Consumer complaint received 2018-07-16
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: UT
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Debt settlement
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
NOT SURE WHAT CATERGORY TO PUT THIS COMPLAINT UNDER. DID NOT GIVE AN OPTION THAT FIT. USED WHAT FIT BEST. SEE COMPLAINT BELOW. 

XX/XX/XXXX Mr. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, UT XXXX RE : XX/XX/XXXX - SSI MAILED {$22.00}, XXXX CHECK TO CLAIMANT XXXX XXXX XXXX BUT NOT RECEIVED. WELL FARGO CASHED CHECK FOR UNKNOWN PERSON WHO WHAT NOT THE PAYEE OF CHECK W/O VERIFY IDENTIFICATION AS THE PAYEE. WELL FARGO REFUSES TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY. NOT THEIR PROBLEM. 

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, I AM WRITING THIS ON BEHALF OF MY NEPHEW XXXX XXXX XXXX. hE IS XXXX  XXXX, DOB XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX YRS OLD, RECENTLY APPROVED IN XX/XX/XXXX FOR SSI XXXX ON THE BASIS OF HIS XXXX XXXX. HE HAS XXXX, XXXX AND XXXX XXXX. HE NEEDS TO GO TO XXXX  XXXX A WEEK. HE HAS BEEN TO NUMEROUS DR. APPTS AND HAS BEEN HOSPITIALIZED NUM.EROUS TIMES IN THE LAST FEW YEARS. 

IN XX/XX/XXXX HE SPOKE W/A XXXX AT THE SSI  OFFICE WHO INFORMED HIM OF HIS PAYMENTS. XXXX ADVISED MY NEPHEW XXXX PAYMENT IN THE AMOUNT OF {$22000.00} WOULD BE APPLIED TO THE DEBIT CARD SSI WAS SENDING TO HIM. AFTER RECEIVING THIS DEBIT CARD MY NEPHEW WAITED FOR FUNDS TO BE APPLIED. 
DURING THIS TIME MY SISTER XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX XXXX ) PURSE WAS STOLEN FROM HER KITCHEN. IN HER PURSE WAS XXXX BIRTH CERTIFICATE, SS CARD AND OTHER MISC PAPERWORK. THEY SUSPECTED HER DAUGHTER OF STEALING THE PURSE. DUE TO THE FACT HER DEBIT CARD WAS USED TO BUY APPROX {$300.00} WORTH OF FIREWORKS. HER DAUGHTER XXXX KNEW MY SISTER PIN # FOR HER DEBIT CARD. MY SISTER DID NOT MAKE A POLICE REPORT TO FILE CHARGE BECAUSE SHE DID NOT HAVE DEFINITE PROOF IF WAS HER. SHE WAS NOT AWARE OF HER SONS SSI  CHECK BEING STOLEN OR THAT HER PURSE BEING STOLEN W HER SON XXXX DOCUMENTS MAY HAVE BE A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR AND MIGHT HAVE BEEN USED TO POSSIBLY OBTAIN AN ID TO CASH THIS CHECK. 
MY NEPHEW WAITED FOR FUNDS TO BE APPLIED TO CARD. AFTER WAITING A FEW MONTHS HE CALLED SSI  TO FIND OUT WHY THE FUNDS HAVE NOT APPLIED YET. HE WAS INFORMED BY UNKNOWN SSI CSR THAT THEY MAILED HIM A CHECK FOR {$22000.00} IN XXXX AND THEY SHOW IT WAS RECEIVED AND CASHED. HE ADVISED THEM HE DID NOT RECEIVE THIS CHECK NOR DID HE CASH IT. HE ALSO INFORMED THEM THAT WHEN HE SPOKE WITH A XXXX AT THE SSI  OFFICE XXXX ADVISED MY NEPHEW HIS SSI {$22000.00} MONIES WERE GOING TO BE APPLIED TO THE SSI DEBIT CARD THAT WAS BEING MAILED TO HIM. MY NEPHEW RECEIVED THIS DEBIT CARD BUT NO FUNDS WERE EVER APPLIED. THIS IS WHAT HE WAS TOLD BY XXXX ON HOW HE WOULD RECEIVE HIS SSI {$22000.00} PAYMENT. HE WAS NEVER TOLD BY XXXX A CHECK GOING TO MAIL TO HIM {$22000.00}. AND BECAUSE HE WAS NOT TOLD BY SSI ABOUT THIS CHECK HE WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS CHECK AND DID NOT WATCH FOR THIS CHECK TO COME IN THE MAIL. SSI INFORMED MY NEPHEW THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO TO HELP ME W/HIS CHECK THAT WAS CASHED BY AN UNKNOWN PERSON WHO WAS NOT THE PAYEE ( MY NEPHEW ) KNOWINGLY COMMITTING FRAUD. THIS PERSON MAY HAVE BEEN INVOLVED W/XXXX MOTHERS PURSE W/XXXX  VITAL DOCUMENTS AND WAS ABLE TO OBTAIN THE IDENTIFICATION NEEDED TO CASH MY NEPHEW XXXX {$22000.00} CHECK FROM SSI. WELL FARGO REQUIRES 2 FORMS OF ID TO CASH A CHECK IF YOU ARE NOT A WELLS FARGO MEMBER. 
MY NEPHEW XXXX CALLED WELL FARGO. HE EXPLAINED WHAT HE SSI TOLD HIM ABOUT SSI MAILING THIS {$22000.00} CHECK THAT WAS IN HIS NAME AND WELL FARGO CASHED THIS CHECK FOR THE UNKNOWN PERSON IMPERSONATING MY NEPHEW. MY NEPHEW STRESSED THE FACT THAT HE DID NOT KNOW THIS CHECK WAS BEING MAILED SO HE WASNT EXPECTING IT TO COME IN THE MAIL, HE STATED TO WELL FARGO HE WAS ADVISED BY SSI HIS PAYMENT {$22000.00} WAS GOING TO BE APPLIED TO THE DEBIT CARD SSI SENT TO HIM. HE WAS NOT AWARE OF THIS CHECK {$22000.00} WAS ALREADY CASHED BY SOMEONE ELSE. THE CHECK WAS FOR MY NEPHEW. IT HAD HIS NAME, ADDRESS. BUT IT WAS NOT MY NEPHEW WHO RECEIVED THE CHECK, ENDORSED IT AND RECEIVED THE FUNDS FOR IT. MY NEPHEW WAS OBLIVIOUS TO WHAT HAD OCCURED. WELLS FARGO TOLD HIM THEY COULD NOT DO ANYTHING BECAUSE OF THE TIME FACTORS. IT WAS TOO LONG AGO. THEY INFORMED MY NEPHEW IT WAS NOT THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO INVESTIGATE, NOR WOULD THEY REIMBURSE MY NEPHEW FOR THE FUNDS ON THIS CHECK WELLS FARGO CASHED FOR THIS UNKNOWN PERSON COMMITTING FRAUD. THE FUNDS ON THIS CHECK WAS INTENDED FOR MY NEPHEW ONLY AND WHO DID NOT RECEIVED THE FUNDS EITHER BECAUSE WELLS FARGO DID NOT VERIFY THIS WAS MY NEPHEW TO ENSURE IT WAS HIM CASHING THIS {$22000.00} CHECK. A CHECK IN THIS AMOUNT WELL FARGO SHOULD HAVE BEEN THOROUGH AND SCRUTINIZED THIS UNKNOWN PERSONS IDENTITY MORE TO CONFIRM. MAYBE IT WAS SOMETHING WELL FARGO COULD NOT DETECT AT THE TIME BUT THE FACT IS THE CHECKS PAYOR WAS WELLS FARGO AND CASHED BY WELL FARGO UNDER FRAUDULENT CIRCUMSTANCES. WELL FARGO IS RESPONSIBLE AND NEED TO INITIATE AN INVESTIGATION. WELL FARGO NEEDS TO  REIMBURSE MY NEPHEW THE FUNDS HE IS OUT FROM THIS SSI CHECK WELL FARGO CASHED. MY NEPHEW IS ENTITLED TO THIS MONEY. IT IS HIS. IT WAS NOT MY NEPHEWS MISTAKE. AND IT IS NOT HIS FAULT WELLS FARGO CASHED THIS FOR THE WRONG PERSON EITHER. WELL FARGO REFUSES TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR MISTAKE. IT HAS BEEN OVER 1 YR AND MY NEPHEW CAN NOT GET ANY HELP FOR EITHER SSI OR WELLS FARGO. ARE THE RESPONSES FROM BOTH SSI AND WELLS FARGO LEGAL? WHO IS RESPONSIBLE THEN? IS MY NEPHEW FORCED TO ACCEPT THEIR ANSWERS FORGET ABOUT THIS MONEY, TAKE IT AS A LOSS. LET IT GO. {$22000.00} IS A LOT OF MONEY. THERE HAS TO BE SOMEONE WHO CAN HELP ME RESOLVE THIS ISSUE W/HIS SSI PAYMENT. HE AND HIS MOTHER ARE MORE THAT WILLING TO COOPERATE TO FIND THIS PERSON WHO FRAUDULENTLY CASHED THIS CHECK MEANT FOR MY NEPHEW. iF ANYONE IS WILLING TO HELP CAN YOU PLEASE CALL HIS MOTHERS PHONE AT XXXX XXXX XXXX OR HIS SISTER XXXX AT XXXX XXXX XXXX THANK YOU ON BEHALF OF MY NEPHEW XXXX 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 explanation