Consumer complaint received 2022-06-16
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: GA
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:
I closed my checking accounts at Wells Fargo on XX/XX/XXXX after I got a new bank. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I needed to pay my CC account, with a credit limit of {$1200.00}, which I still had a total balance of {$1200.00} on. 

I recieved the following messages not via text or via email or phone call, but in the " XXXX XXXX '' which is a tab available once you select your name ( " Welcome, XXXX '' section ) at the top right corner of the website, and select " XXXX XXXX. '' I recieved this " Alert '' message on XX/XX/XXXX in the aforementioned section of the Wells Fargo website : ========== Subject : Online statement ready to view From : Statements XX/XX/XXXX XXXX PM Contact Us Your new statement is now available online The new statement for your credit account XXXX is now available to view online. 
New balance {$1200.00} Minimum payment* {$270.00} Payment due date XX/XX/XXXX * Your Minimum Payment includes any past due amount on your account. If your account is overlimit, please refer to the Total Amount Due on your statement. Please always refer to your online statement before paying your bill. 

View your statement Make a payment If you are receiving COVID-19 payment assistance, your payment may not be due at this time. 
If you have questions about your account, please refer to the contact information on your statement. For questions about viewing your statements or making a payment online, Wells Fargo Online Customer Service is available XXXX hours a day, 7 days a week. Call us at XXXX. 
XXXX ========== When I tried to pay my CC bill on XX/XX/XXXX, I found out I had limited payment options after closing my WF Checking accounts. I had the option to add my new bank account which my understanding based on a careful reading was it would be available to use in XXXX days after trial deposits were deposited in my account. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I there was a new message in the " XXXX '' tab of the message center but I was not notified in my email, text, or phone on file. 

========== Subject : Your trial deposits will appear in your account soon From : Transfers & Payments XX/XX/XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX Contact Us Check your account in a few days for the trial deposits Well send trial deposits to verify your XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX account. Once you complete the verification process by entering the trial deposit amounts, you can start making bank-to-bank transfers and/or payments. 
To verify this account : Check your non-Wells Fargo account for the trial deposits in 1-3 business days. We will make XXXX small deposits ( less than {$1.00} ) to your non-Wells Fargo account and XXXX withdrawal* that offsets the deposits. 
Write down the exact amounts of the XXXX trial deposits. The trial deposits will appear in your non-Wells Fargo account as WELLS FARGO TRIAL DEP. 
Go to Transfer Money. Enter the exact amounts for the XXXX trial deposits. We will immediately verify this information so you can begin making transfers and/or payments to your eligible Wells Fargo credit accounts, such as your eligible credit card, mortgage loan, auto loan, personal loan, personal line of credit, and home equity line of credit and loan accounts. 
The trial deposits will expire on XX/XX/XXXX. After this date, you wont be able to use these trial deposits to verify your non-Wells Fargo account and will need to repeat the account verification process. 
Please note : Make sure you enter your most recent trial deposits correctly. If you enter the trial deposits incorrectly too many times, your non-Wells Fargo account will be permanently unavailable to make bank-to-bank transfers and/or payments between your accounts. 
Thank you for banking with Wells Fargo. 
* This withdrawal, even though it merely offsets the deposits, may cause overdraft fees to be charged by your other financial institution if your Non-Wells Fargo account has a negative balance at the time the small withdrawal is made. Please make sure you have enough money in your non-Wells Fargo account. 
XXXX ========== Around XX/XX/XXXX I would have logged in to attempt to pay my CC bill again, I selected the CC account, payment section, and there were still no payment method available but the option to register a bank account to pay with. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I recieved this message in the alerts section of the XXXX account underneath several layers of menus again, only visible when logged in and not any notifications. 

========== Subject : Reminder : Check your account for your trial deposits From : Transfers & Payments XX/XX/XXXX XXXX AM Contact Us Your trial deposits will expire soon You must complete the steps listed below to verify your XXXX XXXX  account XXXX. The trial deposits will expire on XX/XX/XXXX and you will need to repeat the account verification process to make bank-to-bank transfers and/or payments with this account. 
Make sure you enter your most recent trial deposits correctly. If you enter the trial deposits incorrectly too many times, your non-Wells Fargo account will be permanently unavailable to make bank-to-bank transfers and/or payments between your accounts. 
To verify this account : Check your non-Wells Fargo account for the trial deposits in 1-3 business days. We will make XXXX small deposits ( less than {$1.00} ) to your non-Wells Fargo account and XXXX withdrawal* that offsets the deposits. 
Write down the exact amounts of the XXXX trial deposits. The trial deposits will appear in your non-Wells Fargo account as WELLS FARGO TRIAL DEP. 
Go to Transfer Money. Enter the exact amounts for the XXXX trial deposits. We will immediately verify this information so you can begin making transfers and/or payments to your eligible Wells Fargo credit accounts, such as your eligible credit card, mortgage loan, auto loan, personal loan, personal line of credit, and home equity line of credit and loan accounts. 
Note : The trial deposits were made by Wells Fargo to your non-Wells Fargo account on XX/XX/XXXX. 
Thank you for banking with Wells Fargo. 
* This withdrawal, even though it merely offsets the deposits, XXXX cause overdraft fees to be charged by your other financial institution if your Non-Wells Fargo account has a negative balance at the time the small withdrawal is made. Please make sure you have enough money in your non-Wells Fargo account. 
XXXX ============== Also on XX/XX/XXXX I recieved this notification from Wells Fargo in my actual email inbox, which is on file with Wells Fargo : ============== Wells Fargo logo Your credit card payment is due Payment to your credit card account XXXX is due soon. 
Last statement balance {$1200.00} Minimum payment due {$270.00} Payment due date XX/XX/XXXX Always refer to your statement before paying your bill, or sign on to online banking for information and instructions. 
View Your Statement Make a Payment If you have already made this payment, please disregard this reminder. 
If you have questions, call us at the number on the back of your card or on your billing statement. 
=============== Today, on XX/XX/XXXX I again logged in and found that the CC account has been closed, I noticed the " Alert '' Message Center messages which were helpful in hindsight but didn't sufficiently notify me in time to do anything nor seemingly should be necessary other than to provoke an aggressive account closure. For example, I have never been required to engage in a trial deposit activity, other than automated credits and debits to an account which is being verified, except in the case of trying to pay my Wells Fargo XXXX after I had closed my XXXX  Checking accounts. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I recieved this message in my actual email inbox : =========== Take the first step towards debt relief Dear XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX tried to reach you about your account ending in XXXX. We understand that you may be facing new challenges at this time. Have you considered debt relief options? The XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ), a non-profit organization, is ready to help you with one-on-one personalized financial counseling and debt management assistance. The credit counseling session is free and completely confidential. They may be able to assist you on your Wells Fargo account as well as other debts you currently have. 

Click the link below to start your personalized consultation with an XXXX agency. 

Get started now* If you prefer to discuss options with a Wells Fargo representative, we are here for you and available. Please contact Wells Fargo at XXXX. 

Thank you, Wells Fargo Card Services XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX is a national network of non-profit credit counseling organizations and is independent of Wells Fargo XXXX Wells Fargo has provided this link for your convenience but does not endorse and is not responsible for the content, links, policy, or security policy of the websites. 

The law of some states requires us to inform you that this communication is an attempt to collect a debt and that any information obtained will be used for that purpose ============== I would like to point out the email a day earlier, XX/XX/XXXX indicating fully that a payment is due on XX/XX/XXXX, a window at the time of writing this complaint has not passed. 

Currently my Wells Fargo webpage only redirects me to similar options for when an account has been closed but in this case has been closed without sufficient notification and in a timing where it prevents my attempts to pay off the account. 

In an ideal situation the account would have been remaining open at least until the date that was stated in the email from XX/XX/XXXX I received in my actual inbox, which is a message I actually recieved. At the time of writing, I have just learned of my role in the trial balance process Wells Fargo had proposed by viewing the same attached " XXXX '' messages herein. References to these described " Alerts '' herein weren't sent by any other written communication from Wells Fargo after making my initial submission of my new bank account as a payment method, which was the only option Wells Fargo made available to use, other than this email message also from XX/XX/XXXX, the day after I first submitted my new bank account as a payment method : ======== Your Trial Deposits will appear in your account soon Wells Fargo logo Check your account in a few days for the trial deposits Well send trial deposits to verify your XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX account. Once you complete the verification process by entering the trial deposit amounts, you can start making bank-to-bank transfers and/or payments. 
To verify this account : Check your non-Wells Fargo account for the trial deposits in 1-3 business days. We will make XXXX small deposits ( less than {$1.00} ) to your non-Wells Fargo account and XXXX withdrawal* that offsets the deposits. 
Write down the exact amounts of the XXXX trial deposits. The trial deposits will appear in your non-Wells Fargo account as WELLS FARGO TRIAL DEP. 
Sign on and go to Transfer Money. Enter the exact amounts for the XXXX trial deposits. We will immediately verify this information so you can begin making transfers and/or payments to your eligible Wells Fargo credit accounts, such as your eligible credit card, mortgage loan, auto loan, personal loan, personal line of credit, and home equity line of credit and loan accounts. 
The trial deposits will expire on XX/XX/XXXX. After this date, you wont be able to use these trial deposits to verify your non-Wells Fargo account and will need to repeat the account verification process.

Please note : Make sure you enter your most recent trial deposits correctly. If you enter the trial deposits incorrectly too many times, your non-Wells Fargo account will be permanently unavailable to make bank-to-bank transfers and/or payments between your accounts. 
Thank you for banking with Wells Fargo. 
========== I hope that over the timeline it has been understood that : On XX/XX/XXXX I tried to use my XXXX Bank account to pay my Wells Fargo CC bill {$87.00} over my CC limit On XX/XX/XXXX I recieved pending trial balance notifications in the " Alert '' center of the XXXX website and also in my email On XX/XX/XXXX I recieved a notification my CC payment is due in approximately XXXX week. 
Also on XX/XX/XXXX I recieve a message in the " Alert '' section of the Wells Fargo website I will soon need to find my trial balances in my new bank account in order to have a verified payment method for my CC account in general. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I notice CC account closure and I am reduced to having repayment options but it could have occured at some point before XX/XX/XXXX. 

The chief complaint is the arbitrary placement of restrictions on payment methods and no text, call, or email messages warning of imminent account closure. The fact that this situation is only present when other XXXX accounts are closed does not indicate Wells Fargo is in-good-faith presenting viable methodologies for CC debt repayment in light of my experience. I hope for a resolution where XXXX can mitigate any damage done to credit scores by rescinding any notices and also provide a method for payment of my account which just yesterday was due XX/XX/XXXX and had a payment method submitted for more than 10 days. This payment method I tried to use I had checked in the payment section of my CC account to see if it was available to use more than once and through no fault of my own missed obfuscated messages.

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