Consumer complaint received 2019-01-31
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: AZ
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem when making payments
Sub-issue: You never received your bill or did not know a payment was due

Complaint:
To Whom It May Concern : I am writing to express my concern about the continuation of shady business practices being committed by Wells Fargo. I have two credit cards with Wells Fargo, a primary card ( a XXXX XXXX card ending in XXXX ), and a secondary card ( a  Platinum card ending in XXXX ). I never use the secondary credit card as the rewards are not as good as the primary card. 

Around XXXX of 2018 I had requested a replacement of the secondary card because I had misplaced it somewhere it in my house. The card being replaced ended in XXXX. The replacement card arrived XXXX now ending in XXXX ), and I activated over the phone as I have dozens of times in the past. The account had disappeared from my Wells Fargo app when this happened. I thought nothing of it as there is usually some changes there when I activate a new card, and since I never use the secondary card I didn't give it a second thought. 

On XX/XX/2018, I received an email confirming the delivery preferences for the account ( attachment 1 ). As you can see in the screenshot, I was had chosen to receive notices by mail and online. I believe this was the date I activated the card but I am not sure as I don't keep track of dates like that.

As you can see in attachment 2, I was receiving emails regarding payments being due for the original secondary card ( XXXX ) through XX/XX/2018. I have also been receiving emails for my primary card ( XXXX ) the entire time. The secondary card emails stopped after the delivery preferences email on XX/XX/2018. I did not notice this as I was not using the secondary card. 

I continued to use the primary card while my secondary card remained at home. On XX/XX/2018 I noticed a Wells Fargo envelop in my mail. Wells Fargo constantly sends me junk mail about taking out loans with them, so I figured this was another piece of junk mail. I opened it and much to my dismay it stated I was past due on my account. 

I was horrified : I've never been late on a credit card payment. In fact, I typically pay off my cards a few times per month. I've attached the payments for my primary card in attachment 3. As you can see, I am constantly paying off the balance on the card, usually twice a month. 

I quickly opened the Wells Fargo app on my phone and looked for the account so I could make a payment. It wasn't there. The secondary card was not on the app or online. Confused, I called into Wells Fargo support. I asked how could I know that I was past due when the card was not showing up on the app. The representative informed me I had not opted in on something relating to online banking for the card. With the dozens of cards I've activated from Wells Fargo I've never had to do anything to get it to appear in my account. 

The representative was understanding and I made the payment for {$38.00} over the phone as seen in attachment 4. After the call I logged into XXXX XXXX and my horror continued as I saw my credit score had dropped over 100 points to around XXXX. 

This was terrible news, I am hoping to buy my first house eventually and my excellent credit was the biggest asset I had. Saddened, I called back into Wells Fargo and explained my situation. I went over how : - I've never missed a payment with them - I was unaware that I was past due on the card - The card was not on my Wells Fargo app - I had not received any notices - I was paying off my primary card the entire time. 
I explained how I had no problems paying the late fees. The balance must have transferred over form the old card as I had never used that card to make a purchase ( I still haven't to this day as you can see in attachment 4 ). The representative submitted the inquiry and told me from there I'd have to wait to see what happened. 

I continued to check XXXX XXXX daily for updates. I was ecstatic when my score returned to ( almost ) where it was before this entire situation on XX/XX/XXXX. 

However, around that same time I received a letter, dated XX/XX/XXXX, from Wells Fargo. It stated they had looked into my inquiry and, after researching my account, found that the information was accurate. I was floored, I had not once disputed that I was late. Wells Fargo thinking that was what the dispute was over shows a huge disconnect and makes indicates they didn't actually investigate anything. 

I continued to monitor my credit score in XXXX. It had refreshed 3 times in XXXX without change ( it actually increased 1 point mid-XXXX ). I had thought this nightmare was over and that I could work hard to gain back the 10 or points I was down from before. 

Much to my dismay, I received an alert from XXXX XXXX yesterday, XX/XX/XXXX, stating I had a credit drop. My score dropped 40 points. 

Now I am writing into the CFPB hoping that you can help. 

This whole time I have been wondering : why did an active credit card account not show up on the Wells Fargo app or online? I think it is pretty clear why : Wells Fargo was opening fraudulent accounts for millions of Americans and they needed a way to hide it from these customers. Why else would an active account be hidden, and why else would they even need that functionality? I'm know you filks at the CFPB are well aware of this huge scandal as you have fined Wells Fargo $ XXXX. 

I am in no way stating they opened this account without my knowledge of course. But I do think I was negatively affected due to their ability to still hide active accounts from customers years after this scandal was first discovered. 

I had no reason to not pay the balance of the secondary card : it was less than {$40.00} and as you can see in attachment 3, I was paying off the other card for amounts 6 to 22 times more than the {$40.00}. As soon as I received the past due notice I paid immediately. 

Thank you for taking the time to read through this lengthy message. Please feel free to contact me if any additional info or clarification is needed. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX

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