Consumer complaint received 2019-08-19
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: FL
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:
On XX/XX/19, a visit to XXXX store # XXXX was conducted (located at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX - XXXX XXXX, FL XXXX). The intention of the visit was to inquire on and potentially obtain a prepaid XXXX cell phone plan that could be used for data purposes during a then-upcoming trip to XXXX. A data-only plan was needed (no texting/phone calls) as I would only require data for checking e-mails, using cellular GPS and basic web browsing for locating points of interests. This critical point was stressed to the store manager and fellow employee, who insisted and supposedly verified the "XXXX XXXX" plan would be ideal for my situation (data-only usage while in XXXX). It is worth mentioning I am a XXXX customer - however, the daily/monthly data plans offered by that network was not affordable in comparison to that supposedly offered by XXXX. Upon the promise that the aforementioned plan would work, a purchase of $XXXX was made, which included the prepaid month, SIM card and applicable taxes. The phone number assigned to me was XXXX XXXX; account number XXXX. The new line/account was successfully was activated, as instructed, stateside shortly after leaving the store. Upon landing in XXXX XXXX, XXXX (XXXX   airport), airplane mode was deactivated and numerous unsuccessful attempts to activate the phone/data service in XXXX were conducted. This was particularly concerning as I had relied on the data service to arrive at my destination from the airport. Thanks to preventive planning, a standalone GPS unit I had brought along with me on the trip guided me to my destination. Upon arriving, I immediately called XXXX's customer service number and much to my surprise, the customer service representative stated XXXX simply did not offer data service in XXXX, nor did it have contracts with local carriers/towers to provide said data service, which essentially rendered the entire purpose of purchasing the prepaid XXXX One plan useless. Shortly after returning to the U.S. (on XX/XX/XXXX), (2) visits were conducted to the XXXX store in question to request a refund based on the misinformation provided by the store manager, of all personnel. The requests were denied and Wells Fargo was then involved in the form of a dispute (on XX/XX/XXXX; dispute # XXXX). Wells Fargo initially refunded the entirety of the $XXXX while they investigated the matter, but were ultimately fairly clumsy and unhelpful in handling the matter (initially contacted the incorrect XXXX   store; case worker was unsure of what specific steps to take in the matter). During a 1+ hour 3-way call between myself, Wells Fargo and XXXX, a refund was apparently granted by a customer service representative, who admittedly claimed the store manager was misinformed. He communicated I should return to the store and instruct the manager to check the notes on the account in order to obtain the refund. Upon arriving to the store, the store manager (now surely acquainted with the dispute) refused to come to the main storeroom after being informed by an employee at the counter. Instead, he instructed his employee to advise a regional manager would be visiting the store within a few days and to return then for a refund. Begrudgingly, but as instructed, I requested time off from work and returned on a Friday at XXXX XXXX, only to have the same employee state the regional manager had not arrived and was unsure if or when he would be at the store. It was at this point I decided to document this matter to CFPB, as I appear to be out of viable options to obtain a refund on a service that was at minimum, ignorance on the part of the store manager - and at worst, a deliberate lie in order to obtain a new (albeit one-time) customer.

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