Consumer complaint received 2023-11-29
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CO
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Deposits and withdrawals

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2023 I fell victim to a robbery while away at college and shares joint accounts with my mother and father. My phone and wallet were stolen during the incident, which contained my Wells Fargo debit card, as well as an XXXX XXXX and XXXX card, both linked to our family. No sensitive personal information was stored in his wallet, aside from his driver 's license. 

The thieves wasted no time and embarked on a spending spree using the XXXX card, accumulating a substantial sum in a remarkably short period. 
Fortunately, XXXX promptly contacted us to confirm the legitimacy of these transactions. Upon discovering the unauthorized charges, they promptly canceled the card, and within 12 hours, all the erroneous charges were removed from the account. The thieves did not attempt to use the XXXX XXXX card, but as soon as we were informed by XXXX, I contacted them regarding the issue. Within an hour, my mother visited our local branch of Wells Fargo to report the theft ( I couldn't make any calls as the thieves had taken my phone ). I was also stranded on the road with no way of leaving due to the fact my car keys were stolen. 

Remarkably, during the short time it took my parents to go to our local branch in Colorado, the criminals managed to contact the telephone banking department, check the balance, and transfer {$5000.00} from my savings account to my checking account. They also incurred {$3400.00} in charges using my debit card. We were able to halt further damage by blocking the debit card, but the situation had already escalated significantly by then. The branch representative was the one to inform us of these events. 

In response to these alarming developments, my parents promptly initiated a fraud claim with both the branch representative and a fraud claim specialist over the phone within hours of my debit card and cell phone being stolen. 
Within a few days, we were shocked to learn that the claim had been closed, the case had been concluded, and it was determined that no fraud had occurred, thereby denying any refund of the funds. My mother made several attempts to reopen the case, but each time it was closed, with a different reason provided for not classifying it as fraud, and the explanations seemed to vary each time. We have invested countless hours on the phone with various fraud department personnel, with some suggesting that it was a clear case of fraud and should be escalated, only for another call to inform us that it was not a fraud case and had been closed. I have provided a police report along with receipts from the day of the robbery and Wells Fargo continues to deny my claim. As a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  student this amount of money is a very big deal to me and Wells Fargo has continued to deny that there was any unauthorized transaction.

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