Consumer complaint received 2024-02-26 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Closing an account — Company closed your account
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: TN

Complaint narrative:
Wells Fargo failed it's fiduciary responsibility to notify its account holder of account closure, which put me in a horrible financial position. This has caused me to miss bills, has impacted my credit, has forced me to put all of my expenses on high interest credit, and has caused me a plethora of emotional turmoil. 

On Friday, XX/XX/XXXX, I was in XXXX and noticed my checking account had been closed and the money had been withdrawn without any notice. Frantic, I called Wells Fargo to figure out why they pulled {$7500.00} for " account closure - physical address requirement not met, '' without proper notice. They informed me that my address has been reporting as invalid and they've been sending me post mail to fix this or my account would be closed. Obviously, the address is reporting as invalid so I did not receive any of this correspondence. I moved in from XXXX to XXXX in XXXX, and forgot to update my address ( this was a large move that required a lot of tasks ). Wells Fargo has 4 means of communication with me : phone, email, post mail, and notification within the digital app. All were up to date, expect for the mailing address, which they knew was invalid. Oddly, they used only mailing address to communicate with me. I did not receive a single email, call, text, or notification within the app to notify me that it was critical to update my address prior to the account closure. 

Wells Fargo told me they were sending my funds via post mail and it would take XXXX business days. I spent hours that day trying to reverse this account closure, ensuring they sent the check to the correct place, and filing complaints with them. If I didn't have a major credit card, I would have been completely stranded in XXXX for 5 days with XXXX ability to access funds. 

My account is " pending closure, '' and they told me there's nothing the can do to reverse it. I opened a online checking account from XXXX and tried to switch my direct deposits. Unfortunately, my next direct deposit from my employer ( {$6400.00} ) was accepted by wells fargo. Wells fargo support informed me that I could go into Wells Fargo branch and receive cash or a cashiers check for this money. I spent XXXX hours in Wells Fargo ( XXXX, GA ) on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, and they were unable to provide any funds. They told me I will have to wait XXXX business days for that check to arrive in the mail, but nothing has changed. Those new funds are still locked in this account, which is pending closure. 

All-together, there is approx. {$14000.00} held in limbo which I have no access to. This has caused me to miss payments on critical bills such as rent, car note, car insurance, motorcycle insurance, phone bill etc. I've also missed many smaller payments for the purchases that were on payment plans or monthly subscriptions. Also, all of my expenses have been forced onto a high interest credit card, which is running out of space. The emotional stress this is causing is severe. I delayed taking my dog to the vet for an injury because I was nervous to put a large payment on the credit card because I don't know when I'll see any funds. My dog was in too much pain, so I just placed another {$800.00} bill on my credit card. This card is approaching it's limit, and I don't know how I'm going to continue putting food on the table or gas in the car. 

Wells Fargo has blocked me from accessing, moving or withdrawing the funds in any way. Some bills are being rejected and some are being processed, which prohibits me from being proactive because I run the risk of making double payments, which I can not afford right now. 

Wells Fargo has failed its fiduciary responsibility to notify me, protect me, and provide me with any consistency or plan. They failed to notify me, which put me in a horrible financial position, impacted my credit with late payments, and trying to understand whats happening or what will happen is a complete mess. I'm getting different responses from different people. Some bills are processed and some are rejected. Direct deposits can enter the account but I have no ability to touch them after they enter. They had a system outage for 3 days ( XXXX ), so I received no information and had to wait out the weekend. On today 's call ( XX/XX/XXXX ) they again had no information to give me, and they cant explain how to get my funds or why they're " stuck. '' Ultimately, if a company has 4 forms of communication with a customer, and one starting reporting as invalid. How can a company utilize only the invalid form to notify the customer of account closure? This is highly reckless. Also, the process after closure needs to be more expeditious, more understood, and more supported. It has been incredibly slow, Wells fargo team members are not on the same page, and they actually seem to have no idea whats going on. Again, this failure by wells fargo has had very negative consequences for me in a wide range of areas.

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