Consumer complaint received 2023-09-30
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CO
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX XXXX, I was asked to send a XXXX payment to XXXX XXXX, XXXX, in the amount of {$650.00} on XX/XX/XXXX for services to recover a stolen vehicle, stolen vehicle report number XXXX filed with the XXXX XXXX XXXX police department ( or the city of XXXX, XXXX spoke with many police officers as well as the sheriff ). I was told by XXXX that the zelle transaction was marked as " suspicious '' and did not go through. I was told that I would be automatically refunded within XXXX hours. I was then told to send another transaction, under the guise that that would somehow " verify '' the original transaction. Again, to XXXX. This charge was for {$350.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. As I stated, I never received the {$650.00} back despite being told it would be automatically refunded in XXXX hours. Please note that I did make an attempt to reach XXXX before sending an additional transaction, to see if what I was being told was true. I was unable to reach a single human at XXXX. Just a continuous loop of an automated system. I spoke to Wells Fargo about it as well, and they told me that they did not know, because XXXX is it's own department, so I would need to call XXXX. So neither wells fargo NOR XXXX were able to help me in any way, despite my attempts. Most of my conversations with XXXX were on the phone, and he seemed legitimate, and able to help recover the stolen vehicle. That said, he did threaten me at one point, and even sent a photo of the outside of my house. All of this to say, these transactions are not legitimate for many reasons. I paid for services ( assistance in recovering my stolen vehicle ) that I did not receive. As well, I was told I would be refunded the {$650.00} within XXXX hours which I was not. Wells Fargo was not able to provide any insight into what was happening with the XXXX transaction ( XXXX ) at the time the money was sent, nor after the fact. XXXX was unreachable entirely, I was never able to reach a customer service agent. I also received threats including a photo of the outside of my home. I disputed the XXXX charges through wells fargo, and they denied the dispute within XXXX hours without reaching out to me, no phone calls, no emails, no nothing. Wells Fargo treats their customers like criminals. Throughout the entire process I received no support from Wells Fargo what so ever. I will be personally calling their fraud department to discuss this matter when they are open on XXXX, but am very upset and frustrated. I have spent over XXXX hours on the phone with Wells Fargo this morning and they have been utterly unhelpful. I am incredibly frustrated for many reasons. Beyond the frustration of my vehicle and ID being stolen, Wells Fargo as per always refuses to not only take my side and/or offer me any layer of protection, but is unwilling to be helpful or take my claims seriously. I have never experienced such negligence from a bank in my entire life. I am reaching out to you folks for assistance, though I am hoping ( which may be in vein ) to be able to reach some sort of resolution with the fraud department on Monday.

I will file this separately if it comes to it, but there was a fraudulent charge for the amount of {$600.00} also on the account. I have also disputed this charge, and am hoping for a better result. However, if I do not receive one, I will reach out to you folks regarding that charge as well. For now, I am just trying to seek compensation for these XXXX charges that are illegitimate/made under false pretenses/could have been avoided had either Wells Fargo OR XXXX provided any customer support.

I am sure there is more that I am not thinking of at this moment, but please feel free to reach out to me directly. My expectation from banking institutions as that they offer at least some level of protection to their customers. I also expect that appropriate customer service be provided, and that agents are available to speak to. Note I did not call Wells Fargo or XXXX outside of standard business hours. I did speak to someone at Wells Fargo, who gave me the number to call XXXX, but I was unable to reach an agent at XXXX entirely. 

I am currently unable to find the rejection of the fraud charges from Wells Fargo, but I know from speaking with them today/reviewing my transactions that the provisional credits were reversed. There is a chance that perhaps the claims were NOT denied, and I am aware this complaint could be a bit premature, but I have always had a hard time with wells fargo and if the provisional credits were reversed I assume the claims were denied. Again, I was unable to receive clarification that the charges were denied since the fraud department was closed, but given that the provisional credits were reversed, I am assuming this to be the case. Again I do apologize if this is premature and I do hope to resolve this with Wells Fargo 's fraud department on Monday, but as a consumer I need to protect my interests. 

XXXX XXXX 's phone number is : ( 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