Consumer complaint received 2024-11-15
Product: Checking or savings account — Savings account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem making or receiving payments
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY (AZ)

I have a " XXXX  '' savings account under my name at Wells Fargo for my child. My child was a victim of XXXX  wherein fraudsters contacted him and threatened him and demanded money. My child made several XXXX XXXX payments through the Wells Fargo banking application on his phone to the scammers, as follows : XXXX ) XX/XX/year> in the amount of {$550.00} via XXXX XXXX. 
XXXX ) XX/XX/year> in the amount of {$50.00} via XXXX XXXX. 
XXXX ) XX/XX/year> in the amount of {$250.00} via XXXX. 
XXXX ) XX/XX/year> in the amount of {$250.00} via XXXX. 
XXXX ) XX/XX/year> in the amount of {$500.00} via XXXX- which Wells Fargo declined and did not complete the transaction because there was suspicious activity/possible fraud. 

On XX/XX/year> my XXXX  alerted me to the situation and I visited my neighborhood branch on XX/XX/year>. I worked with the branch XXXX to submit disputes for the XXXX ( XXXX ) {$250.00} payments made via XXXX on XX/XX/year> and XX/XX/year>, respectively. The branch XXXX also submitted a claim on the {$500.00} payment made via XXXX on XX/XX/year> because he said he wanted to do that just to be on the safe side. I was given a printed summary of my visit to the branch, with the following reference/case numbers : XXXX ) Ref # XXXX in regard to the {$500.00} payment on XX/XX/year> via XXXX. 
XXXX ) Ref # XXXX in regard to the {$250.00} payment on XX/XX/year> via XXXX. 
XXXX ) Ref # XXXX in regard to the {$250.00} payment on XX/XX/year> via XXXX. 

Wells Fargo responded to the XXXX claims approximately XXXX weeks later ( Wells Fargo XXXX XXXX me that they would respond within XXXX business days. There were never provisional credits made for the XXXX {$250.00} payments ). This is a violation of Regulation XXXX due to no provisional credit being issued by the bank and the time to resolve the claim was longer than 30 days ( even though the letters I eventually received were dated XX/XX/year> - the same day I visited the branch to make the dispute claims ). 

The results of the banks research as stated in those letters is outlined below : XXXX ) Ref # XXXX in regard to the {$500.00} stated that there was no error as Wells Fargo had not completed the transaction and money had never been debited from my account. I have no issue with that but will point out that this transaction was initiated on XX/XX/year> ( same day as a {$250.00} payment was sent, also via XXXX and XXXX days prior to the XXXX XXXX XXXX payments totaling {$600.00} were initiated ). Wells Fargo detected suspicious activity and shut down the transaction. 
XXXX ) Both claims on Ref # XXXX and Ref # XXXX regarding the XXXX {$250.00} XXXX payments on XX/XX/year> and XX/XX/year>, respectively, were denied. Wells Fargo stated that no error had occurred. 

The reason that there were no claims submitted by myself and the branch XXXX regarding the XXXX XXXX payments totaling {$600.00} is because my XXXX  had called Wells Fargo on XX/XX/year> and requested to cancel those payments and was informed that the cancellations were successful. Additionally, the bank account showed that the payments were pended and did not go through ; therefore, the branch XXXX advised that it was not necessary to submit claims for those XXXX cancelled payments. What I believe actually happened is that the representative that my child spoke with at Wells Fargo on the night of XX/XX/year> advised that the bank would provide provisional credits for the {$50.00} and {$550.00} XXXX XXXX payments while the bank researched the inquiry. I believed that the payments were voided based on my childs conversation with the bank and a letter I received weeks later stating that the account had been provisionally credited in the amount of {$600.00}. There was a reference number on that letter : XXXX. 

After receiving the XXXX denial letters, I visited the same branch on XX/XX/year> to appeal the decisions and have the cases for the XXXX {$250.00} payments via XXXX escalated to the banks XXXX office as no one had ever contacted me to obtain the police report number and FBI report I filed with their XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX division. I was given a new reference number for the escalated case : XXXX and the branch XXXX scanned all of the additional documentation with the full FBI report into the Wells Fargo system. 

I received several emails from Wells Fargo after XX/XX/year>, and each time it stated that more time was needed to research my case. These emails originated from Wells Fargos executive office, therefore I believed that these emails were in regard to the XXXX office escalated case number XXXX for the XXXX {$250.00} XXXX payments. 

Finally, on XX/XX/year>, I received another email from Wells Fargos executive office stating that the claim for the XXXX Apple Cash payments ( {$600.00} together ) was finally resolved and that Wells Fargo concluded through its research that no processing error occurred and that the bank would deduct the provisional credit in the amount of {$600.00} from my account on XX/XX/year>. This email that I received on XX/XX/year> was received 92 days after the call my child placed regarding these transactions on XX/XX/year>. That is a violation of Regulation XXXX due to the time it took to research the case. 

I have not yet heard back from Wells Fargo about the appeal on the XXXX {$250.00} XXXX payments. I am placing this complaint in part to explain that Wells Fargo is not putting appropriate protections on its minor accounts. The bank grants access to minors to its online app and offers XXXX  the ability to make payments from that app. The bank is an owner of XXXX and there are well-documented cases and investigations by the CFPB into XXXX high number of claims that consumers make regarding XXXX, which the banks ( not just Wells Fargo XXXX but XXXX, XXXX well ) summarily denyXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXs a major problem in this country. There are no protections in place at Wells Fargo and other banks to prevent the exact situation that I went through from happening to more and more children each and every day. 

Wells Fargo knew very well that the transactions on my childs minor account were suspicious and yet the payments were allowed to go through. In fact, the bank stopped a XXXX payment that my child initiated on XX/XX/year> because it detected the fraudulent and/or suspicious activity. Then, XXXX full days later, it allowed XXXX XXXX XXXX payments to go through, even though there were the same clear signs of suspicious activity. I was notified of nothing. Obviously when the FBI opens a case in the XXXX and XXXX XXXX unit, and there is ample information with names, email addresses, phone numbers, and screenshots from the scammers all also provided to Wells Fargo there is merit to the argument that these are cases of fraud and scams.