Consumer complaint received 2018-12-19
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: TX
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest
Sub-issue: Unexpected increase in interest rate

Complaint:
CFPB Complaint Against : Wells Fargo Product : Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa Card Issue : APR is higher than maximum % listed in the terms and conditions Wells Fargo Case # XXXX - Assigned to Executive Care Case Manager, XXXX - XXXX Attached : Spreadsheet showing : APR Range ( Margin ) and U.S. Prime Rate taken from the Terms & Conditions of this credit card from XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX ; Photos of Important Terms of Your Credit Card Account ; Your Credit Score and the Price You Pay for Credit ; T & C for the credit card from : XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX. 

Monday XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX  CST After carefully reviewing the terms & conditions for the Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa Card ( https : //www.wellsfargo.com/credit-cards/visa-wise-platinum/terms ), clearly showing, then ( XX/XX/XXXX ) through now ( XX/XX/XXXX ), an APR range of 15.99 % to 26.99 %, based on credit worthiness. I submitted an application for the card and was instantly approved for a {$6000.00} limit. 


Saturday XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX CST Received the physical card with Important Terms of Your Credit Card Account, showing my APR after the introduction 0.00 % APR would be 27.49 %, 0.50 % higher than the maximum of the APR range, based on credit worthiness. 
Wells Fargo also provided their notice of Your Credit Score and the Price You Pay for Credit showing my credit score as of XX/XX/XXXX to be XXXX. 


Saturday XX/XX/XXXX - XXXX XXXX CST - XXXX XXXX Called the generic Wells Fargo customer service line ( XXXX ) and a rep confirmed he read the terms and conditions and stated my APR after the intro 0 % period was higher than the maximum % shown on the T & C. 
He created Case XXXX and provided me with the phone number XXXX to the Executive Customer Care Team and stated my case manager would call me Monday XX/XX/XXXX and this should hopefully be resolved EOD Tuesday XX/XX/XXXX. 


Tuesday XX/XX/XXXX - XXXX XXXX CST XXXX XXXX - Case XXXX No contact has been received by Wells Fargo via email or phone by EOD Tuesday XX/XX/XXXX, so I called the number provided and was informed my Case Manager was  XXXX and was transferred to her. 
After reviewing the facts and both of us reviewing the T & C together at the same time, she placed me on hold for 10 minutes. When she returned, she stated that there was nothing Wells Fargo could or would do and the interest rate would not be changing XXXX all their calls are recorded so you can verify this ). 
I explained having my APR higher than the maximum amount listed in the terms and conditions is a violation of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 ( 15 U.S.C. 1601 ) and the Truth in Lending Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1637 ) and that I would be filing a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) complaint. She then stated she would forward this to an internal department she could not name for further review of the situation and would get back to me in a few days. 

At no point between XX/XX/XXXX ( and possibly earlier, can easily be researched ) and today XX/XX/XXXX, has the Margin for purchases and balance transfers ever exceeded 21.74 % ; regardless of what the U.S. Prime Rate is, yet mine is 22.24 %. 
This is a 0.50 % higher than the maximum Margin APR Range ( 10.74 % to 21.74 % ) provided in the Terms and Conditions ( https : //www.wellsfargo.com/creditcards/ visa-wise-platinum/terms ) for the Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa Card . 
This caused my APR after the introduction 12-month 0.00 % APR to be 27.49 %, which also is 0.50 % higher than the maximum APR Range listed in the T & C ( 15.99 % to 26.99 % ). 
I believe having a higher APR than the maximum % possible listed in the Terms & Conditions is a violation of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 ( 15 U.S.C. 1601 ) and the Truth in Lending Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1637 ). 

Additionally, I would like to inquire as to why I was given ( over ) the maximum APR possible, based on credit worthiness. Based on the documents they sent me Your Credit Score and the Price You Pay for Credit my credit score as of XX/XX/XXXX is XXXX / XXXX. My credit history includes : 0 late payments ever, no derogatory marks ever, no collections ever, 100 % on-time payments for nearly 10 years since I turned XXXX, not a single negative mark against it. 
What credit score do I require to get an APR lower than the absolute maximum they offer? 
What % of applicants receive an APR lower than the absolute maximum they offer? 
What is the average credit score for all the consumers who received an APR lower than the absolute maximum they offer?

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