Consumer complaint received 2021-01-26
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: International money transfer
Issue: Other transaction problem

Complaint:
Currently I am residing in XXXX and have a savings account with Wells Fargo in the USA that has a significant credit. Given the effect of CORONA of reducing the availability of work opportunities, I now need to use most of that money. Since from XX/XX/2020, I have unsuccessfully been in communication with Wells Fargo, to get access to my money. More recently I have requested that Wells Fargo do an International Wire Transfer to my XXXX XXXX  account and Wells Fargo has refused. Although I have given them my instructions through their Secure messaging System, they have still refused to activate a wire transfer. Their CSR has unreasonably suggested that I return from XXXX to the USA to effect the wire transfer. 
Although I have formally complained, the bank has still not agreed to send my funds to my XXXX XXXX  account through an International Wire Transfer. 

My issues with Wells Fargo bank started long before XX/XX/2020 when various other CSRs were involved. However, I started making notes from around the end of XX/XX/2020. There were many CSRs involved before the matter was passed up to their Enterprise Complaints Management Office. The first person in that office who contacted me was XXXX XXXX who allocated the following Wells Fargo Case ID : XXXX. She stated that they needed 10 working days before responding to me. Although I had tried communicating with her soon after the 10 Days were over, I didnt receive a response. 

Having again written my complaint to Wells Fargo on XXXX XX/XX/2020, about not being able to get my money wired to me, they again undertook to respond to me within 10 Business days. However, I did not receive a response from the bank till XXXX XX/XX/2020. This was only after I had again called them and first spoke to Ms XXXX XXXX who, about 20 minutes into our conversation, then passed me on to Mr XXXX XXXX to whom I again explained the whole situation. He said that the bank did not have systems in place to help me while outside the US and suggested I fly back to the US. As I recognize the benefits of the bank using a XXXX  to send my money to my local XXXX XXXX, which is XXXX XXXX with a XXXX  code of : XXXX. In my conversation with Mr. XXXX, he acknowledged that XXXX  codes are for international transfer, but seemed not to be able to accept that I was asking for an international transfer from the USA to the XXXX XXXX XXXX. Ordinarily, banks do this through a Corresponding bank. Hence, I discussed with him that there was no real need for me to fly back to the USA, given these options. 

I then got a letter from Ms XXXX XXXX dated XXXX XXXX ( Copy attached ). In this letter Ms. XXXX principally wrote about accessing the funds using an ATM card. I subsequently found out that that ATM pathway would have been exceedingly costly. Unfortunately, in her letter, Ms XXXX had not address my request for an International Wire Transfer. I subsequently tried calling Ms. XXXX during the working hours that she had notified me of, but was not able to get through to her. So, I wrote to her on XXXX XX/XX/2020 XXXX copy attached ) : Unfortunately, I have not ever received a response from Wells Fargo to my communication. 

Over the duration of my various communications with Wells Fargo, there was also a second Wells Fargo Case ID numbers that is : XXXX As you are no doubt aware, on XXXX XXXX, I spend an inordinate amount of time on a very costly international call, speaking with firstly Ms XXXX XXXX and then later with Mr XXXX XXXX trying to determine how I could access my funds.

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 monetary relief