Consumer complaint received 2018-10-13
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: GA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Other transaction problem

Complaint:
My mother 's phone number was linked to two different Wells Fargo bank accounts. One account was my mother 's and the was a different WF consumer ). This should never have happened or we should have been made aware of this after updating the phone number in WF app ).

THE PROBLEM : I transferred {$120.00} from my WF checking account into my mother 's WF checking account, on XX/XX/2018 using her phone number and XXXX. The money went into the other consumer 's WF account because ; according to the Fraud Representative, " The system was possibly stumped and did not know which account ( phone number ) to deposit the funds, but this was obviously a glitch in the software that should've never happened. '' I have filed multiple claims and made several calls with WF as follows : 1 ) XX/XX/XXXX Initial complaint-I was referred to XXXX Customer service and told WF has nothing to do with 3rd party apps ( that they sponsor ) XXXX 's voice prompt referred back to WF.

2 ) XXXXInitial Fraud claim - XXXX/Ref XXXX. Results - I was told this was not fraud because I mistakenly sent to other consumer. Customer service rep did not capture my complaint accurately. After explaining, I was told the info was totally incorrect, updated, and resent for investigation with up to 10 days for results. 
3. ) Second claim ( XXXX ) - After hearing from no one, I called to follow up on claim status. I was provided the same script for the initial denial reasons and was told there was no update provided and no case was being invested. Open ed second claim - XXXX or XXXX ( provided the latter in a later conversation with customer service rep ). During this call the Fraud Representative " dug deep '' in gathering information, acknowledged this would be fraud because 1. he wasn't expecting money, and 2. It was not in his name. Results:1 ) Claim opened 2 ) accounts linked for investigator 3 ) A pledge was placed on other consumer 's account 4. ) I was told I should hear something in few days and call back if not.

3 ) Third claim - XXXX - Called WF to follow up with claim, as suggested. Again, Customer service read me the initial denial script for XX/XX/XXXX claim ). After a little back and forth, I was transferred to the Fraud department. I was told claim denied bc of " previous transactions. '' being good. At this time, I asked to be transferred to higher management. Call dropped. 
4 ) XXXX Called back. I was transferred to multiple departments before I was finally asked to file a Money movement claim bc of the phone number issue on WF side. 
5 ) XXXX XXXX - XXXX XXXX XXXX. File claim. When Rep ws reading back my issue, he said, " XXXX app used and funds were sent to wrong number ). '' NOT AGAIN?! I re explained this was not the case. I had the correct number but it was linked to 2 accounts, by no fault of my own. Results : I received a call from XXXX XXXX XXXX and he told me to request money back from other consumer cause there was nothing WF could do because I used XXXX. He did give me another option of suing other consumer for money in Civil court. I AGAIN explained the situation. XXXX said he made notes to the claim and would continue to monitor the situation. 
6 ) I have no faith. I called WF to get an update XXXX. Surprise- I was read the same script from the initial denial. I immediately asked for the Fraud dept. Who told me nothing was decided in the second claim that they had 13 days. I aprised XXXX of the information that I had before she placed me on hold to " look further. '' She referred me back to XXXX in XXXX XXXX. Call dropped. 
7 ) XXXX I called Customer Service and was on hold for an hour and 13 minutes, while XXXX attempted to connect me to XXXX XXXX, before he came back and told me it was the end of the day and they were possibly gone but he would send an email, on my behalf, for XXXX to call me back. 
There was 1Fraud Representative that did her due diligence to review the information, WF seems to show no interest in my concerns. In an effort to 'pass the blame ' and be done. WF seems to want to make this about " using a third party app, XXXX '' and not take responsibility for the mistakes made on their end, by their system. The issue began at home-WF Online Banking. Why is WF accountable? 
1. ) My mom 's phone number should not have been linked to any other person 's account. With the rise in technology, money apps will be used more and more by consumer, like me. Email addresses and phone numbers are critical as they are the gateway to transactions in and out of banking transactions. When my mom ( or anyone ) updated her account with a new phone number and/ or email address, safeguards should have been in place to make sure NO ONE else 's private, personal account information was linked to it. I was told, by customer service, there are such safeguards - I guess this was a " one off. '' 2. ) A deposit in my mother 's name, should not have cleared to someone else 's account.

3. ) Since all ( 3 ) are WF accounts ( verified and located ), why is it such a hassle for WF to send me my money back, when the Fraud Dept. already confirmed/identified the flaw in WF software ( 2 accounts / 1 phone number ) and allegedly linked all accounts in their system.

The Fraud Representative stated the person investigating could easily identify the obvious " glitch '' and I should have my money back soon. Allegedly, a " pledge '' was placed for the monies that were incorrectly deposited into the other person 's account ( which Fraud was able to located/verify based in the name from XXXX app that I provided and number ), because my mom 's name did show on the deposit and the ststem glitch. So, where is my money? 
Note : I was told the fraud claim was closed because the investigation showed no problems with " previous monthly transactions '' sent via XXXX media, to my mom 's account. This makes me question how much effort was put into this " investigation? '' This should have at least raised the question, What changed? 
Did the investigator completely overlook the relevant information allegedly provided by the Fraud Representative ( i.e., the linked accounts, the 2 accounts / 1 number, the phone number updated to mom 's account and date, or the name on the transaction )?

After two unsuccessful fraud claims, I submitted a money movement claim and still no results. I would like WF to return my {$120.00} from this other consumer 's WF account ( identified ). There was nothing done incorrectly with the XXXX app. ( as mentioned, I used several times prior ). This was an error with 2 accounts linked to same phone number in WF system.

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