Wells Fargo Settlement

Okay, first, this is for a HELOC loan (Home Equity Line of Credit).

I know that it's a secured loan, and that makes it a little different from an unsecured loan. However in this case, the fair market value of the home is well below that of the first mortgage, so the HELOC loan is up a creek in a foreclosure sale. And the home is already in the foreclosure process, but yet to have a sale date set (California is a non-judicial foreclosure state so they can do this without taking me to court).

I've sent them a hardship letter (multiple letters really). And have also sent in a settlement offer. The "loss prevention" group called and left a message and I called them back and have been assigned a Settlement Negotiator.

Okay, now she is asking for a TON of information, almost like I'm going through a loan modification. She's requested: 30 days of pay stubs, 3 months of bank statements, 401k or investment statements, and a financial statement or budget.

I'm am extremely hesitant to send in any of this information. They are clear that information obtained can be used to "collect a debt". And I have no idea what their little black box will spit out when they input my information. It might say I should be making current payments, even though I can't.

So how are people getting around this? Are other creditors, even unsecured creditors, asking for this kind of information, just to hammer out a settlement?

I guess I'm just looking for a good argument to throw at them to explain why I'm not going to provide this information. And then hopefully they'll begin negotiating with me. The alternative for them is not great, as I've previously mentioned, a foreclosure and subsequent sale will not get them anything.