Consumer complaint received 2021-10-26
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: PA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account
Sub-issue: Transaction was not authorized

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, my husband received a text saying that someone was using his card to buy XXXX. He doesn't have any account on XXXX so he didnt reply to the text. After 2 minutes or so, someone with the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( Wells Fargo customer service # ) started calling us. The Wells Fargo representative said that his name is XXXX XXXX and that his employee ID is XXXX. He told us that someone from Florida is transferring {$3500.00} from our account to a different bank. XXXX told us that someone else is using our XXXX account and has been transferring money out of our account. We do not have any XXXX accounts and XXXX said that is why the scammer is using our XXXX. He basically said that someone opened a XXXX account under us. So, XXXX said to go to our XXXX and reverse that problem. He asked us to make a XXXX account and he was sending us texts to our phones asking to verify the codes he sent to us. When we get to XXXX, there was a name already in the account ( XXXX ). We do not know this XXXX in the account. XXXX then said that this is the scammer taking the money away. He told us to register our name and phone number and emails because the money that we are going to transfer is going back to us. Since we are in a joint account he told us both to make separate transactions. XXXX then proceeded to make comments saying that the transactions were pending and that were currently not seeing it right now because Wells Fargo ( XXXX ) is freezing in on his side so that it will not transfer. He was able to take {$1000.00} from my husband 's account and another another {$1000.00} under my account. In the end, XXXX went to XXXX and ended up transferring {$2000.00}. After the transaction was done, he hung up and never heard from him again. We looked back into our account and the XXXX account that should have been me and it is already unregistered. Then we later read an email saying that my phone number is unregistered to the XXXX account even though we didn't do anything after the whole transaction. 

After the phone call with XXXX, we immediately called Wells Fargo to freeze our accounts and hopefully stop XXXX from getting the money out of our account. Then the real Wells Fargo rep told us to call tomorrow ( XXXX XXXX ) to finish the report because the fraud department is closed during Sundays. After freezing our accounts, changing username, passwords, debit cards, and account number, we waited for the claim and investigation to process. On XX/XX/XXXX, we received {$1000.00} back from under my husband 's account. However, after calling the fraud department once again ( XX/XX/XXXX ) for my claim, they said that they are unable to give us our money back because the transaction were under my username and it looked like I gave authorization to transfer funds. As I researched and looked about this situation, Regulation E protects me and that, like my husband, I should be able to get the money back. 

After calling Wells Fargo, I then decided to file a police report and file another one here in CFPB.

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