Consumer complaint received 2022-07-07
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: TX
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers
Sub-issue: Confusing or misleading advertising about the credit card

Complaint:
I have sought to have my physical mailing address removed from Wells Fargo Credit Card services. I am not a customer, nor do I every intend to be, and after receiving new credit card solicitations addressed to former owners of my current home, I went online to see if Wells Fargo has an opt-out option to stop the unsolicited mailings. While their Privacy Center web page allows current customers with an online username and password to make certain requests related to their data, they do not provide any other options to contact the Privacy Center other than their general XXXX number. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I called the general customer service line ( XXXX ) to seek removal of my address from their promotional materials. My first call led me to a customer service representative from what I believe was outside the country who was reading from a script and had a very thick accent. She offered to transfer me to another department, but upon placing me on hold the line was disconnected. 

I called back immediately and was placed in contact with a customer service representative stateside. She tried connecting me to the Privacy Department, but I was on hold for at least 20 minutes before she could get anyone on the line. She checked on me a couple times asking if I would like to continue holding until she could make contact with someone. When she was finally able to make the connection, I was transferred to the Privacy Department. There I explained the nature of my request and was placed on hold again. This time I was transferred to yet another person and was given the number to call back in case I was disconnected ( XXXX ). 

This time I spoke with a second privacy center representative who tried to assist, but ultimately told me the only way to respond to the situation was to write undeliverable and send it back to the United States Post Office. After telling her I have returned similar mailings using the presorted standard mail category ( i.e. junk mail ), but my local post office always returns it to me and tells me to recycle them. I asked her if it was Wells Fargos policy to respond to requests to remove addresses off their solicitation mailings by placing it back on the federal agency, she responded that is all the information she had for me. This call lasted 36 minutes. 

I checked Wells Fargo online policy regarding the Privacy Center ( dated XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX ) which directs those who want to limit the sharing and direct marketing by mail, specifically for those without a Wells Fargo account , to call the XXXX number. So I called that number only to be placed back into the automated call queue that I initially encountered-basically directed back to their general XXXX line, thus back to square one. 

My concern is the hoops you have to jump just to get off Wells Fargos unsolicited mailing list. Given Wells Fargos numerous class action lawsuits, including the XXXX XXXX unauthorized credit card and bank accounts opened without consent, I had legitimate concerns about my address being tied to this company. It is only a matter of time before they start tying my name as the home owner of the address.

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