Consumer complaint received 2022-08-23
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Funds not handled or disbursed as instructed

Complaint:
Core Issue : Money I owed on my XXXX taxes - that I sent via USPS mail/check to the IRS and the California Franchise Tax Board totaling {$10000.00} - was fraudulently cashed by both Wells Fargo and Bank XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX The IRS and the state of California never received my money, and Wells Fargo and Bank XXXX XXXX will not respond to inquiries from my bank ( XXXX ) about recovering those fraudulently cashed funds. 


Details/Timeline XXXX : I mailed in my check in two separate envelopes to the IRS ( {$8100.00} ) and the California Franchise Tax Board ( {$2100.00} ) to pay taxes I owed for XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX : Both checks were cashed and the respective amounts removed from my XXXX checking account. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I received a notice from the IRS stating I owe them {$8200.00} ( includes interest/fees added ). 

XX/XX/XXXX : I called the IRS and faxed the front/back of the cashed check to the IRS to demonstrate Ive already paid them. They said they wouldnt have someone hand-sign an endorsement on the back of the check like my check had been and believed the check was fraudulently cashed, because they dont hand-sign endorsements for checks and there should be a stamp instead. They said theyd investigate and put a HOLD on the collection as of that day. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I received a notice from the California Franchise Tax Board stating I owe them {$2100.00} ( includes interest/fees added ). 

XX/XX/XXXX : I called the California Franchise Tax Board and faxed in pictures of the front/back of the check. They told me the same thing the IRS did - the check appears to have been fraudulently cashed. They put a hold on my payment and instructed me to contact my bank to make a fraud claim. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I called XXXX, my bank. They confirmed the {$8100.00} ( IRS check ) was negotiated at Wells Fargo and the {$2100.00} ( CA taxes check ) was negotiated at Bank XXXX XXXX. They told me recovering funds would be a bank to bank process that XXXX will investigate and that the other banks are responsible for paying XXXX/me back. In order to start the investigation, I needed to open up a claim. 

XX/XX/XXXX : Spoke with the California Franchise Tax Board again. They confirmed it appears to be check fraud after looking at my fax. They werent able to keep a hold on payment, so I paid off the full balance. 

XX/XX/XXXX : Faxed the claim forms into XXXX. Claim # : XXXX XXXX : Received confirmation from XXXX they are pursuing repayment of my money. 

XX/XX/XXXX : XXXX confirmed they already sent info to Wells Fargo and Bank XXXX XXXX to investigate, and XXXX is awaiting a response. They requested a follow-up with the other financial institutions. 

XXXX : Received a letter from the XXXX stating they havent heard back from the other banking institutions. If they do not hear back or get refunded within 90 days of the claim, they say that I will not get my money back. 

XX/XX/XXXX : Received a letter from XXXX that was the same exact one as the above. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I called XXXX, and they said theres nothing they can do. They havent heard back from Wells Fargo or Bank XXXX XXXX, and they are at the mercy of those other banks. She said the banks are backed up and that the claim can now stay open for 120 days, though please note the letters still says 90 days. XXXX is benign responsive to me and doing what they can, and this is not adversarial at all. They are completely sympathetic but at the mercy of Wells Fargo and Bank XXXX XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I received the same letter from XXXX mentioned above. They still havent heard back from Wells Fargo or Bank XXXX XXXX.

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