Consumer complaint received 2024-08-16
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Problem caused by your funds being low — Bounced checks or returned payments
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY (NJ)

I purchased an item from a company ( I could not retrieve the name since the site on XXXX was shut down when I reached out ), and before they delivered it to me, they told me that to ensure I was a legitimate buyer, I would have to cash a check and send the money back to them through XXXX and XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX - First, they sent me a digital check of {$2300.00} to print out and deposit. {$400.00} was made available to me that day from Wells Fargo bank, and I sent it through XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX - The rest of the funds ( {$1900.00} ) were made available to me, and I proceeded to send 3 payments of {$500.00} each through XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I sent a payment of {$490.00} on XX/XX/XXXX to complete the rest of the check. 

I was told that after doing this, my purchased item would be approved for delivery, but they told me that I first had to deposit a second check, and proceeded to push back the delivery date again. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I deposited the second check of {$2900.00}, and I sent the {$300.00} that was available to me that day through XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX - The rest of the money ( {$2600.00} ) was available to me. I sent payments of {$500.00}, {$590.00}, {$600.00}, and {$400.00} through XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I sent payments of {$300.00} and {$200.00} through XXXX. This day, the bank notified me that the first check ( {$2300.00} ) had bounced due to insufficient funds. 

My balance before all of this ( prior to XX/XX/XXXX ) was {$1000.00}, and after the first check bounced it ended up - {$1400.00}. 

XX/XX/XXXX - The second check ( {$2900.00} ) bounced, putting me at a balance of - {$4400.00}. 

I made multiple attempts to resolve this with the seller, but they have since ceased contact with me. During the process before the checks bounced, they would speak with me over the phone and send me updates about my order and reviews from past orders, getting me to trust them completely before taking my money. I have also tried reaching out to the bank and to XXXX multiple times, but they have been unwilling to aid me besides directing me to other sources. My biggest issue with this situation is that the checks were not put on deposit hold or verified before the funds were made available ; the bank made the funds available immediately which had misled me under the impression of legitimate checks. The bank should have stopped making the funds available after the first check. In this situation, the bank failed to notify me on a timely manner of a bad check being deposited. I had a significant less amount of money than the fraudulent checks held, and to my knowledge, with an amount that large without original funds to back it up, the check should have bypassed more security before being deposited. I just turned XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX ; I have had no prior experience with banking which made me a viable victim to scammers ; the bank should have prevented this from happening if they followed the deposit hold. There is a flaw in the banking system which the scammers took advantage of. Upon reaching out to report the fraudulent event, Wells Fargo concluded I was scammed and had closed the case ; however, the bank did not take responsibility for making the deposit fund available sooner than it should be. Then bank wanted me to pay back the scam deposit checks which I do not have as a student, especially as the bank already took away more than {$1000.00} from my account. I am frustrated with the bank 's action and hoping you will help me to resolve with bank to get me back on track instead of in the negatives. I start college next week, and can not afford to move on with this monetary issue.