Consumer complaint received 2026-03-18 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Problem caused by your funds being low — Non-sufficient funds and associated fees
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
TIMELINE OF EVENTS : XXXX XXXX : Wells Fargo buried a policy change notice on page XXXX of monthly statements, increasing the minimum balance to waive fees from {$500.00} to {$1500.00}. I reside outside the XXXX XXXX and do not receive paper mail. No direct text, or push notification in app was sent regarding this XXXX % increase. XX/XX/XXXX : Charged $ 10 monthly service fee without letting me know anything. First indication of policy change. XX/XX/XXXX : UPON DISCOVERING THE FEE, I IMMEDIATELY CALLED WELLS FARGO AND DEPOSITED {$1000.00} VIA XXXX TO BRING MY BALANCE TO $ XXXX. This same-day corrective action demonstrates good faith and intent to comply with the new requirement. XX/XX/XXXX : Wells Fargo refunded the {$10.00} XXXX fee as a " courtesy. '' XX/XX/XXXX : Wells Fargo charged ANOTHER {$10.00} fee for XXXX. Their justification : my balance was below {$1500.00} between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX ( a date AFTER my XX/XX/XXXX deposit ). This reveals the predatory mechanism : fees are determined by a " snapshot '' date that occurs BEFORE customers can correct their balance for the next cycle. XX/XX/XXXX : Charged {$15.00} ; and XX/XX/XXXX : Charged {$15.00}. Justification : balance below {$1500.00} ( as my money was charged by the bank silently due to their stupid mechanism, the " future '' charge on XX/XX/XXXX should be avoid in the system immediately when refunding my {$10.00} on XX/XX/XXXX, right? ) THE CORE DECEPTION : Wells Fargo 's " daily ending balance '' rule creates a mathematical trap. Once charged, escape is impossible : - Fee for Month XXXX is based on Balance on Day XXXX of Month XXXX - Customer discovers fee, deposits money to correct - Fee for Month XXXX is based on Balance on Day Y of Month XXXX ( BEFORE the correction ) - Customer is charged again despite having maintained required balance This is not a " minimum balance requirement. '' It is a TIMING PENALTY that charges customers for liquidity gaps, not for actual inability to maintain funds. Wells Fargo designed a system where : 1. No real-time low balance alerts are sent ( I only set up alerts on XX/XX/XXXX, after discovering the pattern ) 2. The " snapshot '' date is not disclosed to customers 3. Even immediate corrective action ( my XX/XX/XXXX deposit ) can not prevent the next month 's fee MOTIVE QUESTION : Why did Wells Fargo refund my XX/XX/XXXX call with a {$10.00} " courtesy '' credit, then charge {$10.00} again on XX/XX/XXXX? Because the first refund was meaningless theater. They knew the " beginning balance '' trap would trigger again. They extracted {$30.00} in fees from a customer who maintained $ XXXX for XXXX % of the fee periods, penalizing me for a $ XXXX {$25.00} single-day shortfall during a time I was actively correcting my balance. Wells Fargo 's response admits : " if your daily ending balance fall below {$1500.00} at any time during a fee period, a {$15.00} XXXX will be assessed. '' This confirms the predatory design : XXXX minute below {$1500.00} = full month fee, regardless of subsequent compliance. I am a customer since XXXX with no history of fees under the {$500.00} threshold. Wells Fargo increased requirements by XXXX %, failed to notify me directly, then exploited a technicality to charge {$50.00} for minor, brief, and immediately-corrected shortfalls.

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