Consumer complaint received 2021-09-16
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: TX
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Closing an account
Sub-issue: Company closed your account

Complaint:
Company : Wells Fargo Bank, XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, TX XXXX I have been banking here for 11 years. I am on Social Security XXXX and receive my benefits by direct deposit into my Wells Fargo account. 

For the past several months I have been doing a couple of my friends a favor by cashing their paychecks and IRS Child Credit checks as third party checks made payable to me. I deposit these checks using the bank 's mobile app on my phone. In every case the bank made the funds available to me immediately. In every case the bank received payment for these checks from the payer. There has never been a claim against the bank by any of the original payees. There have been no disputes whatsoever by the payees.

There were a total of four ( 4 ) checks involved. Two ( 2 ) checks were IRS Child Credit checks for {$250.00} each, and the other two ( 2 ) were payroll checks for {$300.00} and {$690.00}.

On about XX/XX/2021 the bank advised me that they were closing my account immediately because cashing third party checks was considered fraud. They closed my account the day before I was to receive my XXXX XXXX payment and now I have no money to pay my rent and other living expenses. They advised me that fraud would be associated with my name and that I would not be able to open a bank account anywhere. 

There was no fraud involved here! 

Because the bank accepted these checks for several months I thought this was an acceptable practice. I had no idea that the bank did not allow this because they accepted these deposits in the past without ever telling me that they were not allowed. 

The bank employees were focusing on the two ( 2 ) IRS Child Credit checks of {$250.00} each in their discussions with me. They told me that this was the reason they were closing my account. They told me that I should have known that the IRS does not allow third parties to cash their checks and that it is stated on their website. It is not. I looked. Nor is it stated on the Wells Fargo website that these checks are not allowed. 

The Wells Fargo employees told me that if the original payee on the IRS checks would come to the bank with two ( 2 ) forms of ID they might be able to re-open my account. On XX/XX/2021 the original payee accompanied me to a meeting at the bank. The bank employee did not even look at her ID and said the issue concerned the other two ( 2 ) third party checks as well and that they were closing my account anyway due to fraud. 

There was no fraud and the bank is out no money. They have ruined my credit and my ability to open an account at another bank. They have deprived me of my XXXX XXXX payment so that I can not pay my bills on time. 

I was doing something that they had allowed me to do in the past. In fact the bank employee told me that the reason I was always able to get the deposited funds immediately was because I had a good banking relationship with them. 

Wells Fargo has treated me very unfairly. The problems occurred because of the bank 's negligence in accepting these deposits for several months and never informing me that the practice of cashing third party checks was not allowed. And they are imposing an excessively harsh punishment on me for what is actually their failure and their fault. They never gave me a chance.

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