Consumer complaint received 2025-12-23 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Savings account
Issue: Managing an account — Cashing a check
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I electronically deposited a check from my employer into my Wells Fargo account. This is a routine transaction, as I have deposited checks from this same employer multiple times in the past without issue. At the time of deposit, {$400.00} was made available immediately, and the remaining balance of approximately {$1900.00} was scheduled to be available the following morning. 

Instead, the next morning my account was overdrawn, and I received an email from Wells Fargo stating that the entire check was now being held due to signature irregularities. No prior notice was provided, and the hold was placed after partial funds had already been released. 

I immediately contacted Wells Fargo customer service by phone and was told the hold could not be resolved over the phone but that a local branch could assist me. I went to my local Wells Fargo branch the same day and spent XXXX minutes attempting to resolve the issue. 

XXXX staff reviewed the deposited check and confirmed that my signature matched prior deposits and that the issuers signature was also consistent. No discrepancies were identified. Despite this, branch staff informed me that the funds would remain on hold until XX/XX/XXXX a full XXXX  days after deposit. No one was able to provide a clear or specific reason for the continued hold. 

XXXX staff contacted Wells Fargo corporate support multiple times while I was present. Corporate representatives also refused to release the funds and could not explain why the hold was required, despite acknowledging that the signatures matched and there was no apparent fraud risk. 

I then requested that the deposit be reversed so that I could take the check to the issuing bank and deposit it there. Wells Fargo refused to reverse the transaction, again without explanation. As a result, approximately {$2300.00} of my money was inaccessible during the XXXX holiday season. 

During this process, I was repeatedly asked to provide detailed personal information about my employer, including the owners name, website, and phone number. Wells Fargo representatives contacted my employer directly while I was present, despite having already confirmed that the signatures matched and that no discrepancies existed. The way I was treated made me feel like a thief and a fraudster. This treatment was unnecessary and inappropriate given the clear lack of evidence of any wrongdoing. 

After multiple phone calls and persistent escalation, the funds were ultimately released without explanation as to what changed or why the hold had been imposed in the XXXX  place. 

I have been a Wells Fargo customer for approximately XXXX  years. This experience caused financial stress, embarrassment, and inconvenience, and Wells Fargo has never provided a valid justification for the hold or the refusal to reverse the deposit. I hope my treatment was not because I am a female. Or, because I am XXXX. I would like to think these were not issues but maybe some sort of discrimination was indeed at play since no other reasonable explanation for the hold was ever given to me. I am filing this complaint due to the unexplained hold of funds, lack of transparency, refusal to reverse the transaction, and the manner in which this issue was handled.

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