Consumer complaint received 2023-08-15
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY (SC)

On XX/XX/2023 my wife and I responded to a XXXX XXXX ad that had a classic truck listed for sale. The seller claimed they were the owner of a car dealership in their area, and my online research to confirm this checked out, there was indeed a dealership by that name, in that area, owned by said man and reviews were promising. Classic trucks are hard to come by, so it's normal to find XXXX outside of your local area, and pay to have it shipped to you. We exchanged numerous emails and phone calls with the seller, received extra pictures and videos of the truck, including pictures of the VIN #, and title. We then negotiated a sales price of {$18000.00} to purchase the truck and an additional {$540.00} to have it shipped to us. We were then emailed a bill of sale and wire intructions and told to wire the payment for the truck, and the shipping charge would be paid for upon arrival. We wired the payment through our bank on XX/XX/2023, the seller confirmed receipt of the wire through email on XX/XX/2023 at XXXX and confirmed at XXXX same day that the driver had already left for delivery, we were to expect him to contact us. After XXXX  days the driver had not yet called us, we emailed the seller who confirmed that the driver was in XXXX, headed towards us and he'd ask the driver to call us. By XXXX still no call from the driver and the seller said he tracked him through GPS and the driver was then in XXXX XXXX NC but was unreachable by phone. At XXXX still no contact with the driver and the seller gave me the driver 's cell phone number and let me know the truck is insured and he believes there's a reasonable explanation for his delay. On XX/XX/2023 at XXXX, I reached out to the seller again who confirmed he still had no contact with the driver and if the truck wasn't delivered on that day, he would refund our money and call the insurance company and law enforcement. At XXXX on XX/XX/2023 the seller gave me the driver 's coordinates, and that's the last time I heard from the seller. On XX/XX/2023 at XXXX I emailed him to say that I've called him multiple times that day and left voicemails with no response, and to please return my call. By XX/XX/2023 he had blocked my calls and we saw the same truck for sale on XXXX XXXX again, same pictures, same description, same price, different seller name but the same phone number. On XX/XX/2023 my emails to the seller were returned as undeliverable, he had now blocked my emails. Upon researching further, I learned that the dealership this seller listed had been out of business for a few years and the seller was impersonating the business and the owner. I filed a police report on XX/XX/2023. The police agree with me that we were robbed through an internet scam. I contacted my bank to see if there was anything that could be done. The bank told me to provide the details above and they would investigate, if it was found to be a fraudulent sale, they would refund our {$18000.00}. Once the investigation was complete they said that while it was fraud, we would have to pursue the matter in civil court. The police agree that that will get us no where. I know that the bank has a policy in place to protect consumers from this type of thing, if their policy is to refund the money upon finding there was fraud, then I should be refunded my money as this is, quite obviously, fraud. I would appreciate your assistance in holding the bank to their policy.