Illinois Consumers Sue Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Co. was sued Thursday by Illinois consumers who claim the company violated a state law that limits the fees that can be charged on some types of loans.

Elaine T. Taylor and five other Illinois residents say they were charged excessive fees on home equity loans, according to the suit, filed in state court in Chicago.

The borrowers seek to represent all customers that may have been charged illegally high fees by the San Francisco-based bank.

In March, the Illinois Appellate Court upheld a state law that barred fees above 3% of the principal on loans with interest rates above 8%.

“Wells has gotten away with unfair, abusive and illegal lending in our communities for years,” said Maude Hurd, president of the community organization ACORN.

Wells Fargo said that its Illinois lending unit relied on the state attorney general’s interpretation that a federal law covered the type of mortgages in the case.