Huffington Post

A Philadelphia homeowner started foreclosure proceedings on a Wells Fargo mortgage office after winning a rather strange legal judgement against the bank.

After Patrick Rodgers got no reply to three letters asking why he was being forced to pay a home insurance premium for a $1 million house when he bought his 3-story Victorian home for $180,000, he decided to force his mortgage company to pay attention, ABC News reported.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Rodgers discovered the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, which requires mortgage companies to acknowledge written requests within 20 business days or face penalties. He took Wells Fargo to court, winning a default judgement because the bank didn't show up in court.

Passed in 1974 to protect borrowers, RESPA stipulates a standard complain letter that can be sent to lenders. (For more information on RESPA, check out the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's website here.)

Rodgers won a $1,173 judgment against the bank, and when they still failed to reply to his letters, he started foreclosure proceedings.

The contents of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage's offices at 1341 North Delaware Avenue are reportedly still scheduled for a March 4 sherif's sale.

The homeowner placed a sheriffs levy against Well's Fargo's local mortgage office, to cover the $1,173 judgment, plus tax. The bank paid up in January, but still had not responded to his letters, so he started a foreclosure sale on the Wells Fargo office.

Read the full piece at the Philadelphia Inquirer here. And check out ABC's report here.

Most Popular at Huff

Police Dispatched As Democratic Lawmakers Flee Wisconsin

CBS: Lara Logan Suffered 'Brutal' Sexual Assault In Egypt

Facing Foreclosure Without Missing A Payment: One Couple's Housing Nightmare

Get HuffPost Business On Twitter and Facebook! Subscribe to the HuffPost Money newsletter!