Consumer complaint received 2017-09-20
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: NC
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Credit card debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action
Sub-issue: Sued you without properly notifying you of lawsuit

Complaint:
5 years ago in XXXX XXXX California I opened a Wells Fargo Credit Card. I have been a Wells Fargo customer for over 20 years and this was my first credit line. A business I started failed, and I closed the card. I was advised by a third party XXXX XXXX to enter a debt consolidation company, this was about 3 years ago. 

The debt consolidation company did not handle the account in a timely or correct manner, even though I was making monthly payments to the debt consolidation company. I was not aware of this until I received court papers. Wells Fargo then handed my case over to XXXX and XXXX and I was served papers to go to court. 

I showed up at court and talked to the XXXX and XXXX representative who was there on behalf of Wells Fargo and we talked about coming to a resolution. 

I continued to call XXXX and XXXX to work out a resolution via phone. They were impossible to get a hold of with over hour wait times and no return calls. Finally, a resolution was agreed upon for {$140.00} a month. XXXX and XXXX claimed they mailed out paperwork to start the payment process. This was back in XXXX of XXXX. Weeks went by and I never received anything. XXXX and XXXX do not require signatures for their mail and therefore is not trackable. 

The next piece of mail I received from XXXX and XXXX was an increase than the original agreed upon amount due to legal fees and interest. I spoke to a XXXX and XXXX representative named XXXX XXXX on XXXX XXXX XXXX. I told him about the situation, how I never received the papers, the lack of communication, the length this has taken to resolve, and he agreed with me. He wanted to help me get these fees waived and told me he would be in touch soon, that he needed to speak to Wells Fargo. 

Given this has been taking a long time to resolve, I did not think of anything once I did not hear from him. I assumed and trusted the matter would be handled correctly by the law firm and the financial institution. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX, {$7200.00} was withdrawn from my account, leaving me with no money to pay my bills or housing. No communication was done about this withdrawal and it was done by Wells Fargo. No mail was sent requiring a signature to confirm and I did not receive voicemails about this matter. I was in shock and feel extremely violated. 

I was proactive, doing my due diligence to take care of this debt. I spent countless hours on the phone with XXXX and XXXX and Wells Fargo, trying my best to set up a fair payment plan. I assumed the matter would take some time and once I was needed I would be notified and if I could not be reached by the law office, Wells Fargo would call to let me know before withdrawing that large of an amount without consent or opportunity to set up the agreed upon plan with the institution. 

On XXXX XXXX, when I called XXXX and XXXX about this they told me to call Wells Fargo. I spoke to multiple representatives at Wells Fargo who were completely unhelpful. I explained the situation and expressed my concerns about the lack of communication, authorization, and true certified mail on their end. I requested the funds to be returned and to set-up the agreed upon payment plan we originally established. I would set up this plan on the spot. All I heard was no due to the 3 months of no communication. 

This is completely unacceptable and a breach of trust. I thought I was in good hands, doing what I needed to do to resolve this debt in a sustainable manner. I was in constant contact with the bank and law office, never received paperwork, and under the impression, things were being handled. Instead, my money was taken without any verbal or written communication.

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