<prompt> Human: Hi PF, long-time reader, first-time poster. I love the feedback here and would really appreciate some advice, even if its just thems the breaks, they got you.TLDR: mortgage officer said we would get a 4 interest rate verbally after we got pre-approved, later recanted and committed to 4.125 over email and now, 3 weeks before the closing date, is saying the best we can do is 4.25. Details: Before putting down an offer, we went shopping around for mortgage rates. We landed at a large, national bank. The mortgage loan officer said the standard rate was 4.125 but that he was sure he could get us 4. We got pre-approved, put an offer in for an apartment we liked, had our offer accepted and then began finalizing the mortgage.A few days later, the MLO called and said he was unable to get a 4 rate, but that he could get us a 4.125 rate and a small lender credit to partially make up for it. We were disappointed but overall OK with that and decided to keep going with that bank. Fast forwarding a bit, one day before the commitment letter was due, the MLO called us and told us that the banks underwriting group would not give us 4.125 and instead could only give us 4.25, this time with no lender credits. He said this was based on my credit history, as I only had 1 credit card that had been open for more than 2 years. This is true Ive had 1 CC for several years and another for a year and a half, but I wished he would have told me earlier. He had run my credit history early in the process, so I dont understand why it just came up then unless he was afraid that if he told me, I would go to another bank.I called the manager of the bank branch that we met the MLO at and asked if this was the best we could do, he said he would look into it and get back to me. The MLO then came back asking if he could use my wifes credit history to get the lower rate. We were fine with that; he checked her credit history and emailed me clearly saying that with my wife and I both on the application, we would get the 4.125 rate. I confirmed this with him a couple times over email over the next 2 weeks, he said things were going fine...until this past Friday, when he told us that the underwriters were refusing to consider my wifes credit card account because it was a joint account with me. OK, but again, wouldnt he have known that weeks ago, after he ran her credit? The closing date is in 3 weeks, and were back to the higher interest rate.Im planning to call the manager again and see if hes able to help us out again, but I dont have high hopes. Do I have any next steps here other than to take the higher rate?---Update: Thanks to everyone who commented! First a point of clarification: we did ask him to lock us in at 4.125, and he did not. His excuse after the fact was pretty amazing: he said he had clicked the lock rate button on his companys internal system, but his session was expired, so it didnt actually go through. Something makes me doubt that explanation...Anyway, the seller agreed to give us an extra 2 weeks to close, so we got a bit more breathing room leverage. I called another major bank who agreed to 4.125 and said they could close in 30 days. Woohoo! I also spoke to the branch manager at the original bank. I said I was going to go to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and that I had been promised a lower rate, with an email to prove it. Hours later, the original loan officer told me he got us back down to a 4 rate, with some points. I dont plan on taking the offer.So things are going in the right direction. It sucks that we have to move June 1st because a lot of other people will be moving then as well, but it happens. I also will ask for a refund on the appraisal fee from the first bank, because we will have to pay to have it done again by the other bank.  <response>: I wouldnt believe any rate until you lock it. Definitely shop around and once you are comfortable, lock the rate and sign the deal. 