Consumer complaint received 2024-06-27
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest — Problem with fees
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY (SD)

I received a letter from Wells Fargo dated XX/XX/XXXX regarding a closed credit card account ( as of last year ) with them that I was fraudulently charged for a product called " Credit Defense '' from XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called the indicated number XXXX and was advised they are a 3rd party handling this issue. They advised this was a product I did not sign up for, and Wells Fargo has been ordered to provide refunds/restitution for this product. I was then advised they are seeing I am owed {$15.00} for the term of the card. When I inquired about how they came up with that amount, I was advised it was based on the information " they had '' but they would be willing to offer me an additional {$250.00} since they don't have the records to go back that far. I advised them I was concerned, as although I have been unable to locate information online that indicates how the fees were charged exactly, that my understanding was the fee was based on the total balance of the card. I was a very young college student at the time, and typically my card was generally close to it's limit consistently. Therefore, it didn't make sense that I was only charged XX/XX/XXXXXXXXper month for the duration of the product, when divided out among the nearly 3 years it was charged. The representative told me in the interim, they will work to try and obtain the original statements. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called back and was advised they were able to see my statements, and indicated in the first few months alone I was charged over {$5.00} a month, depending on my balance. I asked for the statements to be sent to me for my records, and was advised I would have to go into a bank so they can validate my information before they could send the statements to the bank directly for them to print out for me.

A few days later I had an appointment with my local banker and we called in together. Initially, they wouldn't even help us as they stated the names didn't match. The account has my maiden last name on it. The bank has my updated name, and a copy of my marriage certificate. We had to speak to an escalation contact to even move forward past that, despite me being able to validate everything and having previously spoke with them over the phone. Once we were transferred, the local banker and I were told, yes, again they can see the statements, but they will NOT send them over as they aren't supposed to have them. Any records over 7 years are supposed to be destroyed. I worked in the mortgage industry, and explained that in my experience, if there is an ongoing lawsuit, they could NOT destroy those records and it would be unlawful to do so. It didn't seem to make sense that they would destroy evidence, or wouldn't have the billing information to support the mediation/compensation process and felt I was purposefully being denied my banking information, that I am entitled to. They continued to push back despite even the branch manager getting involved. None of my local bankers could understand why they wouldn't provide me information they clearly had. They just kept stating they can't legally send them to me, because they have them illegally. This made no sense to me, how could they try to rectify amounts owed, if records were destroyed? During this conversation it came to my attention that the amounts they were offering initially WOULD NOT be backed by billing information as they were unwilling to review or provide specific dates, amounts, how the credit defense product was initially billed or anything. They stated if I wanted to call back at a later time, someone could read me off all the information one statement at a time and they ended the call. I have tried to call back several times and now no one can apparently obtain my records that they already confirmed having- and even read me off information for the first 4 months from. Today, XX/XX/XXXX I again called attempting to get someone to provide me the information verbally at the very least. I was advised that the fee charged was also interest bearing if the credit card balance wasn't paid in full from the pr

ior months bill. All of this information is critical for me to determine an appropriate compensation amount. I was advised the only way Wells Fargo would provide the information is if I choose to go through full mediation. I should not have to go through full mediation to get the right amount owed. I will if I have to, but this is just a way to discourage people from seeking proper compensation, which is deceptive at best. They also advised they have a backlog of mediations that are 2 months behind. I imagine many others are experiencing the same frustration and are having to choose mediation to get what they are owed - meanwhile they are short changing people who aren't willing to hassle with this. Wells Fargo is supposed to be providing compensation for products we never agreed to, and then REFUSES to provide the data backing the amounts they are offering. They purposefully tried to get me to agree to {$15.00}, then offered an additional {$250.00} just so I wouldn't push further. I don't care if the actual amount is less than their offer, if they can provide that is just. However, NO ONE will assist me with obtaining my own personal financial records. I feel Wells Fargo is intentionally trying to minimize their payouts by hiding behind the rules of record keeping and making this process as difficult as possible to discourage people from pursuing their fair compensation. If I didn't know what questions to ask, I would never have even realized this as an " approximation '' of the amount they owed me, and weren't actually backed by the billed amounts - despite having my statements in their imaging files. These rules are intended for properly maintained accounts, but when a lawsuit is filed, destroying or hiding evidence is illegal. I may not be in the lawsuit specifically at this point in the process, but hiding behind this excuse to deny me my personal records that were involved in the crime they committed - continues to demonstrate how Wells Fargo plays in " gray '' areas to minimize their efforts to rectify their wrongs despite the settlement agreement. If they have access to my records, how can Wells Fargo send out a letter offering {$15.00} initially - despite HAVING THE DATA to show this was not accurate.