Consumer complaint received 2022-04-08
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: NJ
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Traveler's check or cashier's check
Issue: Confusing or missing disclosures

Complaint:
XXXX years ago, I gave the Wells Fargo Bank a sum of money from my account and obtained a cashier 's check in that amount, payable to me. The purpose of having a cashier 's check payable to me was to make a down payment on a new vehicle. For reasons not relevant to this complaint, the promised vehicle was not ready for me to acquire until yesterday ; and the required down payment turned out to be a few XXXX dollars more than the amount of the previously-obtained cashier 's check. Today I went to the same branch where I had obtained the check ( XXXX XXXX, New Jersey ), and asked the banker to issue a new check for a larger amount using funds from the previous check, plus additional cash. However, Wells Fargo Bank refused to honor its Cashier 's Check made out to me, the payee, on the ground that the check has expired and is no longer valid. 
I asked " When did the check expire? '' The banker replied " It expired in XXXX of XXXX. '' I asked " Where can I read the expiration date of the check? '' The banker replied " I don't know. '' I stated " The check has no expiration date printed on it. The banker in this branch who issued the check to me assured me at the time of issue that the check would be negotiable during at least XXXX years. I am here within that time period. '' I showed the banker the printed Receipt for the cash that I gave to the bank four years ago, on which the bank issued the cashier 's check. The receipt bears the instructions from the banker who issued the check : " Please use the check within 5 years. '' After showing the receipt, I told the banker " This is my money- not the bank 's money - and I require the funds today in order to pay for my new vehicle so that I can take delivery of the vehicle. Without the funds, I will not have any vehicle at all. '' The banker conferred with someone on the telephone and then stated " Your money has been escheated to the State. You should have received a Notice from the State. '' I replied " I received no Notice from any State and no Notice from Wells Fargo Bank either. To which State did Wells Fargo Bank send my money? '' The banker replied " To the State of New Jersey. '' I asked " On what basis did this bank send my money to the State of New Jersey, considering that my accounts were opened in Florida and remain subject to Florida Rules? '' The banker replied " I do not know. '' I said " If the bank did in fact send my money to the State of New Jersey, that office would have sent me a written Notice. Because the State of New Jersey sent me no Notice of escheated funds, I conclude that the bank may have intended to send away the funds, but has not yet actually done so. I want you to find my money and give me the status of the Cashier 's check that I presented today, and restore my money to me. '' The banker said " Tomorrow I will make an inquiry about the check, and then someone will call you to give you the information. '' I asked " When will someone call me? '' The banker replied " I don't know. Perhaps in a few days. '' I found the response vague and unsatisfactory, so I said " That will be OK, but I need you to fill out a standard Customer Commitment Form and write down what you are going to do to assist me, and by what date it will be done. It is your bank 's policy to use that Form whenever a serious issue arises ; and depriving me of a large sum of money that belongs to me is a serious issue. '' The banker refused to fill out the standard Customer Commitment Form. 
I left the bank and called the Wells Fargo Bank XXXX XXXX Customer Service XXXX XXXX. XXXX answered. She located information about my Cashier 's Check No. XXXX. XXXX expressed surprise upon reading a notation that the funds were " escheated to the State of New Jersey. '' At the outset, XXXX exclaimed " A cashier 's check never expires! '' XXXX told me " A cashier 's check issued in New Jersey is good for at least five years, and only four years have passed since the check was issued. '' I explained my basis for believing that my funds are still in the possession of Wells Fargo Bank, and not yet sent to any State government. XXXX agreed " Your funds are probably still within Wells Fargo Bank. I can open an investigation for you, but it is better for you to go back to the branch office in person and open the investigation there. '' I told her that the banker at that branch had refused to open a formal investigation, or even to complete the standard Customer Commitment Form. XXXX conferred with her supervisor, and then reiterated her position that I should go back to the branch on XX/XX/XXXX and ask that branch to open an investigation. XXXX added that I should ask the branch manager to telephone to XXXX 's office for assistance in setting up the investigation. 
From my vantage point, the present status of my funds is LOST, MISPLACED OR STOLEN BY WELLS FARGO BANK. The bureaucratic run-around to which the bank is subjecting me guarantees that I will be deprived of my funds for the foreseeable future, in direct contravention of the purpose of issuing a Cashier 's Check - namely so that the funds are immediately available to the payee with no delays for " clearing '' or " reconciliation '', etc.

Here the bank has made several serious errors : 1. At the time of issue, the check had no expiration date printed on it.

2. The bank provided no written policy about expiration of a Cashier 's check.

3. The banker who issued the cashier 's check gave me misleading information about the period of validity of the cashier 's check.

4. If the bank has in fact escheated my funds to a state government, then the bank failed to first notify me of its intent to escheat my funds.

5. If the bank has in fact escheated my funds to a state government, then the bank failed to notify me of its disposition of my funds. 
6. The bank refused to follow its own written policy regarding the use of the standard Customer Commitment Form; refused to open a formal investigation of the status of my funds ; and instead addressed the issue of lost funds in an improperly casual and reckless manner.

7. The bank is ideally positioned to immediately advance funds to me ( perhaps in the form of a short-term loan ) pending resolution of my issue, so that I can consummate my vehicle purchase transaction ; yet the bank did not offer this resolution as a means of mitigating the damage caused by refusing to honor its own cashier 's check.

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 explanation