Consumer complaint received 2024-02-27
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Virtual currency
Issue: Money was not available when promised — 
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY (PA)

Good morning, My husband and I are XXXXXXXX XXXX  and just XXXX  ( maybe temporary status for me ) at the end of XXXX. Some may say we are old school. We believe in hard work, transparency with honesty, and am proud XXXX XXXX We remember simpler days when face to face interactions covered documents you were signing for and staff were trained in their jobs or if they were unsure of guidance, could consult a fellow colleague, not a help desk number. Dont get me wrong, I rely on help desk services but my point is that in my situation with WF ( Wells Fargo ), a banker that had never encountered my situation before presented me with XXXX options as per the advice of a help desk. Background.. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, a cashiers check of {$15000.00} was purchased from the account ending in XXXX from Wells Fargo. It was sent first class and certified mail to XXXX for an additional mortgage principal payment since we were planning on selling our house. On XX/XX/XXXX, I called XXXX and found out the check had not been cashed or received! So I went to WF and dealt with a banker there by the name of XXXX XXXX confessed he had not ever faced this type of situation before. We both agreed that the check should have stop payment on it. He presented XXXX options to me. Option XXXX was to purchase a surety bond for {$300.00} and access funds. Option XXXX was to wait 90 days and then get the money. He wrote XX/XX/XXXX on his business card as the 90 day mark. He had been working with a help desk as to how best handle my situation. I opted for 90 days. I then signed an electronic pad with my name and he handed me a XXXX page form and page XXXX and XXXX of what I later found out was a XXXX page form. I then called XXXX and told them to not cash the check if they found it and to send it to me ASAP as XXXX said if I had the physical check, I could get my money sooner than the 90 days. 

I called XXXX at least XXXX time a week and sometimes more to find out about the receipt. I called USPS and they tracked the package and said it was in an Arizona post office waiting for XXXX. XXXX said it was not there. Back and forth we went for weeks. On XX/XX/XXXX I find out that the XXXX tried to cash the check on XX/XX/XXXX!!! In the meantime they told me they did not receive it. It gets uglier and more complicated as a result of XXXX action which after a FDIC complaint, I got straightened out. Many tears, XXXX XXXX and XXXX  pursued. In the meantime, we tried to buy a house and my husband and I decided to pay the surety bond since we needed the money. WF then told me we would need to wait 3 YEARS since XXXX tried to cash the check. By the way, XXXX could not cash the check on that XX/XX/XXXX date as it had the payment stopped. I escalated the case with WF. I was told by that banker that it was to be handled at the branch level. He agreed that the customer service dropped the ball at WF. He said that there was communication that the branch in XXXX ( XXXX XXXX ) needed to provide better training to prevent this from happening again. 

The branch manager ( XXXX ), said he could not help. He said we needed A letter from XXXX ( on letterhead ) stating they will not provide the XXXX and do not intend in pursuing a hold in a due course claim. The letter would need to include the full description of the cashiers check ( date, serial number, amount, payee, etc. ). 
XXXX has since told me they can not accommodate this request. They are not returning my calls over the past few days. We have closed our mortgage account with XXXX now and they confirmed in a correspondence that they shredded the check and that the account is closed. Settlement was XX/XX/XXXX. However, WF will not budge. In fact, XXXX ( contact at WF assigned to case ) has repeatedly tried to twist my words, is arrogant and has a true XXXX to be you attitude during our phone conversations. I hope to pull funding from WF within the next few months as well. Our new mortgage is with another bank. 

I then wrote an email to WF executive board and received this reply. 


Wells Fargo case number : XXXX & XXXX Account number ending in : XXXX Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, case number : XXXX Dear XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX : Thank you for contacting us. We completed our research and are providing details to address your concerns. 
About the check On XX/XX/XXXX, a cashiers check of {$15000.00} was purchased from the account ending in XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, the cashiers check had a Stop Payment placed. The Declaration as to Lost, Destroyed or Stolen Cashiers Check form was signed on the same day. On Section 9 of the form : To further protect the Bank from issuing the stop payment order relating to the check, the Bank may continue to retain possession of the amount used to purchase the check and will not be required to re-credit my account for said funds until the later of ( 1 ) when the claim becomes enforceable, ( 2 ) any claims brought relating to the check are resolved, or ( 3 ) the three year time period has passed since the check was presented for payment. No one went over this form with me. 

Please note, no interest is applied to the funds on the check. 
Upon further review, XXXX XXXX is the recipient of the cashiers check. In order to seek an exception on the 3 year waiting period, we would need : the original copy of the cashiers check or Image Replacement Document ( IRD ) which is a legal substitute check or A letter from XXXX ( on letterhead ) stating they will not provide the IRD and do not intend in pursuing a hold in a due course claim. The letter would need to include the full description of the cashiers check ( date, serial number, amount, payee, etc. ).

About the service We sincerely apologize for the service you received from our Bankers. We hold all of our Bankers to a strict code of conduct and expect them to provide accurate information in a courteous manner. We regret we did not meet our expectations in this instance. We shared your comments with the appropriate management teams. Thank you for detailing this experience. 

Case status We have closed the case as of the date of this letter. If we receive additional information, we will open a new case to address any remaining or new concerns. 
How to contact us We appreciate the time and effort you took to contact us. If you have questions, you may reach me at XXXX, XXXX  through XXXX  from XXXX XXXX  to XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX. We accept telecommunications relay service calls. 
If there is an attachment to this email and you can not read it, please contact us. 
Sincerely, XXXX XXXX. 
Escalations Representative XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXX XXXX, SD XXXX Fax : XXXX cc : Office of the Comptroller of the Currency s contacted yesterday by the escalation team contact at WF. 
XXXX will not call me back and WF will not send me the forms that I signed that address what is in this email! That money is needed for the purchase of a car. We did everything right. USPS, XXXX and WF all dropped the ball and we are left waiting XXXX years for {$15000.00}. The account is closed with XXXX, the check could not be cashed the first time. WHY do we need to wait 3 years?????? 
Please help us. We need someone to look at this objectively. Put your self in our shoes. 
Sincerely, XXXX XXXX