What was the Wells Fargo credit card scam all about?

This question is about Wells Fargo Credit Cards

Chip Lupo, Credit Card Writer

@CLoop 12/19/19 This answer was first published on 12/19/19. For the most current information about a financial product, you should always check and confirm accuracy with the offering financial institution. Editorial and user-generated content is not provided, reviewed or endorsed by any company.

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The Wells Fargo credit card scam involved Wells Fargo employees who opened more than 565,000 phony credit card accounts. Employees also received company incentive bonuses for meeting or exceeding quotas based on the sham accounts. In addition to the fraudulent credit cards, Wells Fargo employees also opened fake checking and savings accounts. In total, Wells Fargo employees opened 3.5 million+ bogus accounts without customers’ consent. In addition, employees racked up more than $400,000 in bills, primarily in annual fees, overdraft protection fees, interest charges and late fees, just on the illegitimate credit card accounts.

Wells Fargo fired more than 5,300 employees linked to the credit card/bank account scam starting in 2011. However, it later came out that unauthorized accounts were being opened as early as 2002. In September 2016, the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and numerous other regulatory agencies slapped the bank with a combined $185 million in fines. In a class action lawsuit, Wells Fargo also agreed to pay nearly $142 million to its affected customers. Additional related civil and criminal lawsuits to date have cost the bank a total of more than $3 billion.

Since the Wells Fargo credit card scam erupted, the bank has launched national ad campaigns addressing its mistakes while attempting to rebuild credibility. But new consumer credit card and checking account applications slowed significantly in the months after the CFPB fines were announced. And in 2018, Wells Fargo’s consumer sentiment rating was 91% negative, according to the web-analytics firm TickerTags. Sentiment was 74% negative just a few months after the 2016 scandal.

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People also ask

How does the Wells Fargo credit card dispute process work?

You can initiate a Wells Fargo credit card dispute to report any discrepancies or errors on your credit card. You can dispute billing errors, inaccurate or unauthorized charges, or fraud.

You should contact Wells Fargo within 60 days from the time you discover an error on your statement. Contact Wells Fargo immediately if you suspect fraudulent activity on your card. Your Wells Fargo credit card comes with offers Zero Liability protection, so you will not be held responsible for any unauthorized or fraudulent charges.… read full answer

If you have an unauthorized transaction on your credit card bill, contact the merchant directly to dispute the charge. If the merchant will not work with you, then contact Wells Fargo customer service to initiate the dispute.

To initiate a Wells Fargo dispute, log into Wells Fargo Online and click Account Services. Under the More menu, select Dispute a Transaction. You can also call 1 (800) 390-0533 to initiate the process.

Provide as much information as you can pertaining to your dispute. Make sure you have any documentation such as a receipt or invoice to substantiate your dispute. Wells Fargo may request copies of supporting documents before they investigate.

In most cases, you should expect a Wells Fargo credit card dispute to be resolved within a couple of weeks from the time you initiate the process. During that time, any questionable charges will typically be removed and you won’t be liable for them while Wells Fargo investigates your dispute.

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How do I cancel a credit card transaction?

To cancel a credit card transaction, contact either the merchant on the other side of the transaction or the credit card company. Which you should contact first depends on whether or not you think the transaction is fraudulent.

When You Think the Transaction Is Fraudulent:

If you want to cancel a credit card transaction because you think it is fraudulent, the first thing you should do is search online for the name of the biller, as listed on your credit card account. Sometimes, legitimate transactions can lead to false alarms simply because a biller’s corporate name isn’t as recognizable as the brand name a consumer really does intend to pay. If that clears things up in your case, great – crisis averted.… read full answer

However, if you still don’t recognize the details, you should definitely call your credit card’s issuer (the number is listed on the back of your card) to inform them about the unauthorized transaction. Even if the issuer can’t cancel the transaction before it goes through initially, you will not be on the hook for any fraudulent purchases made with your credit card account. All credit cards give users a $0 fraud liability guarantee.

When You Just Want to Cancel the Transaction:

If you know that a credit card transaction is legitimate, but you want to cancel it because you changed your mind or made the purchase by mistake (or any other reason), take your request directly to the merchant the transaction is with. The credit card company won’t be able to do much about a legitimately authorized credit card transaction. They might be able to instruct you on how to cancel future transactions if the card is being used for a subscription or other recurring purchase, but that’s about it.

Your chances of being able to cancel a credit card transaction made online figure to be especially good. Check the merchant's cancellation policy. Some provide a small window in which you can cancel a pending transaction. Just bear in mind that in this situation, an order may show as canceled before the transaction reversal posts to your credit card account.

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