.”2Newsweek. Wells Fargo Settlement Lawsuit CARES Act Payout
All four criteria have to be met. A borrower outside California, a borrower who was already behind on payments when forbearance started, or a borrower whose account was reported as current does not fall within the class.
How Payments Work
Eligible class members do not need to file a claim. If the court grants final approval, checks will be mailed automatically to the last known address on file. Each qualifying borrower receives an equal, pro-rated share of the net settlement fund, meaning the $56.85 million after attorneys’ fees, administration costs, and a service award for the lead plaintiff.3ClassAction.org. $56.85M Wells Fargo Settlement Ends CARES Lawsuit The individual payment amount is not fixed in advance; it depends on the final class size and deducted costs.
If your address has changed since your Wells Fargo mortgage was active, update it with the settlement administrator so your check reaches you.
Key Dates
- March 25, 2026 — deadline for any class member to file a written objection or a Notice of Intention to Appear at the hearing.
- April 17, 2026 — final approval hearing before the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego, in Case No. 37-2020-00020808-CU-BT-CTL.4Yahoo Finance. Wells Fargo to Pay $56.85M
Payments follow only if the court grants final approval. Wells Fargo has agreed to the $56.85 million amount without admitting wrongdoing.5ClassAction.org. Stoff v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. – Notice
What the Case Is About
Section 4021 of the CARES Act amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require that if a borrower’s account was current when pandemic-related forbearance began, the lender had to keep reporting the account as “current” for the duration of the accommodation.6Federal Reserve. CARES Act Examination Procedures The point was to keep borrowers who paused payments because of COVID-19 from taking a credit hit for it.
The plaintiffs in Stoff v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. allege the bank flagged those accounts with a forbearance notation anyway. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has said that using a “special comment code” to indicate forbearance status, instead of reporting the account as current, does not satisfy the law.7ConsumerProtection.net. Forbearance and Credit Reporting Borrowers say the resulting credit damage made it harder to borrow and, in some cases, blocked them from refinancing at the low interest rates available during the pandemic.8Dodd Frank Update. Wells Fargo Agrees to $94M Settlement Over Forced Forbearance
If You Already Received a Check from the Nationwide Settlement
A separate $185 million nationwide class action, In re Wells Fargo COVID Forbearance Settlement Litigation, was resolved in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. That case dealt with a different claim: that Wells Fargo placed borrowers into forbearance without their informed consent. Judge Michael H. Watson granted final approval on December 19, 2024, the settlement became effective on February 15, 2025, and automatic payments of about $252 per mortgage account began in March 2025, with co-borrowers receiving an additional $83.33.9Wells Fargo COVID Forbearance Litigation. Motion for Final Approval
Receiving a payment from that nationwide settlement does not disqualify you from the California case. Borrowers who fit both were designated the “Stoff Subclass,” and the nationwide release explicitly carved out the Stoff claim under California’s Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act. Wells Fargo and the Stoff plaintiffs disagree about whether the earlier payment should offset any California recovery, and that question is not yet resolved.10Wells Fargo COVID Forbearance Litigation. FAQ
Where to Get More Information
Additional settlement details, including the full notice and instructions for objecting, are available at CaresActLitigation.com. Class counsel are Andrew J. Brown of the Law Offices of Andrew J. Brown in San Diego and Russell S. Thompson IV of Thompson Consumer Law Group in Scottsdale, Arizona.5ClassAction.org. Stoff v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. – Notice