Consumer complaint received 2021-12-28
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problem

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a text message warning from Wells Fargo stating that my card had been declined at XXXX and to type Y if this charge is correct and N if the charge was not authorized. I typed N and was immediately called by an agent. The person verified my name and phone number, which is linked to my online account at Wells Fargo. The agent asked me to provide the credentials for my Wells Fargo XXXX account to prevent unauthorized XXXX transfers. Once the agent verified my information, they initiated a XXXX XXXX transactions, each for {$500.00}. The reason the person gave me was to reverse fraudulent XXXX transactions. The agent took {$3500.00} from my account. Simultaneously, my husband received the same text but was in a different city. He did not respond, but called Wells Fargo, who denied any fraud occurring on the account. Apparently the thieves knew our names, phone numbers and bank. My husband texted me while I was speaking to the imposter bank representative, who was also asking for my routing number, and I hung up the phone. I immediately called Wells Fargo and spoke to a representative that started a claim for me and attempted to transfer me to the Fraud department, however the wait time was over an hour. Although I was willing to wait, the representative said he was embarrassed of the wait time and advised me to call the fraud department early the next morning with the phone number he provided. I spoke to the fraud department on XX/XX/XXXX and the representative deemed the transaction authorized since the XXXX transfer had been sent to a XXXX Bank account with my name on that account. I have no association with the XXXX bank account and do not have a XXXX account with XXXX bank. The representative also claimed that the transactions were authorized however, I did not initiate or authorize the {$3500.00} XXXX transactions to the fraudulent XXXX bank account. The agent stated that they would conduct an investigation which would conclude in 10 days. Wells Fargo sent me a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, stating that the XXXX transactions were authorized by me and were not fraudulent. Wells Fargo has closed the claim and has not returned the {$3500.00} stolen from my account. One of the letters I received from Wells Fargo also sited a transaction date of XX/XX/XXXX, which is incorrect. The letter from Wells Fargo also stated that the claim was transferred to the Claims Assistance Center and provided the departments phone number, XXXX. I called the provided number on XX/XX/XXXX, and the department had no record of my claim. The Claim Assistance department agent ultimately forwarded me to the Fraud department. I have made multiple attempts to resolve these unauthorized transactions with Wells Fargo, calling their fraud department on XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX and XXXX. Each time, waiting for over 30 minutes to speak to a representative. To prevent further fraud, I closed and reopened a Wells Fargo checking and online account. I am disappointed with Wells Fargos customer service and lack of effort in preventing this type of fraud.

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