Consumer complaint received 2017-08-24
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Banking errors
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY (AZ)

On XXXX XXXX, XXXX, I applied for a MedCAP student loan with Wells Fargo. I was told by a banking representative that because my loan would be greater than {$50000.00} I qualified for their Premier Banking Account ( PMA ) which would provide a 0.5 % discount off of the interest of my student loan, versus only 0.25 % if I had a regular checking account with them. I agreed to open the PMA account and was advised I would not be charged a fee associated with the PMA. So, the PMA was opened but I did not use the account besides the first transaction where I deposited {$25.00} in the account to get it opened. 

In XXXX XXXX, I had applied for a second student loan and was still expecting the 0.5 % discount off of my interest because of the PMA account. Around XXXX XXXX, I received a letter in the mail stating that I owed Wells Fargo {$5.00} because my account balance was negative. I immediately contacted Wells Fargo over the phone and discovered that at some point over the six months I had an account with them, it had been switched from PMA to a regular checking account and I was being charged {$10.00} a month because I did not meet the criteria to have the checking account maintenance fee waived. So the accumulation of those fees put my account into a negative balance. I was never notified that my account was switched from PMA to regular checking nor was a I notified that I was being charged a monthly service fee. I was n't able to get many answers or any help from the phone bankers at Wells Fargo so I went into the branch on XXXX XXXX and XXXX and spoke with the branch manager, XXXX XXXX ( Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. | XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX AZ  XXXX MAC XXXX Tel XXXX Fax XXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX ). 

I explained the whole situation to XXXX XXXX and she told me she would have Wells Fargo investigate the PMA account issue. In the end, she informed me that whoever looked into and reviewed the phone calls of the representative telling me that I would qualify for the PMA with no monthly charges was not enough to allow them to take any action regarding my checking account and that they would let her decide what to do ( probably not in those words but that 's the general idea ). So, through her district manager, she was allowed to re-open a PMA with a fee waiver and she also reimbursed me for the service fees I was charged, {$20.00}. 

The new PMA was created in XXXX XXXX but I was still not receiving the PMA discount on the second student loan. Through email correspondence I addressed the issue with XXXX but never heard back from her and I did not follow up after two email attempts. By XXXX XXXX the PMA had been switched back to a regular checking account, again without any notification. I did not use the account so I did not notice anything had changed until I logged into the Wells Fargo Online Portal in XXXX XXXX. I also noticed I had been charged service fees for three months for a total of {$30.00} and this time I caught it before the account was in negative balance. 

Today, XXXX XXXX, XXXX, I went into XXXX XXXX branch to try and get everything sorted out. She informed me that the PMA had been switched back to a regular checking account because of an automated computer system, not an individual. She was n't sure what more she could do. So now I 'm making this claim.