Consumer complaint received 2022-09-08
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CA
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Personal line of credit
Issue: Problem with cash advance

Complaint:
This letter shall serve to provide more background to the complaint that I have made with XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX of this year. I submit this information under penalty of perjury and attest to the following. 
On XXXX, XXXX of this year, I was defrauded out of {$25000.00} by an online scam. The scam unfolded over a series of events, but it was initiated by an unauthorized transfer from my Wells Fargo credit line. This transfer was done without my permission or knowledge and Wells Fargo never alerted me to its occurrence- despite the fact that the account from which the funds were transferred had not been active for nearly 56 years. The fraudulent and undetected transfer formed the entire basis of the scam ; since it was disguised as an outside deposit and provided the entire basis upon which the subsequent events occurred. 
Given the prevalence of internet related fraud and the corresponding authentication procedures that have arisen in response, I was astonished to learn that there were absolutely no precautionary measures taken on a credit line that was completely inactive. More importantly, however, is that when I went to my local branch to complain, I was told by Bank XXXX XXXX XXXX that an investigation by Wells Fargo Online Fraud Department determined that you or someone who had your authority authorized the withdrawal of {$25000.00} from my line of credit. Therefore, we have closed your claim. ( Document # XXXX ). 
It is bad enough that Wells Fargo failed to properly flag and notify me of this serious breach of my account by an outside party, but I now am being told that I somehow am ultimately responsible for this unauthorized activity- despite the fact that I was never even made aware of it in the first place. This is completely unacceptable and a violation of the Consumer Protection Act of 1968 and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act of XXXX which protect consumers from fraudulent and unauthorized withdrawal such as this one. 
I am an XXXX widower and retired veteran. I have been a faithful client for close to 58 years and expect the level of service and respect that I came to know Wells Fargo for offering. I demand that I be credited back for the {$25000.00} that were taken from my credit line immediately. I have already notified the California Attorney Generals Office, The Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. If this dispute is not met with my satisfaction, I intend to take the following steps : 1. I will hire a suitable lawyer and initiate a class action against Wells Fargo Bank.

2. I will send articles about my experience with Wells Fargo to all the local newspapers and will go on television with this story focusing on my treatment by Wells Fargo Bank after 56 years as a Wells Fargo client! 
During these scam transactions my computer was frozen.

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