Consumer complaint received 2017-07-30
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: MN
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Problem caused by your funds being low
Sub-issue: Overdrafts and overdraft fees

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, my Wells Fargo consumer Everyday Checking account holding {$620.00} was subjected to an unexpected levy order by the CA Franchise Tax Board. I live in XXXX, and have not been a XXXX resident or taxpayer since XXXX.
Wells Fargo complied with the order, reducing my account balance to {$0.00}. My first and only notice of the levy was onXX/XX/XXXX when learned of the transaction by an account activity text message from Wells Fargo.
I contacted Wells Fargo immediately by phone, believing the levy was imposed erroneously. Wells Fargo told me the order had been legally obtained, and could not be reversed or suspended. The bank gave me the levy order ID number and a contact phone number for the CA FTB.
As I began the long process of attempting to reach the CA FTB, I was aware that several electronic bill payments were scheduled to be paid from my Wells Fargo account. The payments totalled approximately {$400.00}.
When I opened my Wells Fargo account, I intentionally declined overdraft protection. The account agreement Wells Fargo provided included a notice that I had declined overdraft protection. As I was told by the Wells Fargo banker who opened my account, the agreement stated that any checking debits that exceeded the available balance on my account would not be paid.
In the weeks following the levy, I made arrangements to pay my pending bills through non-Wells Fargo accounts. In every case, the entities with electronic bill payments scheduled from my empty Wells Fargo checking account informed me that my bills had been paid and my accounts were current.
On my XX/XX/XXXX bank statement from Wells Fargo, my account balance was {$12.00}. But the bank listed {$390.00} of debits, including {$100.00} in overdraft charges, as a negative balance on the account.
I contacted Wells Fargo by phone to dispute these debits, and asked the banker to review my account agreement to confirm that my account had been configured to prevent any overdraft payments or fees for overdrafts. The banker told me to contact another department because of the tax levy on the account, and gave me the Wells Fargo legal/compliance department phone number.
I called this department several times, and in each attempt reached a recorded message telling me to call back later because no representatives were available. I called the Wells Fargo banker and explained the situation, and was told the unreachable department was the only group who could assist me.
I repeatedly, without success, attempted to reach Wells Fargo to resolve this matter. I went to the main branch of Wells Fargo in Minneapolis to seek help in-person, hoping the banker could reach the legal/compliance department internally on my behalf. The banker informed me that this department does not communicate directly with account holders or even Wells Fargo bankers he described them as mostly legal or lawyers, and only communicated with levy holders, court officials or lawyers representing parties in disputes.
When I explained in desperation that I was simply trying to get Wells Fargo to acknowledge what my original account agreement and every bank statement documented regarding no overdraft authorization or protection on my account, the banker apologized but explained that the circumstances of the legal order placed on my account by the CA FTB prevented anyone else at Wells from accessing my account or addressing my concern.
On my XX/XX/XXXXXX/XX/XXXX Wells Fargo statement, the account summary showed negative charges of {$430.00} for additional overdrafts against my account. The balance was adjusted to {$0.00}, with three charge-off transactions applied on XX/XX/XXXX : Overdraft fee charge-off : {$35.00} NSF fees charge-off : {$280.00} Closeout charge-off : {$140.00} Over the summer of XXXX, I finally reached a different department within the CA FTB and learned that I had no outstanding tax bills or debts on record with the State of XXXX. They had no record of any attempts to contact me, and the only irregular account activity was a {$10.00} adjustment in XXXX.
I provided this information and a full description of my situation *three times* in writing to Wells Fargo , sending certified letters to the Wells Fargo branch were my account was opened ; Wells Fargo customer service in North Dakota ; and an address I found on the Wells Fargo website for Wells Fargo Consumer Account Legal Order Processing. All three letters were certified as delivered and accepted by Wells Fargo, but I did not receive any reply or further information from Wells Fargo.
In subsequent months, I made incremental progress with the CA FTB to locate the origination point of the court levy, but was told the actual court order document on which Wells Fargo acted could only be obtained by written request or in person with the court clerk where the order originated, or by the CA FTB agent who submitted the court order.
I tried to explain that these were the details I wanted in the first place but could not get from CA FTB ; how could I request the order to identify where the levy originated if I needed the identity of the order originator to obtain the court order?
I received no further account statements from Wells Fargo, and no communication from Wells Fargo of any kind ... until I received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX one year after original problem with my account occurred. The letter informed me that it is URGENT that you call us immediately regarding your closed account to avoid further collection activity.
Three days later, I attempted to contact Wells Fargo at their Overdraft Deposit Collections and Recovery Department by the phone number provided in the letter. This department informed me that I needed to contact the Wells Fargo legal department because of the levy order and that my account was about to be forwarded for collection action.
This circular, unresponsive and intentionally opaque strategy by Wells Fargo is deceptive, unfair and designed to prevent my good-faith efforts to resolve the matter in a timely way. The refusal of any Wells Fargo Banker to provide further guidance beyond not my department left me with no options to demonstrate consumer responsibility and fix any problems.
Further, the Wells Fargo account documentation which mirrors the Wells Fargo marketing materials is clearly deceptive about what an overdraft is ; their failure to explain what overdraft protection entails ; failure to describe the consequences of declining overdraft protection ; and no mechanism or process for an account-holder to obtain acknowledgment from Wells Fargo that when account-holders indicate No Overdrafts, we do not want our account to be overdrawn or charged fees if any attempt to withdraw funds exceeds the available balance.
Is this too obvious, simple or reasonable for me to expect as a consumer? Help me, please.

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 non-monetary relief