Consumer complaint received 2026-07-01 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — Store credit card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers — Confusing or misleading advertising about the credit card
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I purchased a new refrigerator from XXXX XXXX. During the transaction, I was approved for financing through Wells Fargo. The initial notice I received stated a 29.9 % financing rate, but it did not include any payment instructions or make any explicit mention of a 0 % interest promotion or deferred interest terms.Because of the high 29.9 % rate, my original intention was to immediately transfer or roll over this balance to another bank that was offering 0 % interest for 1.5 years. However, when I received my very first billing statement from Wells Fargo, the statement explicitly marked the balance as " no interest. '' Relying entirely on this written representation by Wells Fargo on my official statement, I made the conscious financial decision to keep my account with Wells Fargo rather than moving it to a competitor.On my XX/XX/XXXX, billing statement, Wells Fargo abruptly added a {$560.00} interest charge to my account. When I called a Wells Fargo representative to inquire about this, I was abruptly informed that I had passed an 18-month promotional deadline to pay off the remaining balance. Because of this, Wells Fargo retroactively triggered a deferred interest penalty of {$560.00}. This massive penalty was calculated on the entire original balance without any adjustment or amortization for the {$1000.00} I had already successfully paid down. This effectively charges me a predatory interest rate of roughly 60 % on the remaining balance.Wells Fargo intentionally hid the mechanics of this deferred interest trap. By prominently displaying a 0 % interest rate on monthly statements while burying the penalty terms in fine print, the bank actively tricks unsuspecting consumers who rely on the clear text of their monthly bills.This predatory and misleading behavior is especially egregious because I am an XXXX senior citizen navigating severe, exhausting health hardships. I am actively managing XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX, recovering from the effects of a XXXX XXXX, undergoing XXXX treatment for XXXX, and recovering from recent XXXX XXXX for XXXX. The bank 's failure to provide clear, transparent disclosures actively exploited my circumstances and caused immense, unnecessary stress. Wells Fargo 's conflicting documentation and misleading statement terms directly caused me to lose out on alternative, legitimate 0 % financing options that I was actively qualified for.I request that Wells Fargo honor the " no interest '' terms prominently displayed on my statements, remove the unfair {$560.00} deferred interest charge, and correctly adjust my remaining account balance.On XX/XX/XXXX, I purchased a new refrigerator from Airport Appliance. During the transaction, I was approved for financing through Wells Fargo. The initial notice I received stated a 29.9 % financing rate, but it did not include any payment instructions or make any explicit mention of a 0 % interest promotion or deferred interest terms.Because of the high 29.9 % rate, my original intention was to immediately transfer or roll over this balance to another bank that was offering 0 % interest for 1.5 years. However, when I received my very first billing statement from Wells Fargo, the statement explicitly marked the balance as " no interest. '' Relying entirely on this written representation by Wells Fargo on my official statement, I made the conscious financial decision to keep my account with Wells Fargo rather than moving it to a competitor.On my XX/XX/XXXX, billing statement, Wells Fargo abruptly added a {$560.00} interest charge to my account. When I called a Wells Fargo representative to inquire about this, I was abruptly informed that I had passed an 18-month promotional deadline to pay off the remaining balance. Because of this, Wells Fargo retroactively triggered a deferred interest penalty of {$560.00}. This massive penalty was calculated on the entire original balance without any adjustment or amortization for the {$1000.00} I had already successfully paid down. This effectively charges me a predatory interest rate of roughly 60 % on the remaining balance.Wells Fargo intentionally hid the mechanics of this deferred interest trap. By prominently displaying a 0 % interest rate on monthly statements while burying the penalty terms in fine print, the bank actively tricks unsuspecting consumers who rely on the clear text of their monthly bills.This predatory and misleading behavior is especially egregious because I am an XXXX senior citizen navigating severe, exhausting health hardships. I am actively managing insulin-dependent XXXX XXXX XXXX, recovering from the effects of a pleural effusion, undergoing XXXX treatment for XXXX, and recovering from recent XXXX XXXXXXXX for XXXX. The bank 's failure to provide clear, transparent disclosures actively exploited my circumstances and caused immense, unnecessary stress. Wells Fargo 's conflicting documentation and misleading statement terms directly caused me to lose out on alternative, legitimate 0 % financing options that I was actively qualified for.I request that Wells Fargo honor the " no interest '' terms prominently displayed on my statements, remove the unfair {$560.00} deferred interest charge, and correctly adjust my remaining account balance.

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