Consumer complaint received 2025-03-07 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account — Transaction was not authorized
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: OK

Complaint narrative:
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX OK XXXX XXXX XXXX  
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
PO Box 27170
Washington, DC 20038 XXXX XXXX XXXX

RE: Claim against Wells Fargo Claims Assistance Center, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, NC XXXX

To whom it may concern:

In XXXX XXXX XXXX, I was away from my home for four weeks. I returned on XXXX XXXX. I asked a friend to come in and water my plants once each week. In the third week, she sent me a text and told me she brought my packages inside. I had not ordered anything so I thought that was odd, but I didnt say anything more to my friend since she brought them inside. I wrote it off thinking someone must have sent something to me that I wasnt expecting. When I arrived home a week or so later, I was shocked to find XXXX packages on my counter. When I looked at where they came from they all were from XXXX. 

The next day I opened the packages and discovered items I was not familiar with and had not ordered. I took a couple pictures and posted them on my FB page and asked if anyone had sent them to me by mistake. I have sent things to people all over the country so I thought maybe someone selected my address instead of their own and had these items sent to me by mistake. No one had. Someone suggested that I had been scammed. I went to the XXXX  website to search for an answer. Under the FAQ section I found a section about what to do if you are scammed. The section is entitled Report Unsolicited Packages or Brushing Scams.
XXXX  
That page contains a link to a form to report unwanted packages. Once on that page you can enter the tracking number(s) of the packages you received. 


On the previous page XXXX  makes this statement,  XXXX  investigates reports of "brushing" and takes the appropriate action against bad actors that violate our policies. XXXX  may suspend or remove selling privileges, withhold payments, and work with law enforcement during investigations.

XXXX  XXXX XXXX info about Brushing scams: XXXX  The page regarding this states:
You are allowed to keep the merchandise. The Federal Trade Commission says you have a legal right to keep unordered merchandise.

XXXX  Scam Warning: Beware of Deliveries You Didnt Order
Written by XXXX Staff | XXXX XXXX XXXX
XXXX  
By law, unsolicited merchandise is yours to keep, according to the United States Postal Inspection Service. So you dont have to return any package you receive, and if you dont want it, you can donate it to a good cause.
With XXXX  brushing, there is no risk of legally owing money on a package you did not order.
____________________
Prior to reporting these packages as fraud, I posted the following on my FB page and included four photos of the items. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX
Do these items look familiar to anyone? They were delivered to my house (to my name) while I was away. I did not order any of them. Maybe someone accidentally selected my name/address when ordering?? There are XXXX  of the XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX of the lanterns. I believe most were delivered almost a month ago.
_____________________
This is where it was brought to my attention that I had likely been scammed. I then found the page on XXXX  website  to report the packages I received and entered all XXXX tracking numbers. I did not receive any sort of a confirmation or notice telling me what would happen next or advising me further on what to do. I made the assumption that I would hear something in the near future. 
In the meantime, I took a look at my Wells Fargo bank account to see if I could find any transactions that I did not recognize. Unfortunately, I did. The following are the four unauthorized charges on my account that were for the XXXX  items. 
Post Date		Merchant		Amount
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX
			TOTAL 		               XXXX  

There were no descriptions of the items. I matched them only because of the amounts listed that I did not recognize and that they were XXXX  purchases. I then reviewed my XXXX account to make sure that they were in fact not my purchases, which I confirmed. I knew I hadnt ordered anything, but wanted to double check what my account reflected. 


At this point I contacted Wells Fargo and reported the fraudulent activity. I was told that my debit card would be immediately cancelled and a new one would be issued. I was also told that a provisional credit in the amount of XXXX would be issued to my account while they researched the issue. I later discovered and informed WF that XXXX  items initially thought to be fraud were not, so the correct unauthorized amount is XXXX.


I received a letter from the WF Claims Assistance Center dated XXXX XXXX stating the above. 
See Exhibit A


Next, I received a letter from Wells Fargo Claims Assistance Center dated XXXX XXXX XXXX  stating they had completed their research into my fraud claim and found that the purchases were authorized and that no processing error occurred. They would be deducting the provisional credit of XXXX  from my account on XXXX  The letter further stated that I had the right to request copies of the documents they relied on to make their decision, which I did immediately. See Exhibit B


I received the above letter on XXXX XXXX XXXX. Upon receipt of this letter I called WF  to dispute their decision. I spoke with a woman named XXXX. She told me that WF had contacted XXXX  as part of their research and they confirmed that the purchases in question were all delivered to the address of record for my XXXX  account, which WF accepted as meaning the purchases were legitimate. I asked to speak to someone above her and wished to file a complaint. I was then assigned COMPLAINT ID XXXXXXXX XXXX 
I was transferred to a senior resolution specialist named XXXX. She told me they cannot help me any further. The research was complete and I would be charged. 


The next day, on XXXX XXXX XXXX, I called XXXX  and spoke to XXXX. 
She looked at my account and told me that the purchases in question were unauthorized. 
She also told me there was no history of these items or the charges for them on my account, therefore there was nothing they could do. I provided her with a tracking number for one of the packages and she told me that nothing came up. She said she was going to send an email to the Investigative Charges team and explain my situation. I would receive an email within one day letting  me know their findings. 


On XXXX XXXX XXXX, I received an email from XXXX  thanking me for reporting the unauthorized charges. That was all it said. Nothing else. 


So now I have WF charging me for items purchased from XXXX  that XXXX  says are not on my account. How is this possible? I feel I am a victim times three at this point; of the scammer who hacked my XXXX  account, of XXXX  for doing nothing and of WF for accepting charges on my account that should have been red flagged in the first place. I am out XXXX  

XXXX XXXX XXXX I called XXXX  and spoke to XXXX. I asked her to look at my account to see if she could see the fraudulent charge amounts in my account. I provided her with the four amounts : XXXX XXXX XXXX and $XXXX. She confirmed all the charges were visible and agreed my case needed to be escalated. She would report it to the fraud team. I would then receive an email within forty eight hours regarding the investigation. 
I did not receive a response and so I called XXXX  again on XXXX XXXX XXXX  and spoke to a gentleman named XXXX.  He confirmed that the purchases in question were processed using a different account than mine but with the debit card attached to my account. He could not tell me the name of the other account, but told me that they would take action behind the scenes and not allow this account to be operational any longer. He also confirmed that I only have one XXXX  account. He then told me he was going to send another message to the payment department via email and that they should respond within 48 hours. He also told me he would send an email to me summarizing our conversation. He suggested that I file a police report. 


At this time I decided to look up the tracking numbers from the packages I received and discovered the following. See Exhibit C 


Package 
Tracking Number
Return Address
Notes XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX, OK XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, TX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  None listed
The tracking numbers beginning with XXXX  are identified as being associated with XXXX XXXX XXXX There are two QR codes on the side of the box. One says XXXX XXXX, the other says XXXX.
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX
None listed
The tracking numbers beginning with XXXX  are identified as being associated with XXXX XXXX XXXX. There are two QR codes on the side of the box. One says XXXX, the other says XXXX.


XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX AL XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  None listed
The tracking numbers beginning with XXXX  are identified as being associated with XXXX XXXX XXXX There are two QR codes on the side of the box. One says XXXX, the other says XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX MI XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, OH XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  None listed 
The tracking numbers beginning with XXXX  are identified as being associated with XXXX XXXX XXXX There are two QR codes on the side of the box. One says XXXX XXXX, the other says XXXX  








XXXX XXXX XXXX  I filed a police report for fraudulent use of my credit card with the city of XXXX XXXX Arkansas where I was living at the time. See Exhibit D


XXXX XXXX XXXX  I received an email from XXXX  summarizing my previous conversation with XXXX  and telling me they believed an unauthorized party had registered an account using my visa card ending in XXXX  and that for my protection they had closed that account and cancelled any open orders. 
The letter went on to identify the charges and then recommended that I contact my financial institution to dispute the charges. They further stated that they would provide information to any law enforcement agency that was investigating the issue, however they could not provide that information to me. See EXHIBIT E


XXXX XXXX XXXX  : After receiving the above email from XXXX, I called WF again and spoke to XXXX  in the claims department and re-explained my story and told him the details of the email I had just received from XXXX. He told me they cannot help me further. I then asked to speak to a XXXX XXXX. 
XXXX, the resolution specialist, told me that WF sent a claim to Visa to investigate the charges. Visa then inquired with XXXX, who then told WF they are denying my claim because the merchant (XXXX) evidenced the charges were legitimate because the items were sent to the address of record for my account. 
XXXX  tells me I can send a letter to the WF claims department to dispute the charges again and suggests I include the email message from XXXX  along with my claim/reference number. He tells me it will take 48 hours for someone to review my message once they receive it.  See Exhibit B XXXX XXXX XXXX Per XXXX  request, I sent an email to the Wells Fargo Claims Assistance Center once again spelling out the fraudulent charges that occurred and all of the conversations I had with their representatives to appeal my case. I also added that I was not alerted from WF of these charges despite two of them being outside the usual pattern of my XXXX  orders. In the past I have received a text message or a phone call asking me to validate suspected fraudulent charges using my debit card. Two of the said charges were over $XXXX, which were way above what I typically spend on any XXXX  purchase. At this point, WF has told me the reason my claim is being denied is: 1. XXXX  stated that the said items were delivered to my address of record. 2. Visa conducted their own investigation and concluded the charges were valid based on the same findings as above and that the charges were made using my visa account. In this email I sent I included the email I received from XXXX  and the police report I filed. See Exhibit F


XXXX XXXX XXXX: I called WF as I had not received a response to my email. I did not write down the name of the person I initially spoke with but after I explained that I was following up on my message, she said she would connect me to one of her XXXX. I was on hold for 30 minutes and was disconnected. I called back immediately and spoke to a gentleman named XXXX. Once again I had to re-explain my situation. He tells me he is going to contact an XXXX  XXXX and will escalate my claim to their resolution team. He said it would take two days and they would reach back out to me. He then gave me a new COMPLAINT ID, which was XXXX-XXXX. See Exhibit E
XXXX XXXX XXXX: I received an email from WF stating that they will respond to my inquiry within ten business days, which would be by XXXX  XXXX. See Exhibit E
XXXX XXXX XXXX: I received a secure email from WF informing me that they are still denying my claim. I called and spoke with XXXX  again and notified him of the decision that was made. He told me he was going to reopen my claim, will escalate it again and have the charges credited back to my account. He also told me that it would take 2-10 days to receive a response from the resolution team and he would make sure they had my phone number. See Exhibit E
XXXX XXXX XXXX: My WF account was credited for all of the fraudulent charges, including the XXXX  I had previously informed them that were valid. I called and spoke to XXXX  and explained again that XXXX  of those charges were legitimate. She then transferred me to XXXX  who said she would take care of that. See Exhibit E
XXXX XXXX XXXX  I received a package in the mail from WF containing the documents I had requested on XXXX XXXX. I examined them before I called and spoke to XXXX  and XXXX. I first wanted to resolve the issue of the XXXX  items being credited that should not have. Upon examining the documents, I discovered that with each of the fraudulent items (XXXX  of them) there was a name and Ordering IP attached to the ordering invoice. The name was XXXX XXXX.. See Exhibit G
Here is a summary of the XXXX  items: 
Item name
Cost
Name on Ordering Invoice
Ordering IP
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

With the sets of XXXX, they appear to be ordered at the same time as they are on the same order invoice, however, one was charged tax XXXX and the other wasnt XXXX. One set of  the XXXX  and the XXXX XXXX XXXX were ordered from the same IP address.  See Exhibit G
Included in the document history was one item I had actually ordered close to the same date. The IP address attached to my order does not match any of those listed above. See Exhibit G
Further to my conversation with XXXX, I explained the discrepancy in the IP ordering addresses and asked that this information be included when my case is reviewed. I felt that this was overlooked and was not considered at any time in the previous reviews of my case. She told me that she made note of this in my claim file and that it would be considered.


XXXX XXXX XXXX: I received a notice from WF Claims Assistance Center notifying me that they have completed their research and once again concluded that the charges were authorized and no processing error occurred. The letter further stated that I should consider my case closed and that on XXXX XXXX the amount of XXXX would once again be deducted from my account.  See Exhibit H
XXXX XXXX XXXX: I called WF and spoke to XXXX  to attempt to dispute their decision again. She told me that because I didnt return the merchandise to XXXX  they could not credit my account. I informed her that I was not required by law to return merchandise that was sent to me fraudulently. She went on to say that WF had no dispute rights because I didnt return anything and didnt ask XXXX  for a refund. I informed her that I was not notified by WF of any suspicious charges even though the ones in question were outside of my typical XXXX  shopping. She then told me that being notified by WF of questionable charges was a courtesy and not a guarantee of protection of fraudulent activity. She then suggested she transfer me to customer service to ask them why they didnt flag the purchase. I refused as I knew that would get me nowhere and asked to be transferred to a XXXX XXXX XXXX. I then spoke with XXXX  who identified himself as a senior escalation resolution specialist. He was dismissive and rude and told me there was nothing they could do. I asked to speak to someone above him and he said he would have someone call me and I could expect to hear from them within 48 hours. That call never came. See Exhibit E. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX: In anticipation of WF deducting the XXXX  from my account, I initiated a transfer of most of the money in my account to a different bank. On XXXX XXXX when they deducted the funds, it overdrew my account. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX: I called WF to close my account. I was not able to do so because of the negative balance. 	
The person I spoke with was XXXX. She asked me why I was closing my account. I explained that I was very unhappy with how I have been treated as a customer despite being a long time account holder. She asked for details and I explained briefly. She then suggested I speak to a XXXX  to tell them about my complaint. She transferred me to XXXX  who told me that she would forward the information to the escalation department in the executive office. I would receive an acknowledgement within 48 hours. She gave me a new case number which was: XXXXXXXX.
After months of going back and forth, I didnt have much hope, but agreed to try this direction. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX: I received a notice via secure email from WF denying my claim again and stating as they did before that they believe the charges are valid. My claim is closed. My account is overdrawn. I am out $XXXX  for items fraudulently charged to my account. See Exhibit J

SUMMARY: My XXXX XXXX account was hacked. The hackers were able to use the debit card I had attached to my account to make multiple purchases and had them sent to my home. I was out of town when the packages were delivered and was not aware of the charges until after I returned home. I contacted XXXX  and then WF as soon as I realized that I was the victim of a brushing scam. Per the documentation and notes I have provided, it is clear that neither XXXX  or WF was willing to make this right. I feel the ownership belongs to WF, however, both XXXX  and WF essentially pointed fingers at each other, none taking responsibility. To date there is no evidence in the shopping history of  my XXXX  account that I purchased the items that were delivered to me. This is because they were not purchased using my account, only with my WF debit card. While I understand that large institutions such as these, do their best to control fraud, there will always be exceptions and high level thieves who slip through the cracks. What I also understand is the value of customer service and making things right. To be told by WF that the fraudulent charges on my account are valid only because the packages were delivered to my home is, in my opinion, weak evidence. Further stating that I should have returned the items is an invalid request as XXXX  and the Federal Trade Commission do not require the return of items that were sent as part of a scam. It is also an insult to my integrity and cost me a lot of money of which I have nothing to show for. While $XXXX  is nothing to them, it isnt to me. Despite providing evidence from XXXX  and considering the usual patterns of my XXXX  purchases, I have been told there is nothing else that can be done to get my money back. I believe I have more evidence of being scammed than they do to prove the items were valid purchases by me. The reasons given to me were inconsistent and varied depending on whom I was speaking with. If I made the purchases in question myself I would have simply paid for them as I have done with every other purchase I have ever made on XXXX  using my WF debit card. I would not dispute something that was valid. I have taken measures to assure this doesnt happen to me again. My XXXX XXXX account is no longer active, there is no credit or debit card attached to it and I have closed my WF account. However, my account has a negative balance of $XXXX  and cannot be officially closed until the balance is brought to a positive amount. I am at risk of that amount being charged off and reported to the credit bureaus causing a negative impact on my credit report. I have received correspondence from WF stating this. 
I am not willing to pay the negative balance off as I dont feel it is just. 
I am seeking reversal of the $XXXX  and would like an additional $XXXX  for the stress this has caused and the time I have spent over the last seven months attempting to favorably resolve this matter. 	
Sincerely,
XXXX XXXX

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