Consumer complaint received 2023-04-19
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: FL
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problem

Complaint:
I was vacationing in XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and my phone and credit card was stolen out of my pocket while walking down the street. I closed the credit card and reported my cell phone as stolen with XXXX, XXXX, and the XXXX Police XXXX On XX/XX/XXXX I received a text message from an unknown number telling me that my phone was found and I had to log into XXXX to view its location. After inputting my phone password I realized I had been victim of a phishing scam to access my cell phone. About 30 minutes later I check my email and got a notification from Wells Fargo that I had used XXXX to send {$1000.00} to " XXXX XXXX. '' I was able to track my call phone and it was in XXXX when the transaction occurred. Within 2 minutes I call Wells Fargo and report the fraud in an attempt to cancel the transaction before it completes but I was told that there was nothing they could do and after it was sent, the money was gone. They interview me and tell me they will open a case. A month goes by and I don't hear anything from Wells Fargo so I call them to get an update on the case and they tell me that my claim was denied. They said that after " conducting an investigation '' they found that it was not fraud and the transaction had been authorized. I asked how they were capable of conducting an investigation without giving me the opportunity to provide any evidence. They then sent me to a de-escalation team. I asked to appeal the case and they person I spoke to told me that there was nothing they could do and they could not reopen the case. So I hung up the phone and called again in an attempt to talk to someone new, and the new person told me that they would reopen the case and they would send a letter to me home with information on how to submit documents to aid the appeal. The letter never came. So I call again about XXXX weeks later and again I was told they could not reopen the case and there was nothing they could do. So i hang up again in an attempt to get someone new and the new agent offers me an opportunity to reopen the case and gives me the fax number to submit documents to aid my claim. So I submit the location that my phone was at when the transaction occurred ( XXXX, while I was in Florida ) and the police reports I filed when my phone was stolen. It is currently two weeks since I submitted these documents and Wells Fargo still has not communicated anything with me about the claim or why they continue to deny it. 

- After previously filing multiple complaints against this transaction, the only response I have received is that it seems to have been an authorized transaction- without any evidence provided as to how that transaction could have possibly been authorized. The only thing I could think of is my Face ID was used to sign into the account, which it was not as I was on the other side of the world, without access to the device when the transaction occurred. Ive been told to contact local authorities which is pointless as the robbery happened overseas ( in XXXX ) and the fraud in XXXX, where local authorities have no jurisdiction. I have spoken with my lawyer and have been advised that I have enough evidence to proof fraud so I am prepared to take this matter to court if this continues to be dismissed.

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