Consumer complaint received 2019-06-06
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: GA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: Written notification about debt
Sub-issue: Didn't receive notice of right to dispute

Complaint:
I have had a Wells Fargo checking account since XX/XX/XXXX. The Wells Fargo checking account was not my primary checking account, but was primarily used for " auto payments '' for various other creditors. I have been slowly moving auto payments from my Wells Fargo checking account to other accounts with the intention of closing my Wells Fargo account. In midXX/XX/XXXX, I received notice from Wells Fargo that my checking account was overdrafted. The cause of this was an auto payment from/for another creditor that I forgot was tied to my Wells Fargo checking account. The amount of the overdraft was {$450.00}. On XX/XX/XXXX, I took {$450.00} in cash to my local Wells Fargo branch ( XXXX XXXX branch in XXXX, GA ) and paid the overdraft. The account balance was {$0.00}. I instructed the branch to close the account, and they indicated that the account was now closed. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an e-mail update about my Wells Fargo account activity indicating that the account balance was now - {$5.00} due to a checking account service fee. I was surprised, considering the account was supposed to be closed. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received another e-mail update about my Wells Fargo account activity indicating that my account balance was now - {$75.00} due to two ( 2 )  {$35.00} fees for overdrafts for two more auto payments I did not realize were tied to my Wells Fargo checking account. I was again surprised, considering that my Wells Fargo checking account should have been closed by my local Wells Fargo branch on XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an e-mail from Wells Fargo stating that my account was now in collections and a collections account was being reported on my credit report. On or around XX/XX/XXXX, I called the phone number listed in the e-mail - ( XXXX ) XXXX - and indicated to the collections representative who answered the phone that I wished to dispute my account. After some back and forth discussion with the representative, I got frustrated and stated that I would pay the balance to ensure that the account was not negatively reported on my credit. The representative on the phone informed me that I could not make a payment because my account was now in dispute. Today - XX/XX/XXXX - I called the phone number listed in the collections e-mail I received from Wells Fargo - ( XXXX ) XXXX - to state that I had received no further correspondence or follow up on the status of my dispute, and wished to understand the status of the dispute of my checking account. The representative informed me that no dispute was listed on my account, and that he was unable to process my dispute and needed to transfer me to a different department to file a dispute. I informed the representative that I was very surprised to hear this, considering the representative I had previously spoken with had accepted my dispute and not allowed me to make payment on the account because of the dispute status. The phone number of the claims department where I was transferred was ( XXXX ) XXXX. At this point, I am alarmed that Wells Fargo does not seem to honor their obligations to receive and process consumer disputes in a timely fashion, and am equally alarmed that a negative account may be reported on my credit report. I was initially advised that my account was in a dispute status, only to be informed one month later that no such dispute was ever initiated, and being told that disputes could not be received by the collections department. I owe {$75.00} in FEES that should not have been charged to my account, and for which I am not responsible. My local branch failed to close my account as they were advised by me, the account holder, to do. I ask Wells Fargo to close my account and remove the negative report from my credit report immediately, and urge Wells Fargo to perform an audit of their collections and recovery teams to determine whether they have adequate consumer safeguards that allow consumers to dispute accounts and whether their teams understand and are able to follow these processes. This is unacceptable, and as a compliance professional in the debt collection industry I am completely flummoxed as to how unprofessional and inept Wells Fargo 's recovery teams appear to me. They are causing significant consumer harm.

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