Consumer complaint received 2026-04-09 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Problem caused by your funds being low — Overdrafts and overdraft fees
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
I am a XXXX individual residing in California, subsisting on a limited income, and maintaining a consumer deposit account with Wells Fargo Bank , N.A . ( Account XXXX. XXXX ). The circumstances giving rise to this complaint reflect not merely a dispute over fees, but a pattern of institutional conduct that is demonstrably inconsistent with Wells Fargo 's own written contractual disclosures, its regulatory obligations under federal and California law, and its fundamental duty of fair dealing toward a vulnerable consumer who exercised every available remedy in good faith. As a direct and proximate result of Wells Fargo 's conduct, my account currently carries a negative balance of {$80.00} a financial hardship that has compounded with each passing day that my complaint has remained unresolved. I. The Assessment of Fees and the Current Negative Account Balance Beginning in XX/XX/XXXX and continuing through XX/XX/XXXX, Wells Fargo assessed a series of fees against my account that, in combination with recurring automatic payments, caused my account balance to deteriorate to its current negative position of {$80.00}. The following complete ledger of all charges, credits, and transactions reflects the full financial impact of this matter : Date Type Description Amount XX/XX/XXXX OVERDRAFT FEE Affirm.com automatic payment {$32.00} - {$35.00} XX/XX/XXXX MONTHLY FEE Monthly service fee Everyday Checking - {$15.00} XX/XX/XXXX OVERDRAFT FEE Affirm.com automatic payment {$47.00} ( posted XX/XX/XXXX ) assessed DURING account conversion to Clear Access Banking - {$35.00} XX/XX/XXXX SUBSCRIPTION XXXX XXXX recurring plan - {$17.00} XX/XX/XXXX SUBSCRIPTION XXXX XXXX recurring charge - {$5.00} XX/XX/XXXX MEMBERSHIP XXXX membership fee - {$1.00} XX/XX/XXXX TRANSACTION Affirm.com payment XXXX - {$47.00} XX/XX/XXXX TRANSACTION Affirm.com payment XXXX - {$32.00} XX/XX/XXXX TRANSACTION Purchase authorized XX/XX/XXXX - {$1.00} XX/XX/XXXX REVERSAL Overdraft fee courtesy reversal + {$35.00} XX/XX/XXXX CREDIT Provisional credit XXXX XXXX claim + {$5.00} XX/XX/XXXX REVERSAL Monthly service fee reversal + {$15.00} TOTAL CHARGED Bank fees + subscriptions + transactions - {$180.00} TOTAL CREDITED All reversals and provisional credits + {$55.00} CURRENT BALANCE Account is currently NEGATIVE as of XX/XX/XXXX - {$80.00} BANK FEES OUTSTANDING Unreversed overdraft fee XX/XX/XXXX primary subject of this complaint - {$35.00} Of the charges reflected above, the fees for which I hold Wells Fargo directly responsible and for which I am seeking relief are the bank-imposed overdraft fees and monthly service fee totaling {$85.00}. Wells Fargo has to date reversed only {$50.00} of that amount, leaving {$35.00} in bank-imposed fees outstanding and unaddressed. The negative account balance of {$80.00} reflects the cumulative impact of those unresolved fees compounded by the recurring automatic payments that continued to post while my account remained in dispute and while Wells Fargo 's representative had falsely informed me that I had no ability to prevent further overdraft charges. II. My Original Request and What I Was Seeking When I first contacted Wells Fargo on XX/XX/XXXX, I was seeking the reversal of two overdraft fees totaling {$70.00} the XX/XX/XXXX fee of {$35.00} and an additional {$35.00} fee. Wells Fargo granted one {$35.00} courtesy reversal on XX/XX/XXXX, reducing my immediate demand to {$35.00}. However, because Wells Fargo failed to resolve my complaint promptly and because a representative affirmatively misrepresented my rights telling me it was not possible to disable overdraft service when it unequivocally was an additional {$35.00} overdraft fee was assessed on XX/XX/XXXX during my active account conversion. My complaint therefore encompasses not only the original unresolved fee but the institutional conduct that caused additional harm to accumulate while my complaint sat unanswered. III. My Initial Escalation Efforts On XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted Wells Fargo 's second-level escalation support and spoke with a representative identified as Char. Despite presenting my account history which reflects only three total overdraft occurrences across the entire life of the account, the most recent of which had preceded this complaint by more than one year my request for full reversal of the outstanding fees was categorically denied. Representative XXXX authorized only a single {$35.00} courtesy reversal, which was credited to my account on XX/XX/XXXX, and declined to reverse the remaining balance. That same day, XX/XX/XXXX, I submitted a formal written complaint to Wells Fargo XXXX XXXX XXXX office at XXXX, demanding immediate reversal of all outstanding fees and providing explicit written notice of my intention to escalate this matter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency should the matter remain unresolved. Wells Fargo 's Board Communications office responded exclusively with automated acknowledgment replies on XX/XX/XXXX and again on XX/XX/XXXX providing no substantive engagement with the merits of my complaint whatsoever. IV. My XXXX Accommodation Request On XX/XX/XXXX, I submitted a follow-up written communication to Wells Fargo XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX which I explicitly declined to proceed with a recorded telephone call and formally requested, on the basis of my XXXX, that all future correspondence be provided to me exclusively in writing. I reiterated this accommodation request in my XX/XX/XXXX written communication as well. Wells Fargo failed entirely to honor this request at any point in the course of this dispute, responding instead with automated replies and an unsolicited telephone call that I was compelled to decline. This failure constitutes not merely a breach of customer service protocol, but a violation of my rights under XXXXitle III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq., and California 's Unruh Civil Rights Act, Civil Code 51 et seq. V. Wells Fargo 's Formal Acknowledgment and Failure to Resolve On XX/XX/XXXX, Wells Fargo 's Enterprise Complaints Management Office acknowledged my complaint under Case No. XXXX, assigned the matter to XXXX XXXX Representative XXXX XXXX, and expressly committed to providing a substantive written response within XXXX business days of the date of my initial contact. As of the date of this statement XX/XX/XXXX no substantive written resolution has been provided. Wells Fargo has allowed its own self-imposed response deadline to lapse without meaningful action, leaving my complaint unresolved, my rights unaddressed, and my account balance negative. VI. The Misrepresentation of My Consumer Rights During the course of my communications with Wells Fargo regarding the account conversion, I was affirmatively told by a Wells Fargo representative that it was not possible to disable overdraft coverage on my account. According to my own contemporaneous notes of that conversation, when I specifically requested to have overdraft service turned off so that my account would no longer incur overdraft fees, I was categorically informed by the representative that doing so was not an available option. This representation is demonstrably and unequivocally false. Wells Fargo 's own Consumer Account Fee and Information Schedule, its Deposit Account Agreement, and its Important Information About Overdrafts disclosure each of which I have retained expressly state that standard overdraft coverage and Debit Card Overdraft Service are optional services that consumers may remove from their accounts at any time. Moreover, 12 C.F.R. 1005.17, promulgated pursuant to the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, mandates that financial institutions permit consumers to revoke Debit Card Overdraft Service consent at any time without condition. The representative 's categorical denial of a right that is simultaneously guaranteed by federal regulation and by Wells Fargo 's own written contractual disclosures constitutes a deceptive act or practice of the most straightforward variety one that caused me direct and quantifiable financial harm in the form of fees I had every legal right to prevent, and that contributed directly to my account 's current negative balance of {$80.00}. VII. The Financial Hardship This Has Caused I am a XXXX individual on a limited income. The negative account balance of {$80.00} that I am now carrying is not the result of reckless financial management it is the direct consequence of Wells Fargo 's failure to honor its own written disclosures, its failure to timely resolve my formal complaint, its representative 's misrepresentation of my consumer rights, and its assessment of an overdraft fee at the precise moment I was actively converting my account to a fee-free product. Each of these failures compounded upon the last. Had Wells Fargo reversed my fees when I first requested it on XX/XX/XXXX, had its representative accurately informed me of my right to disable overdraft service, or had it simply honored its commitment to respond within ten business days, my account would not be in the position it is in today. The cumulative financial impact of this matter extends beyond the {$35.00} outstanding bank fee. My account 's negative balance has subjected me to potential additional fees, has impaired my ability to conduct ordinary financial transactions, and has caused material hardship to a XXXX individual already operating on a constrained budget. I raise this context not to dramatize my circumstances, but because it is directly relevant to the proportionality of the relief I am requesting and to the regulatory significance of Wells Fargo 's conduct toward this category of consumer. VIII. The Relief I Am Seeking I am not a litigious individual, nor do I seek anything beyond what is rightfully mine under the terms of my own account agreement and applicable federal and state law. I sought to resolve this matter through every internal channel Wells Fargo made available to me. I contacted front-line customer service. I escalated to second-level support. I submitted formal written complaints to the Board Communications office. I cooperated with the Enterprise Complaints Management Office. At every juncture, I was met with either denial, misrepresentation, or silence. I have been left with no recourse other than to invoke the regulatory protections that exist precisely for circumstances such as these. I respectfully request that each regulatory agency to which this statement is submitted compel Wells Fargo Bank , N.A . to provide the following relief : 1. Monetary Relief : Immediate reversal and refund of the outstanding {$35.00} overdraft fee assessed on XX/XX/XXXX, during my active account conversion to Clear Access Banking. 2. Account Confirmation : Written confirmation that my account has been successfully and permanently converted to Clear Access Banking, and that no overdraft coverage, Debit Card Overdraft Service, or overdraft fees of any kind are applicable to my account going forward. XXXX. XXXX Accommodation : Written acknowledgment of Wells Fargo 's failure to honor my XXXX accommodation request and immediate implementation of a written-communication-only protocol for all future correspondence with me. 4. Hardship Recognition : Formal recognition of the financial hardship caused by Wells Fargo 's conduct including the negative account balance of {$80.00} and consideration of any additional relief the agency deems appropriate given the circumstances of this complaint. 5. Systemic Relief : A regulatory directive requiring Wells Fargo to retrain its customer service representatives regarding consumers ' rights under Regulation E to disable Debit Card Overdraft Service at any time, and to review its policies governing the assessment of overdraft fees against customers who are actively converting to fee-free account products.

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