Consumer complaint received 2022-05-04
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: NC
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Closing an account
Sub-issue: Company closed your account

Complaint:
Between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, I had started the process of looking into small personal loans online. I had filled out an application with XXXX XXXX. After filling out this application ( and being denied due to lack of account activity ), I began recieving an unprecedented amount of emails from other " lenders '' telling me I qualified for a loan and this and that. I also was getting text messages from " lenders ''. It was out of control. I am talking XXXX 's of emails and dozens of texts. I ended up applying for one more loan. The emails and texts stopped for a little while until I eventually got a text from " XXXX XXXX XXXX '' saying they approved my loan, please call xxx-xxx-xxxx ''. So I did. I talked with someone who said they would approve my loan if I opened an account with their bank. I was told to go to www.advanceusaloan.com to fill out some info. So I did. I was told that I would receive a partial loan directly into my account shortly, I received a few deposits totaling around {$700.00}. I needed the money to pay some bills because my account was very low. I was told that I would then receive the rest of the loan when i opened the account with their bank and they were going to open it for me with the information I had entered on the website they directed me to use. I waited for my account to be opened but never got confirmation. 

The next day, XX/XX/2022 I received an email from Wells Fargo stating that they will be closing my bank account due to a review of suspected counterfeit checks being deposited into my account. They did not call me to make me aware of anything at all, WF just decided they would close my account without any correspondence with the actual account holder or even telling me that these were suspicious checks. They never told me I may be a suspect of fraud OR A VICTIM OF FRAUD.

I DID NOT DEPOSIT THOSE CHECKS. This seems to be an ongoing and regular occurance lately with WF. They spent nearly 2 months telling me that a dispute I had with a transaction was not an error so I can not dispute it, even though I had proof from day 1. Matter of fact, the merchant had sent me an email, a text and a voice message stating it was an error. Only after XXXX disputes through CFPB did Wells Fargo FINALLY admit to THEIR mistake and credit me the money. Only after essentially ignoring me and calling me a liar by the actions they had taken. 

Now they have closed my only bank account that I have had with them for nearly a decade. I am also XXXX on social security so my direct deposit goes into that account. Now I must scramble to find a new bank and hope I can get all of the details sorted out in time to avoid my bills not getting paid and not receiving my socail security. Which isn't easy since I ca n't drivXXXX, I'm partially XXXX and hardly get out of the house so I have to do all of this online. Since the account is locked, I can't change my XXXX account or withdrawl any money. This is something that I will definitely be pursuing with legal council, this violates the ADA substantially. 

This bank has zero accountability and takes zero action to provide their own clients with very important information. 

Luckily I have a phone call recorder on my phone that automatically records incoming calls, so I have all of the calls with the " bank '' who is responsible for lying to me about a loan. I also have the text messages of course. This is NOT my fault and notifying me of a possible MAJOR issue, since I had logged my banking info with wells fargo into the online form I filled out, putting in my password and user name and thought nothing of it since a lot of places make you sign into your account to verify your info while looking for a loan. IT WOULD BE NICE TO KNOW I HAVE TO CHANGE MY PASSWORD FOR ALL OF MY ACCOUNTS instead of just closing my account without talking to me. I am more than mad about this. I thought the previous issues I had with WF were troubling. This takes the cake.

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