Consumer complaint received 2025-01-28 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem — Problem with personal statement of dispute
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: NJ

Complaint narrative:
Dear XXXX, I'm a victim of identity theft and currently having trouble restoring my credit score because Wells Fargo does not agree with my dispute. 

Back in XX/XX/XXXX, someone stole my personal information and opened a credit card account in Wells Fargo. The criminal further spent {$12000.00} in the following months and didn't pay the money. The account was eventually closed and Wells Fargo reported to credit bureaus for failure to submit the payment and it hit my credit score very hard ( likely from around XXXX to XXXX ). 

I found my credit score was hurt and the existence of this account in XX/XX/XXXX when purchasing a car from XXXX dealer. After then, I tried to contact Wells Fargo to clarify that it's an identity theft and get this account removed from my name/credit profile. I also filed a federal trade report, police report and faxed over to Wells Fargo for further review but their investigation did not agree with my statement. I also tried to contact XXXX to get this account removed but they seem to rely on feedback from Wells Fargo more than my statement and materials so it didn't succeed. 

In addition, they tried to sue me to pay the money. In XX/XX/XXXX, we went through a court trial in New Jersey and I finally won the case. During the court, they were unable to prove the validity of the spending items in the account because the total amount does not add up correctly, which is pointed out by the judge. They tried to list a few of spending items in the account but none of them can be directly or indirectly linked to me because the location or the buyer is totally unrelated to my personal history. 

After I got an official trial result, I filed another dispute with XXXX and I firstly got the credit score back at the end of XXXX XXXXHowever, in mid XX/XX/XXXX, I got a notification from XXXX saying that Wells Fargo did reinvestigation and does not agree with the dispute again, thus the credit scorXXXX was reduced back. 

This is very frustrating and unfair that : 1. Wells Fargo allows opening a credit card account remotely online without checking identification like photo ID or camera. The process is severely flawed and as the victim of the identity theft, I should not be responsible for the charges or credit score damage. 
2. After I presented solid documents ( bank bills proving my address, police report, federal trade reports and trial results they should be aware of themselves ), Wells Fargo still insists that I'm responsible for the charges. 
3. XXXX as a credit bureau, is unable to judge the information from both sides and only rely on feedback from Wells Fargo for dispute decision, even when the identity theft victim presented solid evidence. 

Thanks

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief