Consumer complaint received 2022-01-21
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: VA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem when making payments
Sub-issue: Problem during payment process

Complaint:
Two months ago, I started using a Wells Fargo " Active Cash '' Visa Credit Card. It came with a credit limit of only {$2500.00}, which was surprisingly low given my credit score, income, and lack of debt outside of an affordable mortgage. ( for context, my other credit card is a XXXX XXXX XXXX with a credit limit of {$19000.00}. Given that I quickly pay off any charges on a credit card, I decided to try to work within the {$2500.00} credit limit for the sake of the superior cash back rewards. 

On multiple occasions, I have paid off my Outstanding Balance to {$0.00} but it has then taken days and days for my Available Revolving Line of Credit to reflect the payment - even though it has been several days since the money was actually drafted from my checking account. When calling about this issue, they stated that my available credit should be restored in 3-5 business days- even though my money had already been drafted out of my checking account - because I paid from a " non-Wells Fargo '' account. If Wells Fargo is already in possession of my money, the institution that previously held that money should not matter when it comes to restoring my available credit. 

As an example, I made a large payment on XX/XX/XXXX and another large payment on XX/XX/XXXX for work travel charges that took my Outstanding Balance to {$0.00}. My XXXX  checking account shows both payments as being drafted on XX/XX/XXXX. Wells Fargo reflects these payments in my Outstanding Balance. Yet my Available Revolving Line of Credit still sits at just {$54.00} as of XX/XX/XXXX, with no restoration in sight. The only relevant language on this issue in the card 's Disclosure Statement says, " Some of your available line of credit may be held, at our discretion, until your payment is honored. '' When should my payment be honored, if not when Wells Fargo already has my money? Withholding available credit for days after Wells Fargo is already in possession of money that came from a " non-Wells Fargo '' account is a dirty business practice to attempt to create more Wells Fargo accounts. 

Additionally, Wells Fargo limits the number of payments that can be made online in a given month if they come from a " non-Wells Fargo '' account. This practice is not disclosed anywhere in the credit card Disclosure Statement. It's yet another dirty business practice to try to make a product so inconvenient to use that customers will eventually opt to open Wells Fargo accounts just to make a credit card usable. 

As a potential solution, I asked for my credit limit to be raised. This was declined because they deemed the card to be too new. That is an irrelevant excuse for a customer with an XXXX credit score, gross income of almost {$120000.00} per year, and no debt other than a mortgage that represents less than 19 % of my income. 

( for context again, my XXXX XXXX XXXX restores my available credit instantly upon payment, does not limit the payments I can make, and raises my credit limit just from me updating my income online - even though I pay any charges on that card from the same XXXX XXXX checking account that Wells Fargo uses as an excuse ) The comically low credit limit, payment limitations, and withholding available credit for several days after payment has already been received ( but not yet " honored '' ) is all part of the Wells Fargo - a company fined in XXXX for fraudulently opening millions of accounts without consent - plan to generate more Wells Fargo accounts by imposing inconvenient credit card rules on customers without correctly disclosing the terms either before of after the credit card account was established.

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