Consumer complaint received 2018-07-01
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: FL
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Other banking product or service
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Funds not handled or disbursed as instructed

Complaint:
This is a follow up complaint regarding CFPB Case # XXXX. I have since received a letter from Wells Fargo bank STILL, I emphasize STILL saying that I did not meet the requirement for a {$200.00} incentive bonus offer even though I DID meet the requirements ( as stated in the agreement ) AND I even got the {$200.00} bonus money as a courtesy adjustment from a local bank who heard my " case '' and decided to compensate me, even though the online people are refusing to pay me.

The discrepancy can be " boiled down '' to one simple interpretation ( semantics ) of the words " per month ''. One of the qualifications to get the {$200.00} bonus money is the account holder must deposit at least {$500.00} per month in direct deposits for 3 consecutive months within 150 days of opening the account. That is the wording of the agreement I signed. It did NOT say anything about calendar month or 30 day months in the agreement, however, in the letter sent to me by Wells Fargo on XX/XX/XXXX, they are insisting that is how they determine what a month is. They need to realize that they can not just use their interpretation / definition of the word month unless they explicitly state that in the written agreement ( which they did NOT ). They simply stated month, which, using a dictionary to look up, shows " a period of 28 consecutive days '' or " a period of consecutive days between 2 calendar months such that the # of the day in the later month is one less than that of the previous month '' ( examples are XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX ... ). They do not have the legal right to alter this definition because they did not specifically state their interpretation of month in the agreement.

So using the dictionary definition of month, that means that as an accountholder, I can pick a date to start the qualifications. For example, Wells Fargo wrongly stated in the letter to me that the months correspond to my statement cycles ( such as XX/XX/XXXX-XX/XX/XXXX being the first month in the 5 months ( 150 days ) of my qualification period ). This is absolutely wrong. I can ( and did ) choose to start my month on a different date and there is nothing in the rules that prevents that because it says for 3 consecutive months but didn't mention ANYTHING about lining up with my statement cycle.

Wells Fargo to me appears to be attempting to manipulate the words of the agreement AFTER it was already signed, so that they can use that to not pay the customers their earned {$200.00}. Not only did I meet the requirements, I far exceeded them! They can not just pick whatever start date of a month they find convenient, they have to go by what the agreement states. Wells Fargo has proven to me to be a corrupt bank by the way they try to manipulate wording ( unsuccessfully in this case ), but I strongly suspect they are able to " dupe '' other people out of incentive money that are not as meticulous as myself, so I worry for those people too. I got my {$200.00} not from the online people at Wells Fargo ( this was an online offer ), but rather from a local bank that heard my complaint and agreed that I am entitled to the money.

Note that this is the 3rd complaint/followup for the same problem since Wells Fargo has not yet admitted this is a scam like I perceive it to be. Once again, they CAN NOT change the meaning of the words AFTER the agreement is signed. They CAN NOT make the word " month '' mean calendar month or statement cycle month AFTER the agreement is already signed and those words are missing ( it simply stated " month '' ) Also, Wells Fargo did NOT pay me my {$200.00} on XX/XX/XXXX which is the 45 days after all the requirement were fulfilled so they are also in breach of contract with respect to that. They have given me no compensation for being late with my payment. My final ( 6 of 6 ) direct deposits was on XX/XX/XXXX so 45 days from that is XX/XX/XXXX ( XX/XX/XXXX ). The {$200.00} was deposited to my account on XX/XX/XXXX as a " Customer Satisfaction Credit '', only because I adamantly insisted I was entitled to the bonus money and told them if they didn't pay, I would contact CFPB, go on the news to expose this scam by Wells Fargo, and also inform XXXX XXXX   investigates to give the bank bad publicity. It was soon after that that I received the {$200.00} bonus money.

This type of manipulation by Wells Fargo needs to be STOPPED IMMEDIATELY! People do not want to tie up their money in an incentive offer for months, steering many of their direct deposits into a bank, only to get XXXX over on the incentive money they were " promised '' by an intentional and malicious " misinterpretation '' of the word " month ''. I was very upset with Wells Fargo and I strongly suspect many other people ( anyone who gets XXXX out of an incentive offer that they met the requirements on ) will be or are too.

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