Consumer complaint received 2026-06-10 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: MS

Complaint narrative:
I am filing this complaint because Wells Fargo Bank , N.A . has restricted or closed my account after I reported identity theft, blocked nearly every way I can access my money, delayed and limited provisional credit, and refused to provide clear written explanations or dispute status updates. I am the victim of identity theft. A known individual gained prolonged remote access to my accounts through XXXX device syncing. I have filed a police report and an FTC Identity Theft Report, placed an XXXX fraud alert, and opened multiple XXXX XXXX cases related to the account/device compromise. Wells Fargo was notified that I was the victim of fraud, but the bank treated me as if I was the risk or wrongdoer. On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Wells Fargos fraud line at XXXX at approximately XXXX XXXX. and stayed on the phone for 179 minutes. I called again at approximately XXXXXXXX XXXX. for 57 minutes. Later that day, Wells Fargo called me from XXXX at approximately XXXXXXXX XXXX for 30 minutes. During these calls, I reported the identity theft and unauthorized activity. After this, Wells Fargo restricted or closed my account and characterized the account as showing a pattern, even though, to the best of my knowledge, this was my first dispute ever filed with Wells Fargo. No one provided me a factual basis for that characterization. Between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, I discovered that Wells Fargo had blocked virtually every access method to my account at the same time. My debit card access was blocked, ATM access was blocked, online banking was blocked, in-branch withdrawals were refused, wire transfers were refused, bank-to-bank transfers were refused, and incoming deposits were blocked. This left me with no practical access to my money. I was also in the middle of moving into a new residence, which made the hardship worse. On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Wells Fargo again at approximately XXXX XXXX for 17 minutes. That same day, my nephews were in my care, as they are before and after school and on weekends, and I could not buy them food or water in the summer heat because Wells Fargo had blocked my funds. I had to call my sister and ask her for money. I told Wells Fargo this child-welfare hardship on its recorded customer service line, but no one resolved the issue or gave me access to my funds. Around XX/XX/XXXX or XX/XX/XXXX, I received a suspicious unsolicited call from a number with digits similar to Wells Fargos fraud line. The caller referenced a card ending in digits I did not recognize, and I never received that card. Given the active identity theft, this was alarming. At the same time, Wells Fargo continued blocking my legitimate access instead of giving me a safe way to access my own money. On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Wells Fargo at approximately XXXX XXXX for 55 minutes, again at XXXXXXXX XXXX for 39 minutes, received an incoming Wells Fargo call at XXXXXXXX XXXX. for XXXX minutes, and called again at XXXXXXXX XXXX. for 35 minutes. During these calls, Wells Fargo employees gave me inconsistent information, placed me on hold without resolution, and in some instances calls were ended or abandoned without fixing the issue. On XX/XX/XXXX, after I told Wells Fargo I intended to file a CFPB complaint, Wells Fargo issued provisional credit for only some disputed transactions. The provisional credit did not cover the full disputed amount, and Wells Fargo did not provide a clear accounting showing which transactions were credited, which were excluded, or why. Even after issuing the provisional credit, Wells Fargo continued blocking my access to the account, making the provisional credit unusable in practice. Also on XX/XX/XXXX, I made four more calls to Wells Fargo : XXXXXXXX XXXX to XXXXXXXX for 1 minute, XXXXXXXX XXXX to XXXXXXXX for 27 minutes, XXXXXXXX XXXX to XXXXXXXX for 7 minutes, XXXXXXXX XXXX to XXXXXXXX for 42 minutes, and XXXXXXXX XXXX. to XXXX for 2 minutes. My official XXXX XXXX XXXX usage report verifies 13 total Wells Fargo-related calls from XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX, totaling 494 minutes, or approximately 8.2 hours. On XX/XX/XXXX, I also spent approximately five hours in the summer heat visiting XXXXhree Wells Fargo branches trying to withdraw funds. At each branch, employees went to the back area, came back, and said a manager was unavailable or that they could not authorize the withdrawal. I was not given a workable alternative, callback, written explanation, or meaningful resolution. At the XXXX branch located at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX, employee XXXX XXXX, Personal Banker, XXXX ID XXXX, initially told me she did not have time to call loss prevention. Only after I said I would contact the CFPB did she place the call. She placed loss prevention on speakerphone while I was present. I personally heard the loss prevention representative say words to the effect of, Yes, he can withdraw it is up to you. I also heard the representative object to being on speakerphone and say words to the effect of, Dont have me on speakerphone. Despite what I heard, XXXX XXXX denied my withdrawal. During that interaction, the Wells Fargo employee also reviewed disputed amounts aloud and made comments that made me feel as though I was being treated like a criminal instead of an identity theft victim. She also told me the provisional credit was not your money, referring to funds Wells Fargo had credited during the dispute investigation. I believe that statement was false and misleading because provisional credit is supposed to be available to the consumer during the investigation period. When I requested written documentation explaining why I was being denied access to my funds, XXXX XXXX produced a vague handwritten note dated XX/XX/XXXX stating that loss prevention said releasing funds was up to manager approval and that the branch manager was out. She refused to sign the note and instead stapled her business card to it. I retained the handwritten note and business card as evidence. Two other branches refused to provide any written documentation of their refusal at all. I also asked Wells Fargo for dispute status updates, written explanations for the account restrictions, the reason incoming deposits were blocked, the reason I was denied branch withdrawals, and a breakdown of which disputed transactions were provisionally credited or excluded. Wells Fargo either did not provide this information, said the information had not populated, or gave incomplete and inconsistent answers. This situation has caused serious financial hardship. I have been unable to access money needed for basic necessities, moving expenses, transportation, and care for my nephews. More than {$1000.00} in refunds from XXXX XXXX and XXXX were also directed to the restricted Wells Fargo account, and I was told incoming deposits were blocked, which may cause those refunds to bounce back or remain inaccessible. I am requesting CFPB assistance requiring Wells Fargo to immediately restore access to my funds, unblock incoming deposits, provide a full written explanation of every restriction on my account, provide a written accounting of all disputed transactions and provisional credits, preserve all call recordings and internal notes from XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX, investigate the branch denial and employee conduct, correct any inaccurate account notations, and compensate me for actual damages caused by this lockout.

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 explanation