Consumer complaint received 2018-12-11
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
After not being able to locate my Wells Fargo Credit card and noticing charges on my electronic credit card statement that I did not initiate, I reported a stolen credit card to Wells Fargo on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX according to their records. I detailed the charges that I was disputing and was told by the Wells Fargo Service agent that adjustments would be made to my account but not finalized until their " fraud claims '' department had the opportunity to investigate. I received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, that stated " our research shows that you made a transaction after you reported that your card was lost or stolen and used without your authorization. Because of this we can not accept your claim. '' The letter also stated that " If you have any questions or you would like to request copies of supporting documentation used in our research, please call us at XXXX, Monday-Friday, XXXX XXXX   to XXXX Central Time. '' It was signed by XXXX XXXX XXXX, Senior Vice President Claims Assistance Center Credit Card Fraud Claims. 

My complaint with Wells Fargo contains three major components : 1 )  The disputed charges are not mine. XXXX  ( XXXX ) - {$620.00} XXXX  ( XXXX ) - {$620.00} XXXX XXXX ( XXXX XXXX ) - {$36.00} 2 ) On XX/XX/XXXX I contacted the Claims Assistance Center twice at the above listed phone number. The first time was at XXXX PST.  The second time was at XXXXPST. I requested time stamps associated with the actual times the disputed charges occurred. On the first phone call a supervisor was not available to access that information because the supervisors do not work the same hours as listed on the letter mentioned above. On the second call I spoke with a representative ( XXXX ) who gave me a set of time stamps ( with the assistance from a supervisor ) that seemed very inaccurate. The times that she provided were times when the merchants where these disputed charges took place are not even open for business. I requested a to speak with supervisor and was told that the supervisor was not available and that I would be contacted by one in the next 24-48 hours. I received a call from a supervisor ( XXXX ) at XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. I asked him to confirm the time stamps that I had received from XXXX earlier that morning. He provided me with time stamps that were completely different from the ones XXXX claimed. Again, some of which were when the merchants were not even open for business. Even more concerning were the times that the Wells Fargo Claims Assistance Center claimed the disputed charges were initiated, were times that I was either at my work or at my kid 's school for parent teacher conferences. Both which are verifiable by the Operation 's Chief of my Fire Department or the Principal of my children 's school respectively. 

Chief XXXX XXXX - ( XXXX ) XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Department City of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX- XXXX XXXX   XXXX XXXX , CA XXXX Principal XXXX XXXX - ( XXXX ) XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX , CA XXXX When I asked for documentation of the time stamps they provided, they denied my request. XXXX said that they were " proprietary documents '' and were not available in written to the customer. Since their reasoning for denying my claim relies completely on the sequence of purchases, I need accurate and detailed information in order to respond to the denial letter. I was not able to obtain either. PLEASE LISTEN TO THE PHONE CALLS - THEY ARE RECORDED AND WILL FURTHER SUPPORT THE BASIS OF MY COMPLAINT 3 )  The process to communicate and gather information to intelligently respond to this denied claim with the Claims Assistance Center is extremely difficult and severely lacked consistency in the information they did provide me. 



Having been I credit card customer with Wells Fargo since XXXX and standing by them through all of the bad press regarding questionable business practices, I am completely disappointed with their support. Not only was my claim denied based upon information that, as a consumer, I am not able to access, but also the fact that the resolution process for a denied claim with the Claims Assistance Center is about as user-unfriendly of a process I have experienced. On the advice of the Claims Assistant Center representative who I spoke with the morning of XX/XX/XXXX, I went to a local branch and sat down with a banker later that afternoon ( XXXX ) to request the " supporting documentation '' mentioned in the claim denial letter, through that banker with a phone call to the Claims Assistance center. According to that Claims Assistant Center representative that I spoke with earlier that day, I could receive the supporting documentation immediately once the banker at the local branch was verified and made the request on my behalf. Otherwise, I would have to wait 7-10 business days to receive the " supporting documentation '' by mail. The banker at the local branch located at XXXX XXXX - XXXX XXXX was very accomodating and called the number listed on the denial letter from the Claims Assistance Center. He was told that Wells Fargo Claims Assistance Center policy prohibits them from fulfilling the request. I was told the case was " reopened '' but they could not provide any additional information. 

Just another example of how frustrating and labor intensive the pursuit of accurate information and procedure are regarding procedure and data relating to the disputed charges. The inconsistency of the information and procedures have resulted in a significant amount of hours of my personal time spent trying to sort through the details from the time my card was stolen until the card was frozen. I am not even able to discuss these details with anyone directly involved in resolving this issue ... ie the investigation team that denied the disputed charge claim. Wells Fargo has been consistently inconsistent with the handling of this case and as mentioned earlier I could not be more disappointed with Wells Fargo 's approach to working with me to resolve. 

The disputed charges are not mine. PLEASE LISTEN TO THE RECORDED PHONE CALLS. THE PROCEDURAL INCONSISTENCIES ARE PRONOUNCED AND THE TIME STAMPS NOT ACCURATE

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 monetary relief