Consumer complaint received 2026-04-06 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Savings account
Issue: Managing an account — Banking errors
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: NC

Complaint narrative:
I had approximately {$30000.00} in a savings account deposited at Wells Fargo with a promotional interest rate which was set to expire on XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I went into my local branch in XXXX NC and was told in person that to receive a new, 12 month promotional interest rate that I would need to bring {$10000.00} of new cash to the bank. Thus, I went home and immediately transferred {$10000.00} from a XXXX XXXX account into my Wells Fargo checking account. On XX/XX/XXXX, I went back into a local branch in XXXXXXXX XXXX to confirm that the {$10000.00} had indeed cleared into my checking account and was available for any transaction. The teller confirmed that this new cash did qualify me for the new, 12 month promotion. To be clear : I was told in person on XX/XX/XXXX, that I had met the requirements for the new promotional rate. Thus, I authorized the immediate transfer of the new {$10000.00} into my savings account. Since this money had already cleared, and was at Wells Fargo, my assumption was that this would qualify me immediately for the new promotion which would start immediately. Thus, I was shocked and disappointed that I actually received 0 interest from XX/XX/XXXX until XXXX. Not only did I not receive any interest on the new {$10000.00} over this time, but my pre-existing savings account with a balance of {$30000.00} was reset from 4 % to 0 % on XX/XX/XXXX despite the fact that I still had an active promotional rate guaranteed until XXXX. The Wells Fargo Promotional Interest Rate Disclosure form states : " The promotional rate will be applied within15 calendar days of meeting the balance requirement. '' Thus, Wells Fargo 's contention is that they have met their contractual obligations and can refuse to pay any of the interest. My opinion, however, is that the contract wording is intentionally deceptive. A reasonable lay person reading this contract language would assume that if there is a hold it will because of a legitimate purpose -- for example, time needed to insure that the new money requirement has been satisfied. If the bank 's intension is to hold ALL new deposits without interest for 15 days then it should specify this in plain English. My understanding on XX/XX/XXXX was that my new cash had cleared into my bank account and that I was thus qualified to receive the promotion immediately ( that was, after all, the whole reason that I made two in person trips to the bank ). If this was not the case, I think it should have been incumbent on the bank teller to inform me that I would receive NO interest on the {$10000.00} for 15 days. He should also have been obligated to inform me that by signing a new contract that I would also lose all the interest on the {$30000.00} from XXXX. Interest that I was already entitled to by my old contract. Had I known these facts, I would never have agreed to the terms. I would have put the minimum ( {$10000.00} ) in a new Wells Savings account and then transferred the {$30000.00} back into my XXXX XXXX XXXX to prevent losing the 15 days worth of interest on this cash. I believe the contract ambiguity and the lack of any clear explanation by multiple bank tellers is an intentional practice by Wells Fargo so that they can hold funds without paying interest for extended periods. In the modern world, there are very rarely any legitimate reasons why a funds hold of 15 days should be needed. This practice is deceptive and unethical. And when extended over millions of accounts, it also is making the bank an enormous amount of money.

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