Consumer complaint received 2024-11-01
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Card was charged for something you did not purchase with the card
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY (OR)

Im providing this information in a timely manner as I am concerned about the proximity of Wells Fargo Bank/XXXX  XXXX XXXX to what is occurring and data that has been breached, the inconsistency information their staff is providing, and the damage their process is causing to my credit and how this may impact others. Further summation is providing at the conclusion.

Wells Fargo Bank XXXX Credit Card ) through their XX/XX/XXXX While traveling I started receiving notification of small ( {$7.00} ) recurring charges being rejected on one of my credit cards ( previously XXXX recently changed to Key ) this was surprising, but as I was returning home soon, I figured I would look at it more closely on secure internet connections. 
XX/XX/XXXX late XXXX  Looked into XXXX XXXX XXXX account and discovered a {$1200.00} charge on XX/XX/XXXX for The XXXX XXXX  that put me considerably OVER my limit on that card, but was accepted by the Credit Card. This was shocking. Why would they accept a charge that large, that far over my limit, especially without checking with me? The charge was for a hotel in New York we had just been in New York, but this made no sense. I went and checked my hotels.com app and on XX/XX/XXXX I had made a reservation for The XXXX XXXX which I had canceled on XX/XX/XXXX and had an email confirming ( it also showed it canceled on the app ) for XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX which meant the dates of XX/XX/XXXX made less sense. I tried to get help from the email from XXXX but it led me to the loops of contact us that doesnt let you contact anyone at hotels.com and all of the Q/A had nothing on being charged for a stay you had canceled. I went online to my Key Credit Card account ( WellsFargo.com ) and I wasnt able to dispute that transaction though ones from before the XXXX I did have that optioin on. It was the middle of the night, so I could do nothing further. 
XX/XX/XXXX I called the XXXX XXXX  in NY from the phone number available online. The gentleman who answered said they had no record of my name or any charges made to me. It was after XXXX, so there wasnt a XXXX available to speak to, but he couldnt do a refund or help me further, as there was no record of a charge. 
I called the number on my XXXX XXXX XXXX the following took approx. XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 
The first call led to XXXX who couldnt help me with any transactions that were more recent than the XXXX ( there was a term for this ) and transferred me to Customer Service. That person didnt give me their name, but said they needed to transfer me to Customer Service XXXX where I thought I was?? ) The customer service I ended up was for XXXX which was interesting because I didnt see any number for them the night before ( hed asked me if my reservation was through XXXX XXXX XXXX which I thought was strange as I was calling my credit card but hey whatever fixed it! ) That automated system demanded the last XXXX numbers of the CC I made the reservation with (??? ) or the reservation number The CC I made a reservation with in XXXX was the old CC that had since been shredded and I didnt have my email open much less the cancellation number as I was open to credit card statements. Before I could pull it up it disconnected me. 
I started over. 
This time XXXX connected me to XXXX on the Dispute team. XXXX ( I think XXXX might have been who connected me to the dispute team because I thought I talked to a woman on that call reading me yet again the fact the XXXX that they were trying to collect a debt ). I was irate by this point. They were also skimming over XXXX important pieces the charge was for 5 days BEFORE the reservation wouldve started which made NO SENSE and felt fraudulent vs. a charge for what I reserved ( and dont they usually just charge for the first night if you dont show for a reservation if somehow it hadnt been properly canceled ), AND the hotel had no record of the charge. ALSO this was a brand new credit card. I hadnt used it yet it was in my possession but the only charges on it were the recurring charges to the old number. What number was this put through on? ( I was a little stuck on how did they approve it when it was that far over my limit?? ). They opened my dispute and told me that I was not required to pay I understood that it would be taken off while they settled the dispute- they gave me a claim number and a phone number. 
That night our XXXX didnt work because it was on the credit card and it still showed as more than XXXX XXXXXXXX over the limit XXXX I called back to say XXXX remember me yall were going to take this amount off while its being disputed. it didnt go well. Apparently because of XXXX rules ( umm its a XXXX? ) they wait XXXX  days starting the day I disputed ( XX/XX/XXXX ) to leave it on my card *before* they could do a chargeback. I pointed out it was over my limit. This was damaging my credit and causing issues with other recurring payments that normally go on this card. They dont care. I wasnt responspible for the payment but I was responsible for being over my limit? If I wanted it resolved sooner I needed to call the vendor and have it reversed. The day before they told me not to contact the vendor because they would be contacting the vendor. Now I was being told that contacting the vendor was my only recourse for the next XXXX weeks. So, I asked them for the number they had -since mine went to the front desk and someone who claimed they had no record of me or the charge. ( Oh this call was to the Claims XXXX and XXXX [ or XXXX as XXXX called him ], he and XXXX assisted me ). So he gave me the number they had for The XXXX XXXX XXXX. 
I called that number. It would make a great recording for a comedy sketch. Something along the lines of a woman repeating, Hello, alternating with her asking her which hotel I was trying to reach so she could direct me to the front desk. They are clearly fleecing lots of individuals with very expensive front desk hotel charges. 
Interestingly I havent used that credit card. I didnt use it when I was in New York XXXX I wasnt even in NY yet when that charge was made. They knew I had a cancelled reservation that I made through XXXX AND they used my XXXX ( now Key CC ) card to make that charge. And XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX is refusing to reverse it. Went OVER my credit card limit to accept it. Is ruining my credit to their advantage and leaving it on credit card for the 10 days it took me to find and 15 more days until they do a charge back. VERY interesting. And wasting a TON of my time to figure this out. 
It is CLEARLY fraud. 
Perhaps all of my other credit cards are good cards. Ive rarely ( if ever? ) had a dispute or charge back but I have had fraud and it has been handled swiftly the charges are taken off quickly and my credit cards have been amazing. I guess I thought this would change something. Speed things up especially since THEY are clearly the breach. 
So I naively called back. 
This time I got XXXX. 
XXXX was the nicest person I talked to. He tried to be empathic and was nicer than anyone else, and he even thought they would resolve it in XXXX days vs. XXXX  days as XXXX told XXXX. However, he didnt think there was anything else they could do. He didnt think my phone call changed anything. It would all be the same. They would do an investigation and if it was fraud they would issue me a new card in XXXX days when they decided that. He could have someone in customer service talk to me ( and waste even more of my time ) but Id already filed a dispute so nothing new. 
In summary- Wells Fargo/XXXX XXXX XXXX solely had both my new and old credit card number and information that I made a now canceled reservation for XXXX at the XXXX XXXX the basis for this fraud. 
WF/XXXX provided inconsistent information. One person told me I would not be held responsible ( I understood it to be immediately removed ), another told me this charge would be left for 15 days, and then another representative stated XXXX days. ( This has not been standard practice for charges left on Credit Cards in my experience- nor have I had a charge in excess of {$1200.00} made or disputed. ) WF/XXXX told me not to contact the merchant and then told me that my only recourse in fewer than XXXX weeks was to contact the merchant. 
WF/XXXX  XXXX approved a fraudulent purchase for more than {$1200.00} that was over my credit limit and is damaging my credit ( which benefits them ) by holding this on my account as long as possible.