Consumer complaint received 2025-07-30 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Trouble using your card — Credit card company won't increase or decrease your credit limit
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
Summary : Wells Fargo reduced my credit limit and restricted my account immediately after I paid off a longstanding balance in full and began using the card responsibly. The bank then flagged my payoff as suspicious, delayed applying the payment for ~10 days, and would not allow normal card use during that period. These actions were taken without clear advance notice or a transparent explanation, and they created avoidable harm and confusion, despite my strong intent to manage credit responsibly.

Timeline & facts ( month/year 2025 ) : I consolidated highinterest debts with a XXXX XXXX  loan at ~8 % and used those funds to pay my Wells Fargo credit card to {$0.00} in full.

Immediately after this payoff, Wells Fargo ( a ) reduced my credit limit and ( b ) flagged the payoff as suspicious, stating the payment would not be processed/cleared for approximately 10 days.

During the hold, I was unable to use the card normally despite having a {$0.00} balance and adequate available credit.

I have no late payments, no delinquencies, and I set up autopay in full going forward to avoid revolving balances. My revolving utilization dropped significantly across all cards as a result of this responsible behavior.

Issues of concern : Unclear, afterthefact creditlimit decrease ( CLD ) : I received no meaningful advance notice or specific reason for the CLD right after I eliminated my balance. This looks like a purely algorithmic reduction that effectively penalizes responsible payoff behavior and reduces available credit without a transparent rationale.

Payment hold / restricted use after paying in full : Marking a legitimate payoff as suspicious, delaying application for ~10 days, and blocking usage during that period deprived me of normal access to credit I had just paid for and intended to use responsibly.

Lack of clear disclosures & inconsistent explanations : Representatives acknowledged the actions occurred but could not provide a concrete, written reason, timeframe standards for payment holds, or a clear appeals process for reinstatement.

Potential harm : Utilization/creditscore impact due to sudden CLD ( lower total available credit ).

Inability to transact on a card I rely on, despite {$0.00} balance and no risk signals from my side.

Customer trust harm : the actions disincentivize paying in full and undermine transparent credit management.

What Im requesting : Immediate reinstatement of my prior credit limit ( or a documented, reasonbased review by underwriting ) without a hard inquiry, with a written explanation of the decision.

Removal of any internal flags tied to the payoff that could trigger future unwarranted holds or restrictions on legitimate payments.

A written explanation of Wells Fargos paymenthold policy ( when, why, how long, and how customers are notified ), and affirmation that no negative credit reporting or fees resulted from the bankinitiated hold or CLD.

Confirmation that future timely, legitimate payinfull transactions will not be held or block normal use absent clear, documented risk.

If the bank will not restore the limit, a clear adverseaction rationale and the specific, objective criteria the algorithm used so I can remediate.

Supporting documentation available : Statements showing the statement period and {$0.00} payoff date.

Payment confirmation ( s ) and screenshots of processing/hold status.

Notes from calls with representatives confirming CLD and 10day hold.

Creditreport snapshots showing utilization/limit changes.

I am not disputing the banks general right to manage credit lines ; I am challenging how it was exercised here : an opaque CLD and a prolonged, unexplained payment hold that penalized responsible repayment and restricted normal use without clear notice. Im requesting corrective action, transparency, and a durable fix.

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