Consumer complaint received 2019-07-17
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: GA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Deposits and withdrawals

Complaint:
I bank with Wells Fargo. On Friday XX/XX/XXXX I went to a nearby Wells Fargo branch to deposit a XXXX XXXX  check written to my name by my attorneys office. I decided to stop at the WF branch # XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX , XXXX, GA XXXX, to make the deposit since I didn't have time to drive to the location of the branch where I hold the account ( XXXX, Ga ). Because check was {$20000.00}, a teller named XXXX requested the assistance of a supervisor. They handed me a receipt stating deposit was gon na be put on hold except for the {$200.00} required by law to be available. So they put a hold on {$19000.00}. Although they stated it was gon na be only 5 days, I looked at the receipt and noticed it said that the funds wouldn't be available until XX/XX/XXXX. That is 11 days, making it 2 days over the 9 day period allowed by federal law. It stated the reason for the extended hold was that there where " repeated overdraft fees '' on my account. That is 100 % inaccurate. I haven't had any overdrafts at any time I've had the account open, which is about a year. I informed teller and supervisor of the inaccurate statement and she literally dismissed my concern with a wave and told me not to worry about it. I also hold an auto loan with Wells Fargo, which is in excellent standing. While still at the branch, I wanted to make a withdrawal of {$40.00} ( since I had XXXX immediately available ). The supervisor told me I was gon na be charged with a XXXX overdraft fee. When I expressed my surprised she told me that many people pay the overdraft fee happily, and that I was gon na have to pay it if I wanted my {$40.00}. She said that because the {$200.00} weren't really immediately available, that if took any money out I was gon na be charged {$35.00}. I understood at this moment I was being the victim of racial/ethnic bias as Im of XXXX origin and speak with a noticeable accent and the manager ( later discovered to be named XXXX XXXX ) was American. I  feel that because of my " foreignness '' Mrs XXXX stereotyped me and purposefully gave me incorrect information, plus entered the wrong code to have my check held for the maximum period allowed by federal law. After exchanging words with the manager, I left the branch and immediately called the costumer service line, where I spoke to a banker named XXXX. He not only dismissed my concerns and refused to acknowledge the mistake regarding the mistakenly entered code ( stating I had multiple overdrafts in the account ) but he said to me the following, in a horribly condescending tone : " I'm sorry to tell you this, but you only had a daily balance of XXXX  dollars, and that sudden large deposit is just not the norm for you ''. After that remark I asked to speak to his boss and he refused to transfer me. I then call the executive office and speak to a banker named " XXXX '' at their corporate headquarters. Exactly same response, and same attitude and editorial opinion regarding how much I keep on the account as a daily average as the reason for the extended hold. When I pointed out to him the erroneous code ( the repeated overdrafts one ) he readily dismissed me saying that the code was entered erroneously but it was his opinion that the check should be held. I called the headquarters again and this time spoke to a more competent banker who told me that the supervisor and teller gave me the wrong information and that I would have not incurred in an overdraft fee had I retrieved the {$40.00}. He was surprised at how inaccurate that information was. We didn't discuss the erroneous code issue during our conversation because I had to hang up as my time is quite precious and this had already taken 3 hrs of my life. I did some additional research and even looked up Wells Fargo official policy on the large amount check. While they say if the account is new or has repeated overdrafts a large check would be held, they don't have any written policy where they state 99.99 % of check would be placed on hold just because of a person not making large deposits previously aka " being poor ''. I called the XXXX number back on Sunday XX/XX/XXXX and spoke to an escalation specialist called XXXX, who did some research and agreed with me that an error had been made. He stated that because my account was in such good standing that they were gon na be able to release the hold and have my funds available immediately. He asked that I call Monday XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX  pacific time, to ask for a supervisor and ask that an escalation specialist verify the deposited check. He told me that this was an easy and quick process and that I would have funds available once they verified the check. I went ahead and called the XXXX number today at XXXX XXXX Pacific time ( XXXX XXXX for me ) as instructed. I followed XXXX 's instructions and spoke first to a banker named XXXX. She transferred me to an escalation specialist named XXXX. During the conversation XXXX admitted that an erroneous code was entered, but that she couldn't do anything about it. That the information previous escalation specialist had given me was wrong. That they couldn't verify checks with other banks, that it was only the branch manager at their discretion, but that there was no branch manager available at  the location I deposited the check. She said there was no available supervisor at the branch either. She also repeated that neither her nor her supervisor could release the check nor correct the erroneous code that triggered the extended hold. She stated that a the branch manager from that location was gon na call me and it was gon na be up to her discretion to release the hold. She gave me the name of the manager as XXXX XXXX and told me the manager was gon na call me once she got into work. I asked to speak to XXXX 's supervisor since at this point all information given to me by different employees has been inconsistent and I can not take for a fact XXXX 's assertions as accurate. She placed me on a 10 minute hold. At the end supervisor refused to come to the phone and instructed XXXX to tell me there was nothing they could do about it, that it was up to the branch manager.  She also told me they couldn't return my check and would just have to wait for funds, even if it funds are being held due to banks mistake. At XXXX XXXX I received a call from XXXX. The person on the line identified herself as XXXX XXXX. She not only was hostile to me on the phone, but proceeded to claim that we had an extended conversation on Friday, a conversation which never occurred aside from our short interaction, and that she had already told me the reasons fro the hold. When I asked her to repeat the reason, she blurted out in a defiant manner " Because of your repeated overdrafts. '' Repeating information that had already been confirmed to be inaccurate by the 5 Wells Fargo bankers I had spoken to. She proceeded to say that she was not going to correct the code she mistakenly entered, as a matter of fact she stood firm in her assertion that I had repeated overdraft fees. She also confirmed she was the same person who dismissed me with a wave when I deposited my check on XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, and the same person who erroneously told me I had to pay {$35.00} in overdraft fees if I withdrew {$40.00} from the " immediately available '' {$200.00} funds in my account. At this moment, and after all the conversations I have had with various Wells Fargo bankers, supervisors, customer service associates etc, I could assert that I was a being a victim of racial bias against me by Mrs. XXXX XXXX. After speaking with her, I then called XXXX XXXX, the district manager who oversees Mrs. XXXX and also her assistant, XXXX XXXX. At XXXX XXXX that same day, XXXX XXXX called me. After doing some research on her part she claimed that the code entered as reason for the code was simply a glitch, that the hold was not placed by the branch but by the banks system " and a learning lesson to all of us that the system is not perfect ''. Everyone else I spoke to at the executive level claimed that the hold was placed specifically by the branch and by the manager ( Mrs. XXXX ). Mrs XXXX then told me that the check would clear within the next couple of days and shed take the hold off herself so my money would be available asap instead of waiting an extended period of 11 days. It is Wednesday XX/XX/XXXX and Mrs XXXX has not contacted me, and the funds are still on hold illegally.

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