Consumer complaint received 2025-10-30 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem using a debit or ATM card
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: MN

Complaint narrative:
XX/XX/year>, at approximately XXXXXXXX XXXX, I contacted XXXX online via XXXX. 
They ( I thought it was XXXX, but it was not ) immediately contacted me via XXXX to verify my basic information ( name, address, phone number ). Then they said a representative would call me shortly. 
I received a call labeled Customer Service at about XXXX XXXX 
He had me explain the issue I was having. Then he had me confirm my information again to verify my account. Name, email, address, and claim number. But he wanted me to message this to him. 
He put me on hold to look into it ( all of this mirrored my same exact previous experiences with XXXX ). 
He came back and apologized. They would correct things and compensate me for ( I could not understand everything he was saying due to an accent. ) He then told me I need to do the following : Go to the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, and create an account. He gave me a Password. He did this all very quickly, not allowing me time to think much or question anything. 
I went through the process of setting everything up with his help, entering the necessary information into XXXX ( including my debit card ). I did not provide him with any of this information, however. My account was approved. 
Once I had everything set up he said he was going to send me a verification via message. It did not come through. He tried several more times and it still did not go through. Then said lets try this instead. '' He had me go into the XXXXXXXX XXXX  again. He was providing me instructions on what to do but things were not matching what he said. I was getting very confused. He then told me to enter XXXX. I told him that it would add {$1800.00} and that I would not do that. He said just trust this process several times. I never did enter the information, but I was then seeing money being added to the account without my input or approval. {$100.00}, then {$1700.00}. Then being removed/transferred. I immediately realized something was wrong and hung up on him. He tried calling me back multiple times. 
I then got a text from my bank account ( Wells Fargo ) asking to verify if I had made a transaction with XXXX for {$1500.00}. I responded " No '' and they immediately froze my debit card and declined the transaction for {$1500.00}. They also declined several subsequent transactions ( {$50.00}, {$100.00} ). However, they never flagged the initial charge of {$1700.00}, which surprised me as it was from an entirely new merchant for a high amount. 
I went into Wells Fargo online and completely canceled my debit card, requesting a new one. 
I then called Wells Fargo to report the situation and make a claim. 
I then changed the password to my XXXX account and deleted my debit card information. 
I used an online contact form to report the issue to XXXX. 
Later that evening I called Wells Fargo back, this time the Claims department, to make sure they had all the information that they needed and to ensure I did not need to do anything else. They found the claim was misfiled and refiled it as a Fraud claim. They told me that XXXX had a freeze on the sum of {$1700.00} and only they could release it. So, the claims department would be monitoring it to find out if they take the funds or release them back. 
I then called XXXX to report the situation. They were escalating the claim I froze my credit report ( on XXXX ) and created a fraud report through them as well. 
I can no longer access my XXXX account. 

XX/XX/year> I contacted the XXXX XXXX XXXX 's department and created a Police Report with them. I then gave that information to XXXX and Wells Fargo. 

XX/XX/year> I received a letter from Wells Fargo denying my claim. Stating the investigation : 1 ) Found the card was in my possession at the time the claim was filed and during the time of the disputed activity. 2 ) That the e-mail address provided to the merchant for the disputed transaction matched the email address on file. 

I then called the provided phone number on the letter for further information on their finding. They say that I was scammed, that they lost the claim with XXXX, and it is not their responsibility. They do not acknowledge that they failed to flag the initial fraudulent charge to the debit card from a merchant I've never done business with before, for an amount much higher than I typically charge on the account. And they refuse to protect me, their customer, from this fraudulent charge. They insist the claim is considered closed and do not seem to care that I now feel my money is unsafe with them.

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