Consumer complaint received 2016-01-29
Product: Bank account or service — Checking account
Issue: Account opening, closing, or management — 
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY (MS)

After my debit card and a book of checks were stolen, I called and had my card canceled and a freeze added to my checking account. A little while later I went to a branch of my bank and they began the process of switching me to a new checking account number. Because of the conversation and a few other past issues with the bank, I decided to close my checking account and find a new bank. 
I visited the Wells Fargo website for information about closing accounts and was told it needed to have a zero balance in order to process. I transferred the remaining funds in the checking account to my Wells Fargo savings account and went to a different branch, XXXX closer to my office. 
There, a very nice banker told me he could close my savings account ( the XXXX with the transferred checking funds ) but had to wait a day to close the checking account because of pending transactions. He showed me where my checkings account had a zero balance, with the XXXX pending transactions included. We closed savings and I called the next morning to the Wells Fargo customer service line to close checking ( because the website says that 's possible ). 
Instead, I was told those XXXX pending items had n't cleared - even though all XXXX were conducted by noon the previous day and the bank 's policy is to post transactions made by XXXX on a business day by XXXX. XXXX of the transactions were with the bank, including removing a small amount of cash and moving some checking funds to my linked XXXX credit card. 
I was told the process could be finished by XXXX meaning I could call after lunch and close the final account. 
But I checked the account after lunch to confirm the pending items were posted so I could close the account and an overdraft charge was added to the checking account for transferring all the funds out to my savings. 
I spoke with a customer service representative who said he could do nothing because the overdraft charge was justified, even though my account was zeroed out in order to close it the day before and nothing else posted. 
I went to the branch that helped me the day before and the banker that helped me was the XXXX to assist me again. He called his supervisor over and told him my account was rightfully at {$0.00} the day before. The supervisor looked at my account and agreed it was n't right. He tried to remove the overdraft charge, but the systems were n't working and told me I would have to go to another branch the next day to make sure it was removed and my balance was back at {$0.00}. 
Those XXXX pending transactions were all made well before the cutoff the day before, but the customer service representative said she ca n't close a XXXXbalance account with the pending accounts ( including the XXXX done with the bank ). But the transfer of checking funds to my savings account, which was done at XXXX., was posted - not pending, and I find that suspect. 
Now I 'm having to go to the bank again - on a weekend - to see if they processed the overdraft refund and if my pending transactions are finally posted, a full day after they were supposed to be. 
I have not done anything with my account as far as spending or transferring funds other than those transactions, yet by not posting them in a timely manner, I 'm being held hostage with this account and incurring fees that are not justified. 
The bank has not followed it 's own policy for posting transactions to customer accounts, they are levying bogus charges and then their own staff members are admitting it 's not correct. I have been hung up on by a customer service supervisor today, I have more waiting and travel tomorrow to ensure they 've fixed another of their mistakes, and I am being told every time I contact them it 's either " not their problem '' or their systems are down again and I can not close my account with a {$0.00}.