Consumer complaint received 2021-05-03
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: MN
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Opening an account
Sub-issue: Confusing or missing disclosures

Complaint:
I attempted to open a joint checking account online at WellsFargo.com ; however, it stated that the joint applicant and I needed to step into a branch to do so and provide two forms of identification. I then called the general phone bank number to Wells Fargo, where a customer service representative directed me to call or step into my local branch. 

I then called the branch closest to me, which was the Wells Fargo branch at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, MN, XXXX, Phone : XXXX. XXXX XXXX answered the phone in a very gruff, unprofessional, and what I perceived to be a very annoyed and angry tone. 

When I explained to him that I attempted to open an account online but it was asking me to step into a branch, I then also told him I had a prior checking account with Wells Fargo, so I was not sure why the online application system would require me to step into a branch, and that none of our identification information had changed. After explaining myself, XXXX remained rude and unprofessional and asked me what I needed help with ; this was very concerning to me, because I had already clearly and succinctly explained the issue I was having. By asking me again what I needed, this indicated to me that XXXX was not at all listening to me or the concerns I expressed. 

XXXX then remained with an annoyed and angry tone of voice and told me something to the effect of " Then I guess you need to step into a branch. '' At that point, I then told XXXX that he was being rude, unprofessional and acting unethically. 

XXXX then asked me if I wanted to file a complaint against him for his conduct, to which I replied " no '' and that I would file the complaint myself. To the best of my recollection, he again asked me if he could file a complaint on my behalf, and again, I declined. I then terminated the call because it was no longer productive nor necessary to have continued it. 

I then received the attached e-mail stating that a complaint had been filed on my behalf. Shocked, I called the number referenced in the attached e-mail, and I was told that XXXX had filed a complaint about his conduct, on my behalf, despite me telling him twice that I did not wish for him to do so. 

My husband, who was listed as a joint applicant on the checking account application, was listening to the call I had with XXXX, as my phone was on speak. My phone was on speaker because my husband was also required to step into a branch to provide two forms of identification in order to proceed with potentially opening the checking account we applied for online. My husband 's name is XXXX XXXX XXXX, and his phone number is XXXX, and his e-mail is XXXX. He was aware of and a participant to the call with XXXX at the branch in XXXX, and he was a direct witness to XXXX 's conduct over the phone. 

I am concerned about XXXX 's potential privacy law violations, Wells Fargo data policy and ethical violations in how XXXX obtained my identity and checking account application and/or Wells Fargo customer profile without ever once verifying that he was actually speaking to me or my husband. At no point during the call with XXXX did I provide any identifying information. I did not provide any Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers or application number. In short, he had only the phone number on his business phone caller ID when we spoke, and that's all he used to access mine and my husband 's data. To this extent, how was he able to access my Wells Fargo customer profile and/or the checking account application in question, without identifying who me or my husband were? How was able to access my private and confidential data if he was not given it? My only guess is that XXXX had caller ID on his branch phone and used that to look up my information ; however, this would not be any reason or enough information to verify that he was speaking to the correct person -- and potentially incorrectly accessing my confidential and private data -- by never once establishing who I was. I am concerned that XXXX accessed our private and confidential information without properly verifying me and my husband, and XXXX then filed a complaint I asked him not to do. What if he had filed a complaint on behalf of the wrong customer, acting and accessing customer data in the manner he did to access my private and confidential information? I am concerned that he improperly accessed my private and confidential data by only using the caller ID on his branch telephone and only this phone number, which could have been anyone pretending to be me or my husband, as I never once provided him any personally identifying information on either me or my husband. 

XXXX 's service complaint was handled from the consumer side of the bank in the Wells Fargo XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, by XXXX XXXX at phone number ( XXXX ) XXXX. I spoke to XXXX at approximately XXXX XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/2021. When speaking to XXXX, I learned that XXXX entered my XXXX identifier into his complaint that he filed on my behalf. According to XXXX, this would mean that XXXX accessed my Wells Fargo customer profile, within internal Wells Fargo systems. That said, both my husband and I firmly believe that XXXX improperly accessed our confidential information and our customer profiles with Wells Fargo. At no point did XXXX verify mine or my husband 's identity ; he only had available to him the phone number that appeared on his caller ID at the branch. I have attached an e-mail from XXXX XXXX that states that XXXX 's complaint on my behalf was investigated from the consumer side by her and her department. 

I am filing this complaint against XXXX for improperly accessing mine and my husband 's confidential information, and then sending it over in a complaint, without him ever verifying us or verifying he was speaking to the correct customer. Furthermore, since XXXX did not assist us with our checking account application, we are concerned that he would have had no business need to access our data since he was not servicing the issue we called about. We believe our confidential and personal data was compromised by XXXX. 

This same issue involving mine and my husband 's data was further compromised when I filed an internal complaint, as an employee of Wells Fargo, by sending an email to the Wells Fargo XXXX ( Unfair, Deceptive, Abusive Acts and Practices ) shared email box, which is accessible to employees who have UDAAP concerns. The UDAAP concern was that accessing our personal and confidential data using only the phone number on his caller ID -- and absolutely nothing more than that -- and then using that data for a purpose that served no valid business need, since XXXX refused to assist us with the opening of our checking account. 

XXXX admitted, via email, to Wells Fargo Case XXXX, XXXX XXXX, that he did NOT verify or authenticate me or my husband on our phone call with him. He put this fact in writing as part of the consumer complaint investigation. 

An internal Wells Fargo XXXX employee, XXXX XXXX XXXX, shared mine and my husband 's internal and external private and confidential consumer complaint with my direct Wells Fargo XXXX, XXXX XXXX, who would have no business need to know. I expressed concern over this and filed an internal Wells Fargo complaint ; however, I was given no reply to my emails and no actual resolution to this second improperly sharing and accessing of mine and my husband 's data. 

Wells Fargo has demonstrated in XXXXne event, in two separate incidents involving this one event, that data privacy and data integrity are of no concern to Wells Fargo, who has a history of data breaches.

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