Consumer complaint received 2018-06-06
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: TX
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account
Sub-issue: Transaction was not authorized

Complaint:
Fraud department with Wells Fargo Bank has taken {$2000.00} out of our checking account and will not return it. 
I went in to the bank to ask about a duplicate transaction on my XXXX made XX/XX/XXXX. The employee called the fraud department and submitted a request for this to be checked into. I gave them permission to put a hold on {$2000.00} in my checking account that would be linked to the " duplicate '' transaction, not the transaction I had made. They said my debit card had been compromised and proceeded to close out my checking account and my debit card. Within the next couple of weeks the duplicate transaction disappeared from my account. However, they continued to have the hold on my checking account for {$2000.00}. XXXX XXXX weekend my husband and I went to Florida for a break. We went to use our debit cards but were unable to do so. When I looked into the account the bank had put the hold on the {$2000.00} transfer I had made for my trip and not against the duplicate transaction. I was in Florida and unable to use my money. When my husband and I returned from Florida on XX/XX/XXXX we went directly to the bank. We had started to incur fees due to the hold Wells Fargo put on our account. We asked the Lady to cancel the request for the Fraud department to look in to the duplicate transaction, release the hold and refund fees charged us due to the banks error. The Customer Service Lady was very helpful and did as we asked her. Then on Thursday XX/XX/XXXX I checked my account for total of incoming direct deposit. I discovered {$2000.00} had been withdrawn from my checking account. Neither my husband or I had made this withdraw so my husband went to the bank. He was at the bank 2 hours and 45 minutes. The Fraud department was telling him he could not inquire into the transaction because he did not initiate the Fraud report of the duplicate transaction, which was supposed to be cancelled, so he messaged me at work. I called the bank and talked to a very rude and obnoxious person in the Fraud department. I will tell you at this point I was not a nice person! The Fraud guy told me my husband & I needed to go into the bank and talk to a banker in person so we could verify who we were. I proceeded to tell him my husband was there and had been there 2 hours and 45 minutes and the bank would not help him. This Fraud person supposedly put a note in the records saying my husband was authorized to take care of this issue. However, his only resolution was for the bank Customer Service dept. to help us. Remember, the bank customer service department can not help us because the Fraud dept. has to help us. The date at this point is XX/XX/XXXX so my husband leaves the bank and goes to his place of work and files a claim with FDIC. Later in the afternoon of XX/XX/XXXX the  Manager of Wells Fargo calls my husband and tells him the Fraud department at Wells Fargo are the ones who made the {$2000.00} withdraw from my checking account and have it " pending '' This was an UNAUTHORIZED withdraw from our checking account. We also want to know what was " pending '' since the other claim had been cancelled and why withdraw funds from our account? We did not do the " duplicate '' entry that had shown on my account and was now gone. The Manager of Wells Fargo made an entry into our checking account to return the {$2000.00} However, on Tuesday XX/XX/XXXX when I checked my account the {$2000.00} has now been taken back out of my account and Wells Fargo is refusing to give us back the money their Fraud department has stolen from our checking account. We need help in getting our money returned so we can close our accounts at this bank. We would also like the public alerted as to the type of shady dealings that go on within this bank. Thank you for your help in getting this resolved. 

XXXX XXXX

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