Consumer complaint received 2018-11-15
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CA
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Personal line of credit
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-issue: Account information incorrect

Complaint:
Please ignore the filters to this complaint ; they do not reflect the nature of this problem and did not offer the correct filters. 

Wells Fargo opened an unauthorized line of credit in my name in XXXX of this year. I had gone into a branch to inquire about borrowing options in case I needed to hire a lawyer for my divorce, but I was not certain yet and I just needed to know my options. The banker suggested that I apply for a line of credit to see if I would qualify, and I specifically asked if I would be forced to take the credit, because I had not determined yet if I would even need the funds. She told me that as long as I did not sign any of the paperwork, nothing would go through. I was then approved to receive a line of credit but did not sign anything, and decided that I did not want the credit after all, so I let it be. 

Then a few weeks later I opened my online banking and saw that they had given me this line of credit anyway, which I had not signed for. I called the bank immediately to close the account, which became a nearly impossible task. I was on the phone for over an hour and they transferred me 5+ times to various departments, each of which said that they were unable to close this account and that " they needed time to research the problem. '' This persisted over weeks with the bank assigning a case number and promising phone calls to update me about their research, and never calling me or doing anything to move the case forward. 

Finally I went into a branch and told them that either they would close the unauthorized line of credit that day, or I would close all of my accounts and take my business elsewhere. The banker spent a long time on the phone and the corporate bankers told him the same thing that they told me, that they did not recommend closing the account until they had researched the issue. I told him that I supported them researching the issue, but they could do their research on their own time after they have closed the unauthorized account ( in my name, affecting my credit ). It took many phone calls and long wait times, but the banker was finally able to convince them to close this account because he saw that I was serious about taking my business elsewhere. 

After all of that was resolved, my credit score plummeted. I called back the bank and they told me that I could file a dispute by mailing or faxing a letter to a branch in Iowa, to which they would attempt to communicate with the credit bureau ( with no promises ) and update me in over a month about the results. They made it sound as if this was my responsibility and my issue to fix, and they wouldn't even assure me that it could be done. 

Furthermore, my ex husband had added me as a secondary user on his credit card, which I had shredded and not used in well over a year. The bank has refused to remove my name from his credit card, and now his balance is affecting my credit as well. They act as if they have never dealt with a divorce before and people closing accounts or dividing assets. It should be a simple and straightforward task ; my ex still uses this credit card so he wants to keep the account -- I just need my name removed from it. 

In summary, Wells Fargo makes it nearly impossible to close accounts, which really should be considered criminal. These are my finances and these accounts are in my name ; I should reserve the right to close them as I please. Wells Fargo also refuses to take ownership in correcting their own mistakes, leaving their customers to deal with the negative affects on their credit.

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