Consumer complaint received 2017-01-12
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: IN
Product: Bank account or service
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Account opening, closing, or management

Complaint:
In the XXXX of XX/XX/XXXX I attempted to open accounts with multiple banks and investment companies in order to invest money I made from selling a house. I also intended to apply for a mortgage to purchase land for my house. However, I was refused from the companies not even being allowed to open a simple checking account. The companies gave me a paper with a reporting agency to contact, because I had a negative report on the consumer bank report. I contacted the reporting agency and received the report. Wells Fargo was listed as giving me the negative spots. The report said there were two accounts created on the same day in XX/XX/XXXX and closed on the same day in XX/XX/XXXX. Here 's the problem, not only did I not open those accounts, nor was anything owed on them, but I 'm not even a customer of Wells Fargo. Also, the bank never informed me that they had done this to me ; creating false accounts for their customers is one thing, creating them for someone who is not even a customer is another. 

So, the reporting agency recommended I call the bank to get it resolved. That was a mistake, because I should have just gone to a lawyer since calling them has n't helped at all. The first call I made to them wasted a day with my family over the holidays, which are rare for me since I am in the military. It was a waste because no one had a clue what to do. I was given the run around through about every department trying to find someone who could find the accounts or me in their system. The employees just wanted to push me off as someone else 's problem. Finally, I was sent to their executive office where the lady did actually seem to want to help which was refreshing at that point. 

She also did n't know what was going on and why or how those accounts were made, but she did get a hold of the fraud department to get a case started and told me they were assigning me someone to take care of my case and that it would be done by XXXX. So, she told me to contact her back in couple days if the fraud dept. had n't. They did n't so I called her back and not only did they not start it, but the person in charge of my case went on vacation. This sounded like a joke to me, like they did n't give a XXXX about the problem, yet I still ca n't do anything with my money or other banks, so I can assure you it is a serious problem for me. 

However, I remained civil and was told to give them a couple days after the holiday to have it resolved. Being the holidays I gave them an entire week. I call back and sure enough not only was the lady in the executive office no longer calling me, but no one seemed to believe that she worked there. So, they sent me to the fraud department, and things got worse from there. No one seemed to be in charge of my case, nor was the negative reports off my report, nor was the case resolved, nor did they give a XXXX. I was furious. That set me off and I realize now a lawyer is needed to get them to do something about this, because it needs done ASAP since I 'll be going overseas soon and ca n't do anything with banks. The incompetence, negligence, and fraud by Wells Fargo are beyond what I imagined. All the time and money dealing with this problem, I recommend anyone else who encounters this to just go to a lawyer. If you are a customer you probably have to go to some sort of arbitration, but if you are not a customer well have your lawyer decide the best course of action that is their job.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief