Consumer complaint received 2023-06-23
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: PR
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Problem with balance transfer

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2023 I submitted a credit card application with Wells Fargo. The application was submitted after considering a mail offer from them for balance transfer. They called me that same date corroborated the information that was submitted in the application and told me that I was going to receive a response from them a few days later. 
Weeks later I learned from a credit monitoring company that my application for credit had been approved. Since I never received the actual card, I called Wells Fargo again. At that time, they said that the card had been sent to my address of record. When I asked to review my address, they realized that there was a mistake in my address. At that point they corrected the address and sent a new card to my correct address. Days later I received through my mail the actual card. 
Immediately after receiving my card, I tried to do a balance transfer from my Wells Fargo account to pay a higher interest credit card that I have with XXXX Bank XXXX XXXX. It is important to note that the whole purpose of the credit application was to benefit from the offer made by Wells Fargo and pay a higher interest credit card with the Wells Fargo credit card. However, I was never able to complete the transfer as expected. 
I called Wells Fargos customer service, and all representatives told me that there was nothing they could do. At that point, I suggested the use of credit card checks or convenience checks and they told me that since the checks went missing with the first credit card that they sent me before correcting my address, they could not issue new checks for my account. 
Wells Fargo only provided me with two alternatives. The first option they offered me was to close my account, which would result in affecting my credit. The second option was to open a checking account with them, for which I was going to be charged for. 
It is the first time that I have confronted a situation like this one. It is the first time that I heard that a financial institution can not transfer or pay another financial institution to cancel an account as a result of a loan or credit given to a customer. The offer for a credit card with the option of balance transfer was made by Wells Fargo to the undersigned. I accepted the same under their terms expecting that I going to be able to do a transfer and cancel a higher interest credit card account. However, after the account is opened and has been reported to my credit history by Wells Fargo, Wells Fargo as the financial institution would not make good on their offer. More than a month has passed without a final response from Wells Fargo. Now I can not benefit from the offer and the time that I was awarded to pay a transferred balance with no interest. Moreover, I can not cancel my credit card with Wells Fargo since it has been already reported to my credit and it will affect my credit score if I do. 
These actions by Wells Fargo are affecting my credit and consequently my finances. At this point, Im considering other legal actions against Wells Fargo if this situation is not resolved. As time elapsed, Im placed on a more difficult position since I have less time to benefit from the original offer made by the financial institution to transfer my balances and/or to make payments without interest. 
Thank you.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief