Consumer complaint received 2022-12-09
Product: Checking or savings account — Savings account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account — Transaction was not authorized
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY (TX)

On XX/XX/2022, I received a call from XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX stating that my bank account had been compromised and that someone had initiated a {$14000.00} wire transfer from my savings account to someone named " XXXX XXXX XXXX '' The person on the phone claimed to be a Wells Fargo representative and said they were aware of the charge and were working to get the transfer blocked. We had a poor connection, so he said he would call from a different number. Wells Fargo sent me a few verification text messages ( from a wells fargo number i received several times before ) that I relayed to the person on the phone. After an hour on the phone, he told me that a claim had been filed, gave me a reference number, and told me that my savings account had been closed and that we were opening a new one. He also told me that my debit card had been cancelled and that I would be receiving a new one. Because this person was fraudulently claiming to be a Wells Fargo representative, I was under the impression that the situation was being handled. On XX/XX/XXXX, my debit card still hadn't arrived, so I called Wells Fargo to check on that. They said that the card had never been cancelled and asked if I would still like a new one. I said yes. I did not ask about the claim at this point because I was trying to be patient and understood that these things take time. Another week goes by, and my money was still missing so I began to worry. On XX/XX/XXXX, I called to check on the status of the claim using the reference number that had been provided, but the representative told me that no claim had been filed under that number. They asked if I would like to file a claim at this point, and I said yes. So, I went through the process of filing a claim and once again I was given a reference number. The bank representative told me that the investigator assigned to the claim would be in contact with me. I never received any sort of communication from the investigator. Fast forward to XX/XX/XXXX and my money had still not been re-imbursed. I spoke with a representative in the claims department, and she told me that the claim was still under investigation and that she would put a rush on it. Another week goes by, and I still have not heard from the investigator or received any updates regarding my claim, so I decided to call again on XX/XX/XXXX. After speaking with a representative from the claims department, they told me that the claim had been denied because the wire transfer had been authorized using my username and password. He told me there was nothing more that he could do. I then filed a complaint with the bank, but they told me they would be unable to re-open the investigation. 

I am filing this complaint on the following grounds : 1. I should be protected from this fraudulent transfer under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act. I did not authorize this transaction, I filed a dispute within a reasonable time frame, 2. I feel that a reasonable investigation was not conducted. The investigator from Wells Fargo never contacted me, and denied my claim without hearing my side of the story. They also clearly did not check my banking history because this transfer was outside of my regular spending pattern.