Consumer complaint received 2015-06-06
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: FL
Product: Bank account or service
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Account opening, closing, or management

Complaint:
I am a retired XXXX and I had my assets in a managed account with Wells Fargo bank for a XXXX of years. My financial advisor, who was an employee of Wells Fargo, set me up with a checking account there as well so, if I needed cash, he could pull it from my managed account and deposit it in my checking account for me. All was well until my financial advisor moved to a different bank. Because I wanted to stay with my advisor he pulled all my managed assets out of Wells Fargo and put them in a managed account at the new bank he was working at. 
Since I still had funds in the Wells Fargo checking account, I continued to use the account and never closed it out. I received my checking account statements electronically. 
Being a retired XXXX I prefer to maintain my checking account balances myself on paper and failed to log in to the Wells Fargo website to check my statements until just a few days ago. I then saw that Wells Fargo, without my knowledge, had withdrawn a {$30.00} service fee out of my checking account for the last XXXX months, ( the period of time that had elapsed since the funds in my managed account had been withdrawn ). 
I contacted the bank via telephone and they informed me that my account had been set up as a ( XXXX ) account with them and therefore I needed to maintain {$25000.00} in savings with them in order to have free checking. They were willing to change my checking account status to a free checking account that only required a {$1500.00} balance, ( I had maintained more than that dollar amount all along ) but offered me no options for getting my {$300.00} in fees refunded. 
I went to the bank to speak with a banker in person and he offered no options for recouping my loss and closed my checking account. 
Later that day, I was able to connect with my financial advisor who informed me that this same scenario had happened with several other clients of his and when he and the clients called Wells Fargo together, Wells Fargo consented to refund the monthly fees taken out of their checking accounts. He suggested we call Wells Fargo together to try to recoup my loss. 
After speaking to several people, we requested a supervisor who told us they could not refund the fees since my checking account was in the process of being closed out. I told the supervisor I would be willing to set up a new checking account with different provisions that would allow me to get free checking and asked her if they could refund the fees to that account, or to a credit card account with Wells Fargo that I had recently been approved for. She said no. 
At no time did the bank inform me in writing or by any other method that they would be collecting a {$30.00} per month fee from my checking account. Also, no banker, either by phone or in person, ( and I spoke with at least XXXX different bank employees ) ever advised me, prior to me closing my checking account, that I could submit a claim with them to get the account fees refunded. 
Please note, I am unable to submit any bank statements showing fees taken out of my checking account because I only had access to those statements electronically and since I closed the checking account, the bank has taken those statements, and any evidence of that account, off their website.

Company public response: Company chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation