Consumer complaint received 2023-05-03
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: AZ
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Traveler's check or cashier's check
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
This was sent to the Wells Fargo ( WF ) Board XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. The fact that this check fraud was committed with a Government check, intended for the Federal Reserve, but endorsed, processed and deposited into a clients account the the ease that it was, tells me that it is not a isolated incident. I would be concerned how many funds, intended for the Federal Reserve, are being held illegally by WF. 

XXXX XX/XX/XXXX To whom it may concern, et al ~ I would like to mention a few observations regarding check fraud, the subject case number and the email trail below. 

Ideally, this check should have been returned prior to endorsing and depositing it into a Wells Fargo ( WF ) clients account that it was not intended for. 

When I first began to address this, I reached out to WF Customer Service. As Im not a client of WF, getting past robo-lady, without providing an account number to get to a representative, was next to impossible. ( WF did provide the clients account number/lock box on the the check that was fraudulently processed. I suppose this account number could be used, just to get past robo-lady, and get to a representative in the future ). In speaking with the WF fraud department and some other department, my concerns were deflected and dismissed. At no time did any representative I spoke with refer me to the complaint resolution team. After weeks of deflection I had to physically go into a WF and speak to a manager be provided with a course of action. This is when the resolution process was first brought to my attention. ( Note : When speaking with this manager, I said facetiously : What does it take?, ..should I go outside, call the police, report theft and state my funds are being held hostage? Imagine my surprise when their response was Actually, clients have called the police here for those reasons, that happens. That speaks volumes of some elusive WF Mission Statement ). 

This has been viewed as mistake, misapplied or error by WF without acknowledging the check fraud that was actually committed. 

I believe this is not a isolated incident. If there were to be a audit, it would reveal more of the same criminal activity that has been committed in the past. The fact that this was a Government check, intended for the Federal Reserve adds a element of concern. 

I find it interesting that not once were my specific questions answered specifically throughout. Nor was this addressed as I was assured it would be. When I originally called after the 10 day period, the Case Manager appeared to not know anything about it. In the conversation, XXXX ( XXXX ) was referred to as XXXX  by the representative. ( And who is XXXX - XXXX XXXX XXXX below ). In the XXXX XXXX, youll note as I did, that many of the responses were usually from one person XXXX, with XXXX being cc : d, yet the letters were signed by XXXX. I never really knew who I was ( effectively ) responding to. Also, in XXXX of the letters from/signed by XXXX, XXXX her sign off, XXXX : She/Her/Hers appears. While this may be trendy or au courant, like politics, personal preference really doesnt have any place in professional business correspondence. I have no doubt that as representatives of WF, and required process and procedures, they have no choice but to be puppets-on-a-string and can only be as effective as the leadership at the helm. Still, based on my experience, these resolution position ( s ) may not be a good fit for either of them. 

After the WF client brought this discrepancy to the attention of WF, WF pulled back the funds on Advice of Credit ~ Whatever that means. So where did the ( {$480.00} ) funds go? Is there a specific account for funds when WF commits check fraud? ( If so, see Audit above. That is probably where all the smoking guns are buried and more funds intended for the Government/Federal Reserve would be found ). 

Ironically, there was never any mention of interest, penalty, fines or administrative fees ( the latter for my leg work ) in payment adjustments. Did I expect any? No. Yet WF will not hesitate to incorporate all of the above toward their own clients for much less than what WF committed.

I would think, at this time, that WF would certainly have a handle on the domino effect of unethical business standards and practices. In just this saga alone, and my reliving it daily for two months ( while my health insurance went unpaid with the missing check ), I know of numerous WF clients I have relayed this issue to that have closed their accounts and/or 401k and chosen another financial institution with integrity for their banking needs. Will any of that break the bank? No, of course not. But I do know that it amounts to much more loss than the {$480.00} in question had it been addressed effectively, efficiently and ethically ~ and will continue to have the same continuous effect. 

Regards, XXXX Wells Fargo Were responding to your concerns Last Sign In : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  From : XXXX To : XXXX Cc : XXXX Subject : Were responding to your concerns Attachments : XXXX XXXX Images in this message have been disabled. 
This message was sent securely using XXXX XXXX number : XXXX Dear XXXX XXXX : Thank you for your patience while we looked into your concerns. Weve completed our research and are ready to share our findings. 

We are reaching out to inform you that the funds are no longer with Wells Fargo and were sent from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. We were given reference number XXXX for you to reach out and provide to your bank. Once you relay this information to your bank, they will be able to confirm with you when application of funds will reflect on your account. 

How to contact us We appreciate your time and effort you took to contact us. If you have questions, please contact us at XXXX. Were ready to help you Monday through Friday from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. We accept telecommunications relay service calls. 
If you have a problem reading any attachment to this communication ( if applicable ), please reach out to me as indicated above for assistance. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX Escalations Representative Commercial Bank Complaint Resolution Team Wells Fargo Commercial Banking | XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 
For security reasons, please do not respond to this email with any personal or account information. 

This message may contain confidential and/or privileged information. If you are not the addressee or authorized to receive this for the addressee, you must not use, copy, disclose, or take any action based on this message or any information herein. If you have received this message in error, please advise the sender immediately by reply email and delete this message. Thank you for your cooperation. 

We may collect personal data as part of the complaint resolution process. For the categories of personal data that Wells Fargo may collect and how we use it, see the Wells Fargo California Consumer Privacy Act Notice at Collection at https : //www.wellsfargo.comXXXX. See additional Wells Fargo privacy notices at https : //www.wellsfargo.comXXXX 

XXXX Wells Fargo Bank , N.A . All rights reserved. 





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Wells Fargo Were responding to your concerns Last Sign In XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Subject : Were responding to your concerns Attachments : XXXX XXXX Images in this message have been disabled. 
This message was sent securely using XXXX XXXX number : XXXX Dear XXXX XXXX : Thank you for sharing your concerns with us. We know this needs our attention, and were looking into it for you. 

Whats next Well respond within 10 business days from the date you contacted us. If we need more time to research and respond to you, well let you know. 

Were here to help We appreciate the time and effort you took to contact us. If you have questions, please contact us XXXX. Were ready to help you Monday through Friday from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX We accept telecommunications relay service calls. 
Sincerely, XXXX XXXX Escalations Representative Commercial Bank Complaint Resolution Team Wells Fargo Commercial Banking | XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 
For security reasons, please do not respond to this email with any personal or account information. 

This message may contain confidential and/or privileged information. If you are not the addressee or authorized to receive this for the addressee, you must not use, copy, disclose, or take any action based on this message or any information herein. If you have received this message in error, please advise the sender immediately by reply email and delete this message. Thank you for your cooperation. 

We may collect personal data as part of the complaint resolution process. For the categories of personal data that Wells Fargo may collect and how we use it, see the Wells Fargo California Consumer Privacy Act Notice at Collection at https : //www.wellsfargo.comXXXX. See additional Wells Fargo privacy notices at https : //www.wellsfargo.comXXXX 

XXXX Wells Fargo Bank , N.A . All rights reserved. 







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Wells Fargo RE : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  Images in this message have been disabled. 
This message was sent securely using XXXX Hello XXXX, I hope you are well. We have contacted our research department wo is assisting with getting the transaction completed. We will update you once we have received an update. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX Lead Escalations Representative Commercial Banking - Complaint Resolution Team Wells Fargo XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX I reached out to my bank and have been informed, by both Accounting and Operations, that no credit has been received from Wells Fargo as of this date. 

How has Wells Fargo passed on the credit of {$480.00} to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX needs to know how it was sent. ACH? Tracer/Tracking number? Date/time stamp? Electronically? Encrypted? ( USPO? ). Please provide this information so that we will know where the {$480.00} is in order for the funds to be applied to my account. Please also ensure that these funds were sent ( if electronically ) to a Savings Account as requested/required. 

In regard, XXXX Wells Fargo Were responding to your concerns Last Sign In : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Were responding to your concerns Attachments XXXX XXXX XXXX Images in this message have been disabled. 
This message was sent securely using XXXX XXXX number : XXXX Dear XXXX XXXX : Thank you for your patience while we looked into your concerns. Weve completed our research and are ready to share our findings. 

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Wells Fargo has passed on the credit of {$480.00} to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX for misapplied payment. Please reach out to your bank today and confirm with them the application of the funds to your account ending in XXXX. 

How to contact us We appreciate your time and effort you took to contact us. If you have questions, please contact me at XXXX Were ready to help you Monday through Friday from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. We accept telecommunications relay service calls. 
Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX Representative Commercial Bank Complaint Resolution Team Wells Fargo Commercial Banking | XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

For security reasons, please do not respond to this email with any personal or account information. 

This message may contain confidential and/or privileged information. If you are not the addressee or authorized to receive this for the addressee, you must not use, copy, disclose, or take any action based on this message or any information herein. If you have received this message in error, please advise the sender immediately by reply email and delete this message. Thank you for your cooperation. 

We may collect personal data as part of the complaint resolution process. For the categories of personal data that Wells Fargo may collect and how we use it, see the Wells Fargo California Consumer Privacy Act Notice at Collection at https : //www.wellsfargo.comXXXX. See additional Wells Fargo privacy notices at https : //www.wellsfargo.comXXXX 

XXXX Wells Fargo Bank , N.A . All rights reserved. 





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Wells Fargo We need additional information [ At this point, I provided the requisite account number stating that it was. Savings Account and if it was sent to Checking, it would be returned as there is no checking account. XXXX? ] XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  : We need additional information Attachments : XXXX XXXX Images in this message have been disabled. 
This message was sent securely using XXXX Case number : XXXXXXXX Good XXXX XXXX, We are further researching your issue. We are in need of the account number at XXXX XXXX XXXX so they may have where to direct the funds once research is complete. Could you please provide? 

Please let me know if theres anything I can do to assist or if you have any questions. 

Thank you! 

XXXX XXXX Escalations Representative Commercial Bank Complaint Resolution Team Wells Fargo Commercial Banking XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 






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Wells Fargo We need more time to respond to your concerns Last Sign In XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Subject : We need more time to respond to your concerns Attachments : XXXX XXXX Images in this message have been disabled. 
This message was sent securely using XXXX Case number : XXXX Dear XXXX XXXX : Thank you for contacting us. We hoped to respond by XX/XX/XXXX. However, we need more time to complete our research. 

Whats next Well follow up with you by XX/XX/XXXX. If we need more time, well let you know. 

Were here to help We appreciate the time and effort you took to contact us. If you have questions, please contact us at XXXX. Were ready to help you Monday through Friday from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  We accept telecommunications relay service calls. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX Representative Commercial Bank Complaint Resolution Team Wells Fargo Commercial Banking | XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 
For security reasons, please do not respond to this email with any personal or account information. 

This message may contain confidential and/or privileged information. If you are not the addressee or authorized to receive this for the addressee, you must not use, copy, disclose, or take any action based on this message or any information herein. If you have received this message in error, please advise the sender immediately by reply email and delete this message. Thank you for your cooperation. 

XXXX Wells Fargo Bank , N.A . All rights reserved. 





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From : XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Fwd : Wells Fargo Check Fraud/case XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  Thank you for your counsel today. Heres the email trail from Wells Fargo Resolution. They keep informing me to Work with my bank to resolve this issue. I reached out to XXXX to see if these funds have been returned. It was verified, again by you today, that XXXX has not received the funds to release to my account. 
What we need to know is when the funds were sent, how they were sent and who they were sent to - or more specifically, what does Wells Fargo require from my bank to resolve this issue? They havent responded to my request- Im hoping they will respond to XXXX. 

I appreciate any/all assistance that can be provided. 

~ XXXX XXXX Good morning, Please find a written authorization, signed by myself, to continue the process to refund XXXX XXXX 's funds. You may contact me directly if you have any questions, my cell and email are below. Please coordinate with XXXX XXXX or his bank, be it your process, to return the funds as soon as possible. 

Thank you, have a good weekend and great Good Friday, XXXX XXXX Utility Services Assistant Operations Superintendent XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX | XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Wells Fargo Check FraudXXXX XXXX XXXX Good Morning XXXX XXXX, Per our recent conversation, Wells Fargo is requiring their clients written authorization before they can provide the information required for my banks knowledge, regarding the who, how, when and where these funds were sent by Wells Fargo. As they appear to be extremely XXXX in their requirements request, please be sure to follow their instructions explicitly and to the letter. Thank you, XXXX. 

Sincerely, XXXX Received : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  Subject : RE : Check fraud/case # XXXX This message was sent securely using XXXX XXXX XXXX, Thank you for the details. Unfortunately, we are not able to provide any other details to you unless you provide us with signed written authorization from our client. As we stated you will need to work with your bank to resolve this issue. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX Lead Escalations Representative Commercial Banking - Complaint Resolution Team Wells Fargo Commercial Banking | XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX. A, XXXX Floor | XXXX, AZ XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  : XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  Subject : Check fraud/case XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX et al ~ I reached out to my bank. Based on your correspondence below, its leads everyone to believe that funds in the amount of {$480.00} have been sent to my bank XXXX XXXX XXXX and to inquire when the amount would be released to my account since the negotiation has taken place. 

Per XXXX accounting, my bank needs to know how these funds were transmitted ( electronically or via Mail ) and who the they are it was sent to, since Wells Fargo has addressed it. ~ XXXX Resolution number : XXXX Enterprise Complaints Management Team, Im providing the following to assist the team in ... looking into it for you. 

Regards, XXXX Case number : XXXX Dear XXXX XXXX : Thank you for sharing your concerns with us. We know this needs our attention, and were looking into it for you.

Whats next Well respond within 10 business days from the date you contacted us. If we need more time to research and respond to you, well let you know. 

Were here to help We appreciate the time and effort you took to contact us. If you have questions, please contact us XXXX. Were ready to help you Monday through Friday from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. We accept telecommunications relay service calls. 



Sincerely, Enterprise Complaints Management Office For security reasons, please do not respond to this email with any personal or account information. 

This message may contain confidential and/or privileged information. If you are not the addressee or authorized to receive this for the addressee, you must not use, copy, disclose, or take any action based on this message or any information herein. If you have received this message in error, please advise the sender immediately by reply email and delete this message. Thank you for your cooperation. 

We may collect personal data as part of the complaint resolution process. For the categories of personal data that Wells Fargo may collect and how we use it, see the Wells Fargo California Consumer Privacy Act Notice at Collection at https : //www.wellsfargo.comXXXX additional Wells Fargo privacy notices at XXXX : XXXX. 

XXXX Wells Fargo Bank , N.A . All rights reserved. 

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