Consumer complaint received 2023-03-21
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:
To whom it may concern, I've been fighting a fraudulent charge with Wells Fargo for the past 6 weeks. I've already submitted the charge for review 3 times thus far, all of which have been denied, despite me providing proof of my location during the time of purchase. I've jumped through all of the hoops Wells Fargo has set forth and now have the charge being reviewed for the 4th time. Below is the detailed outline of my history with this card and this fraudulent charge case. I appreciate you're attention to this matter. Wells Fargo is no longer cooperating with me. Not only is there money at stake, but my ongoing excellent credit rating and peace of mind are as well. 

Here is the history of my XXXX credit cards. I obtained my first XXXX card in XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I was made aware by Wells Fargo and from my XXXX  card getting declined multiple times that my card had been involved in a BIN scheme with XXXX XXXX and had been suspended ; a new card was sent to me. I received the XXXX card ending in XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and had it for less than a week before the XXXX fraudulent charges arose on XX/XX/XXXX. I am now on my third Wells Fargo XXXX XXXX, and am seriously considering cancelling all of my Wells Fargo credit cards given the ease in which it seems these cards can be compromised and given my terrible experience with this fraud claim thus far. 

Here is the history of my multiple reported fraud claims for the XXXX charge of {$1300.00} that occurred on XX/XX/XXXX. 
-I received a missed call and voicemail and an email ( attached below as " Suspicious Activity Email '' ) on the morning of XX/XX/XXXX. When I received these alerts, I instantly checked my wallet to make sure I still had my card in my possession, which I did. As you can see from the suspicious activity email attachment, there were XXXX XXXX charges, one of which got approved for {$1300.00} and one that got declined for {$560.00}. If I made these charges, why would I try to make back-to-back big purchases at the same store? Clearly, the user of my information attempted to make a second big purchase upon successful completion of the first purchase. Upon receiving these alerts, I immediately called the fraud department to report the XXXX charges as fraudulent, including the charge of {$1300.00}. The charge was subsequently taken off of my account within a couple of days while it was being investigated. The investigation team had called me during this time period to ask me XXXX questions- if I had my card in my possession at the time of the charge and if my card had a chip, both of which I answered " yes ''. 
-On the morning of XX/XX/XXXX, I noticed the XXXX charge had re-appeared on my credit card and called the fraud department the ensuing weekday on XX/XX/XXXX to re-open the investigation into this fraudulent charge. I was informed on that call that the claim was denied since the purchase was allegedly made with a chipped card ( which are supposedly encrypted and not reproducible ) and since I had my card in my possession at the time of the purchase. The purchase was therefore authorized. I had Wells Fargo reopen the claim on XX/XX/XXXX for further investigation. 
-On XX/XX/XXXX, I called the claims department to check on the status of my claim and they informed me the claim was denied again and the transaction was deemed authorized for the same reason as before. A manager in the department advised me to file a police report in order to obtain video footage to prove that it was not me making the purchase. I had Wells Fargo reopen the claim again on XX/XX/XXXX. 
-On XX/XX/XXXX, I filed a police report with the XXXX regarding the fraudulent charge; said police report is still pending ( attached is confirmation of report submittal- " police report confirmation '' ). On that same day, I also faxed the Wells Fargo claims and fraud department proof of my location via my cell phone 's location services on XX/XX/XXXX when the purchase was made. The screenshot of my location is attached below ( " location timestamp '' ). I included the following cover letter with the image of my screenshot : " Attached is my cell phone record of my location on Sunday XX/XX/XXXX, the date of the fraudulent transaction at XXXX of {$1300.00}. I received an unusual activity email from Wells Fargo that morning at XXXX and XXXX opens at XXXX, meaning the transaction had to occur sometime in the time frame between XXXX. As you can see from the attached photo of my location from XX/XX/XXXX, I was at my home XXXX XXXX XXXX during that time frame. '' XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, I called the claims department again to check the status of my 3rd claim appeal and was informed that it had been denied again for the same reasons as the first and second time, despite the fact that I filed a police report and despite the proof of my location that I sent in from that day. I had my claim flagged and reopened again on XX/XX/XXXX. 

Based on my research, I feel my rights as a customer/cardholder have been violated. According to the XXXX website, which is the type of card that was used in this fraudulent transaction, " a cardholder has " XXXX Liability '' and won't be held responsible for unauthorized transactions if XXXX ) reasonable care has been used in protecting your card from loss or theft '' - I had the card in my possession, meaning it was not lost or stolen and XXXX ) " the reported loss or theft is promptly reported to my financial institution '' - I reported the fraudulent charge the same morning I was alerted to it by Wells Fargo on XX/XX/XXXX. Per the XXXX website, " If you believe that there has been unauthorized use of your account and you meet the conditions above, rest easy knowing you have the protection of XXXX 's XXXX XXXX promise. '' I without question fall under this statement and promise. 

Moreover, I know the law places certain requirements on the lender investigating my fraudulent claim and that it can't get away with only a cursory review. A reasonable investigation should involve : -Comparing the purchase pattern for the claim, such as types and amounts of purchases, with the consumer 's previous purchases. If this was actually researched, it is clear and obvious that this charge does not fall into my usual purchase patterns. 
-Reviewing the place of purchase relative to the consumer 's home. This purchase happened at a XXXX that is not in my neighborhood or in a neighborhood that is geographically convenient to where I live ; there are multiple other XXXX locations that are in closer proximity to where I live. In fact, I have never purchased anything from that XXXX location. 

My personal credit history should absolutely be taken into account in this case as well. My credit score has consistently been above XXXX over multiple years and I never have had a late credit card payment and have always paid off my credit card balances in full. 

I will be submitting a complaint to the Wells Fargo regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, regarding this issue and my experience. 

If you need any other information from me, please do not hesitate to ask. I work very hard for my money and I value my excellent credit that I've established over many years. This situation has caused me an undue amount of XXXXXXXX  and stress, causing me to lose sleep and productivity, which has negatively affected my health.

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