U U U U U U G G G G G G G G H H H H H H H H H H ! ! ! ! !

Wells Fargo Incompetence [ e ]

Wow. Sorry to hear about all your nasty mishaps with Wells! I have a friend who is a cash manager for Qwest, and since he is one of only a few other people in his position, he regularly deals with huge multi-million dollar bank wires to make sure that Qwest has cash to operate. Your horror stories came as no surprise as I often hear similar tales from him regarding Wells Fargo. He says that that bank consistently causes him far more problems than any other bank that he deals with. Apparently, they are bad enough that he has to consciously spend extra time and effort double checking everything that they do and lives in constant fear of losing his job over something that they screwed up. (When you have 18 million dollar wires not showing up when and where they should be, it tends to be a problem!) At any rate, he says that he would NEVER EVER personally bank with Wells Fargo because of all the incompetence they have shown. If they are not careful with huge corporations' money, why would they be concerned with an individual's?

As far as recommending a good bank, I can't personally offer you any advice as I actually bank at a small local credit union where I live, but I do know that my same friend can't say enough good things about Bank of America. He says that in his experience at Qwest, they are simply awesome and seem to be the only bank that never ever screws anything up. Since his experience is at a corporate level, it is hard to say whether they are a good personal bank or not, but you might want to give them a look.

The bottom line is, unfortunately, that pretty much all banks are evil empires when you get down to it. They are all getting filthy rich using other people's money. The only saving grace is that some of them actually do some work for that money...

posted by bionicroachDecember 29, 2000 at 14:25

Ouch [ e ]

Yes, Wells Fargo is totally incompetent. I've had plenty of experiences similar to yours, Gregg. Lots of frustrating runarounds from toll-free number to toll-free number and back again. It seems like no one at the bank really knows what to do most of the time. And there were plenty of occasions to question: just how does a bank this awful stay in business?

And it comes down to lock-in and choices. I don't even care about the lack of ATMs of other banks. I'll pay the fee to withdraw cash if I don't have to deal with all the sh*t Wells Fargo shovels. I've threatened to move my account before on the phone, but it's such a pain-in-the-ass. And you can almost justify not changing, to delay the pain, which comes from dealing with more incompetence rather than changing banks, until some future date.

Tell us how it goes with your next bank. I'm ready to change too. Might as well let you test the waters...

posted by danchanDecember 29, 2000 at 18:55

I wonder if their employees know they work for an evil empire. [ e ]

You know, I really wonder. Do the employees of Wells Fargo know how bad it really is? Do they realize that they are part of that evil?

My friend Dan Chang had an interesting idea about Microsoft and that because of all the bad karma (real or perceived) they were finding it harder and harder to get good people to go work there. I'm not sure I bought that but...

Do the employees are Wells Fargo know they are helping to cause harm and grief to thousands of their customers? I mean if you worked at a restaurant and you found out the owner was serving rotten food would you continue working there? Would you report him to the police? How can the employees of Wells Fargo keep supporting that company with their labors?

At some point you just have to get out. The only alternative is that all good people have already left and Wells Fargo is only left with bad people. Kind of like how Fry's often feels like people that got rejected from a Mc Donalds.

posted by greggmanDecember 30, 2000 at 11:21

Wells Fargo has been good to me... [ e ]

They cover all the checks I otherwise would have bounced sky high...

Is it true Mo'money = Mo'problems??

posted by JoeJanuary 28, 2001 at 13:30

[ e ]

Yeah I agree, They suck.

I work for a big MFG company and I am incharge of the Checking account, which for some reason is the only account held by my company that still resides at, the dredded, Wells Fargo.

Well, each time I go there and need to do something simple like get new signature cards to add a signer to our acocunt. No matter who I talk to they always seem to give me a different set of cards. (Which are usually the wrong ones). I can even go in and show them a copy of the old cards and still get the wrong ones handed back to me.

Just last week I got a surprise in the mail. Listen to this..........
I got this big envelope from the, "Budweiser Company". (Which has absolutely no affiliation to the company I work for), and in the envelope were cashed checks from "MY COMPANY", along with a note from "Budweiser" that these checks came to them with attached to THIER bank statement. OOHH MMYY GGAAWWDD !!!! Can you believe that?

I personally have had bad dealings with my personal account with Wells Fargo, which I got rid of years ago to go with my company's Credit Union. So far I have not had one problem with my credit union, but then again, I have never had to use them for International Transfering. =)~

posted by MrsRedDaveFebruary 18, 2001 at 12:48

Big bank-itus [ e ]

What you are all experiencing is called "Big Bankitus" a sinister malady that is permeating the banking industry. I have been in banking for 15 years and worked in community banks. The last bank that I was with was sold to one of the "bigger banks" and you should have seen the dog and pony show that they gave us before acquisition. I was an executive officer and a director as well. I have felt so guilty for buying into that crap and laying it on the employees, most of whom ended up leaving after the realization that the acquiring bank were a bunch of liars. When you're "good people" you tend to think that others are as well. They just told us what we wanted to hear.

I recommend that all of you people out there switch to a community bank that may not give you internet access, but they will know who you are and can make decisions on the local level almost immediately. It has been my experience that those people really do care, since I am one of them and I can tell you that I do.
The key is to FOLLOW UP until the issue is resolved and take some personal responsibility to make sure everything is a win-win situation.

I would file a class-action lawsuit immediately against WFB, but with their clout, all that will happen is a nice, tidy "settlement" and down the road they will go raising service charges to cover the cost of the litigation. Meanwhile, your life is in turmoil. Switch to a community bank.

Most big banks are such a mess internally that it would be impossible to straighten them out. I don't know how they ever get effectively examined by regulatory agencies and I think the "too big to fail" garbage still exists. Find a community bank.

posted by dini2April 2, 2001 at 10:21

Wells Fargo....Horrible "Customer service" [ e ]

On Oct 1/01 I made several attempts to get through on the phone system (1-800-869-3557) to talk to a "customer service" Represntative. I entered the * sign so that I could be conected with a live person because I was told in the past that in order to get a direct deposit advance on my account, that I would have to call and speak to somone in person.

After entering my account number and pin number as asked to. I was placed on-hold in a calling queue. Approx 10 seconds later a female recorded voice came over the line and said "I'm sorry, this service is not available at this time, please try back later". It then disconnected me. I thought that maybe there was a problem with the way I dialed, so I tried again...same result. After returning from lunch I decided to try yet again. However, the customer service was still not available for me at this time. I continued throughout the afternoon, but to no avail. I thought that obviously Wellsfargo was having technical difficulties, so I mistakenly believed that I would be taken care of should anything occur to my account that was beyond MY control.

On the morning of Oct 2/01 I logged onto my account from work and noticed that I had been overdrawn by $130. I immediatley called to make sure that I would not be charged the $60 fees because of this bank error. This time I was able to get through. The lady I spoke to was Mackenzie. She was very rude (as I've noticed in the past with other reps) and told me outright without even checking that nothing could be done and that it was my fault that I was unable to reach anyone the day before. I asked to be passed through to a supervisor, which I was. She advised me after about 10 mins of me trying to pursuade her that there was a problem with the phones the day prior...that she would check into the problem and get back to me. Not even 10 mins later she returned my call and told me that there was nothing she could do and that she checked all aspects of the problem. (This doesn't seem possible in 10 mins?).

I decided to call back that afternoon after logging on to my account and noticing how quick WF was at getting that $60 of mine out of my account and into their greedy hands. I was quickly told by another rep that I was lying and that there was NO WAY the phone system would ever do what it had done to me! I asked to speak to her manager Christine. Christine was also very rude and kept telling me that it was Wells Fargo's policy to not reverse charges. Regardless of the situation.

As a customer of over 2 years, I have experienced several problems with the bank. Most of these problems involved the People at the so called "help centers". It isn't very often that I am able to be taken care of in an efficent way, especially dealing with situations such as this one.

It is obvious to me that this was a bank error. Whether Wells Fargo wants to admit it or not. Maybe they contract the phone system out to another company? Doesn't matter to ME the CUSTOMER when it is not available and I incur charges that I would never have incurred if it had been available. It is Wells Fargo's problem. On top of that issue, I do not appreciate being told that I am lying by people who are supposed to be there to help me.

I find it ridiculous that they consider this customer service. I should have never been charged the $60 to begin with..and past issues with my acocunt should not be considered in this sort of circumstance. It was bank error. Plain and simple.

Wells Fargo needs to learn to stop considering their customers guilty until proven innocent. That is not the American way, even though WF claims to be an American company!

Shannon J
Acct (soon to be closed)

posted by DougaljkOctober 1, 2001 at 16:49

I've tried them all [ e ]

I've been through, CalFed, GlenFed, BofA, Bank of New York, and now Chase. I must say, Chase is a very very very good bank. Well, even if they aren't that good, they're a lot more tolerable than any other bank I've ever dealt with.
They are knowledgeable, they have a lot of online and automated services which make people who hate going into the bank during bank hours- like me- really happy. So far, it's been a year now, and I would reccomend Chase to anyone.
PLUS-- they have this great debit card that lets you earn frequent flyer miles on Continental!

posted by jcmiyakeOctober 9, 2001 at 10:44

<b>Wells Fargo ROCKS!!!!</b> [ e ]

I have been an employee of Wells for quite some time now and I just want you all to know-Wells Fargo is a great company to work for- I am one of those Customer service reps you are talking about-sure some of the employees are not always sure as to what to do but would a chef know how to fly an airplane? As far as the international wire problem-did you try asking for the wire dept? Probably not-you asked the tellers..they know how to accept deposits and how to make withdrawls-not do wires. The bankers are experienced with opening accts and servicing customers but maybe do not always do wires-sure they should be familiar with process but just because 1 branch wasn't familiar with the procedure doesn't mean the whole company sucks-
My advice to all- is if you have problems with the customer service line-GO TO THE BRANCH!!!!
I have banked with several banks and Wells is one of the most ABLE and HELPFUL banks there is. THEIR EMPLOYEES are the most helpful and friendly there are!!!
So if you don't like Wells Fargo, leave, take your accts elsewhere if Wells Fargo doesn't make you happy-but you need to do your part-If you have a problem take it to your acct manager-let them know-don't just gripe about it on the internet-Wells Fargo is made up of people just like you-they make mistakes-if someone is rude-let their manager know-if someone is helpful-let them know...
Wells Fargo is a great bank and I challenge anyone to make me think otherwise!!!!

posted by sunnyOctober 19, 2001 at 19:36

Wells Fargo is SHIT! [ e ]

Sorry but I have no sympathy for you. Get out of that company. It is only a bad reflection on you that you can't see how bad it is and you are still there supporting them and lending your services to such a rotten institution.

It appears you did not even read the story. I DID DEAL WITH A BRANCH. In fact I dealt with 3 branches. The Santa Monica branch, the Brentwood Branch and the Newport Beach Branch on top of the customer service department and the wire department and other departments that I was mis-directed to by Wells Fargo incompetence. I did not ask for a teller, I asked for a manager, I got a manager, I even sat with a manager, I still got screwed over.

Even more I continue to get more stories on other trouble Wells Fargo has given other customers in my e-mail. It's amazing they have not been shut down by some banking regulatory institution for gross negligence. All I can think of is that they are so big that they probably own the regulatory institution in question.

posted by greggmanOctober 20, 2001 at 10:48

Wow, You've been brainwashed by working at Wells Fargo [ e ]

All the responses I've gotten about your posts in e-mail have been that it's people like YOU that are exactly Wells Fargo's problem. You have put forth an ARROGANT attitude. You have expect ME, the customer, to FIX the BANK'S problems or to know how to fix them. That is NOT my job, it is the BANK's. You want to see BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE. Try a different bank.

So far, I've gotten FLAWLESS customer service from Citibank's PBOE department (I can't speak for all of Citibank as I only deal with their PBOE department). They have NEVER told me "we can't do that", and I have never had to escalate a call. Whenever I've needed something done, even if it they generally do not directly handle it they have gone out of their way to find a solution WITHOUT ME EVEN HAVING TO ASK! That has NEVER been the case with Wells Fargo.

Wells Fargo on the other hand is has now not only given me the Worst Service I have EVER gotten from a bank but one of their employees has now insulted me. You're posts speak for themsevles. Wells Fargo is SHIT!

posted by greggmanOctober 26, 2001 at 11:32

[ e ]

Wells Fargo Does Indeed Rock
If you go to any other bank, big or small, and you will see situations like this. I agree with "greggman" that there seems to be a problem with customer service in the banking industry. But I believe that Wells Fargo is a very-very good bank, and can out service any local bank hands down.

Getting the "run-around' is very very frustrating, and I would be pissed off too. Yours was a very complex issue, and I do not blame you for being angry. Wells Fargo got to the position it' in not by treating customers the way you were treated. Makes you think, doesn't it? All you hear are the bad stories. You never here the good ones. And that my friend is how Wells Fargo has gotten where it is--All the good stories you never hear.

Wells Fargo repetedly receives rewards, most recently they were awarded "Best Bank" honors by two very respected Financial Trade magazines Global Finance and The Banker

I have three words for Greggman: GET OVER IT. You are going to get that treatment with whatever Financial institution you go to.
Get off your soapbox, you baby!!!

posted by stagecoachOctober 26, 2001 at 19:29

[ e ]

You just wait. Citibank will mess up too. Then you can add them to your list of banks to hate. And for the record, I am a customer of Wells Fargo not an employee. You are a very bitter person. It is not healthy for people to act this way. Saying that all Wells Fargo employees are 'evil' and don't care about you is like me saying that all people in California are arrogant, mean and self-absorbed like you are. I am done wasting my time with you and I for one am posting a note on my website to tell everyone that your website is the worst website on the web. Talk about lack of content. I regret ever clicking on it. You my friend are SHIT!

posted by stagecoachOctober 28, 2001 at 17:22

Oops, my bad [ e ]

Well, since I scared you away you probably won't read this but. I'm sorry Stagecoach. I was expecting a reply from sunny and when your post appeared I didn't pay enough attention and thought it was from sunny, the Wells Fargo Employee. So. Again, sorry for the mis-understanding.

On the other hand, I still stand by my statements and my position of not supporting Wells Fargo and trying to get others not to support them. This is how capitalism works. If a company does not treat its customers well they will go somewhere else. Enough people do that an either the company wises up and changes their ways or goes under.

After all of that crap from Wells Fargo I have not received an apology. I have not received reimbursement for the $150 or so it cost me to deal with their failures.

I hold that Wells Fargo is a bad bank doing bad things for lots of their customers. Employees that work for that bank therefore support the banks actions and policies making them accomplices. The *right* thing to do in such a case is either to fix the problem or quit and work for a better company.

posted by greggmanOctober 30, 2001 at 15:00

<b>Sunny the Twit</b> [ e ]

Since 'Sunny' could not even read your email correctly, I am forced to believe that s/he really is a WFB employee...and don't listen to that stupid wimp, 'Stagecoach' - I don't think you come across as bitter...enraged, perhaps, but not bitter..I am currently enjoying a peculiar correspondence with the 'Executive Communications' division of WFB - they have now sent me the same form letter three times, BUT! using different fonts and having them personally signed by different persons! I'm glad I have my socks on or gosh, I really might have been fooled by their tricky ways. If this resolves in some interesting way before I get tired of messing with them (WFB), I'll keep you posted..

posted by farmerjaneDecember 11, 2001 at 16:21

Citibank DOES suck, I KNOW! [ e ]

im a manager for the national call center so i know a majority of workings in the bank & nation & all i can tell you is bail out if you have an acct or dont bother if yer planning on getting one. w/o spending hours going over all the crap we do & can/will do to the customer all i will say is leave now! in fact any major institution you should leave. go back to a loca or statewide bank instead. their generally more personable!

-s-

posted by musclesDecember 22, 2001 at 11:10

Citibank PBOE [ e ]

To be honest I kind of got that impression when I talked to Citibank, the main customer service line but whenever I talk to the PBOE department I've had wonderful customer service. When I get back from Japan though I will definately check out a more local bank.

posted by greggmanDecember 23, 2001 at 9:41

Local Banks are vanishing.... [ e ]

I have also made a point of dealing with my small local bank - great customer service, etc. The bad part is that these little banks get devoured by the big ones, or, as happened to me - bundle and sell their mortgages (which is why I am forced to deal with WFB). I had specified in my initial refinance that they were absolutely not to sell my mortgage to Countrywide (their evil ways and rudeness are on a par with WFB), but never thought to protect myself against Wells Fargo. The only pleasure I'm getting out of the entire thing is that the bizaare quality of my correspondence with them is approaching the level of the Laslo Letters and therefore most amusing in a scary sort of way...

posted by farmerjaneDecember 27, 2001 at 11:56

Yet, I am another customer screwed! [ e ]

I started with First Interstate. When everyone who was a First Interstate customer were transfered into Wells Fargo's merger, we were promised no checking fees, no changes Wells Fargo"promised"...3 6 months later, charges were on everyone's account....There has since been a lawsuit regarding this the people won those people received their money back. I was never informed I scooped up the information about the lawsuit a few days ago why didn't I receive my money? Next, their debit and credit posting at the end of the day not only goes against the GAAP rule, but have not been consistant over the last two years. Now, heres'a real humdinger: 1/23/2002 On my statement:"Beginning April 1, 2002, The following fees will take effect. ATM/POS FEES: Non Wells Fargo Atm Balance inquiry, $1 per transaction; Non Wells Fargo International ATM Transaction, $3 per transaction. *Document copies (checks/statements) $5/item. * Returned statement, $5 per statement. *Insufficient Funds: *Paid Item (OD), $18/ITEM, 1 2 occasions; $24/Item 3 4 occasions; $30/item, 5 or mor occasions. *Returned Item (NSF), $15/ITEM, 1 2 occasions; $21/ITEM, 3 4 occasions; $27/ITEM, 5 or more occassions. An occasion is each day in which your account has insufficient funds to cover and item during the preceeding 12 months. *Daily maximum, 10 paid and/or returned items. *The continuos overdraft charge will be $5 per business day that your account is overdrawn, for the 4th through the 11th calendar day.

Now, I was charged a continuos overdraft, unaware of the OD until 2 days later, charged before April. When I called, they claimed this existed before read the disclosure I forgot I had a disclosure book. I read it today, and didn't see such a thing existing.

More things have happened, but I choose not to continue like I am"harping"......But I hope that what I have posted will be beneficial for any reader. I am choosing to switch banks now. If anyone is having problems with Wells, please search the internet there are also more websites along with this one with complaints &/or issues.

Please also keep in mind that banking use to be a whole different ballgame. It especially seems that since wells fargo merged with Norwest in 1998, that it forced the banking industry to make some changes, yet there are still better banks available. And the longer society"gets used to"such changes, no matter how unjustified, hence society would accept it. But why should we accept it?

I am also considering placing a Wells Fargo problem forum on my website: www.wagnerworldportal.com yet it probably won't be for another month.

If anyone has any current class action lawsuit information on Wells, or wish to express their wells fargo story to me after visiting this site, please e mail me at sugar@wagnergroup.org.

Th
ank you.

And thank you greggman.com for having this page!

posted by anon_sugarMarch 21, 2002 at 17:30

title Happily WF free! [ e ]

text

posted by anon_anonymousApril 30, 2002 at 21:02

title Happily WF Free! [ e ]

I also have a Wells F*cko story. Fortunately I did not have the misfortune to have a checking account, but rather a student loan. I originally took the loan out with First Interstate, but was absorbed by WF about the time payments came due. At the time I was just out of college, no job and $35,000 in credit card debt! I contacted the local First Interstate office to request a forbearance, to which they said "no problem, we will just revisit in 6 months". Well, lo and behold, before the 6 months were over, the merger between F.I. and W.F. were complete, my loan servicing was transfered to So. Cal. (I live in Portland, OR). Before the 6 months were up I had a rep from WF calling me to collect the past due interest since while the loan is in grace, annual interest is due in September of every year, and I had missed last year's payment. No problem, except they wanted to CHARGE me like $30 to keep it in forbearance, to which I said in so many words, "WHEN HELL FREZES OVER!!" So luckily they backed down, and I was now working enough that I could make monthly payments until caught up and making normal principal/interest payments. Granted, it would require several months to catch up, I had no choice. So, I not only provided a verbal agreement of a payment schedule, but followed up the conversation in writing. However, this did not stop the phone calls from coming. Each month I would get a call from the same idiot asking for full payment of past dues, to which I said "I am making payments EXACTLY as was agreed upon, I do not understand why you keep calling me". This went on for about 4 months. Finally I was caught up. But this was not the worst. Less than 6 months after this, I came to the painful decision to bankrupt my $35,000 in credit card debt, since there was no way that it could be paid in a reasonable period of time. Now let me emphasize that I had legal representation in the matter and understood that my student loan could not be discharged because it's a student loan and also my mom co-signed. Moreover, I was current on my payments which should have indicated to them that I was going to make good on my obligation. Well, within a couple of weeks of filing, my mom got this lovely letter indicating that I had filed Ch. 7 and that the payment responsibility falls on her. And that, ladies and gentlemen, happens to be how my parents FOUND OUT about our bankruptcy. Now anyone who has gone through a bankruptcy can understand how humiliating it is. This incident almost pushed me over the edge! This has been 4 years and I still get angry thinking about it. I mean WHO THE HELL HAS A POLICY LIKE THAT??? I even sent letters of complaint with the hopes that I would receive some sort of apology or explanation for an action that is TOTALLY unnecessary. But NOOO! They probably just laughed. I hear many a horror stories about WF form a coworker who has an account with them. I am lucky to be finally free from them as my loan was paid off over a year ago. I shudder to think of all the interest I paid them because any amount is too much!!

posted by anon_anonymousApril 30, 2002 at 21:27

Write to the CEO [ e ]

I agree with all the posters here as far as the incredible rudeness of WFB employees, particularly ones who purport to be 'customer service reps'. If you have an odd moment to waste and feel that it is emotionally healthy to vent - I had noted the name of the rude rep I dealt with, the number, and date/exact time of the call. I cc'd my letter of complaint to the CEO of WFB and sent a direct copy to SF. I got letters and phone calls and all sorts of hoopla about how sorry they were this happened (all lies of course). The little bitch of a service rep may or may not have been disciplined, but I'm sure the uppy-ups don't like receiving these sorts of letters...

posted by anon_farmerjaneMay 1, 2002 at 11:30

Unmature [ e ]

All of you are very inmature.  Everyone has choices.  If you are not happy, move on.  Each customer is responsible to maintain their balance, and the banks provide tools to assist you with that.  If the auto system is down, that is not a bank error if you overdraw your acct.

And Gregg.....If you are moving to non wfb territory, move your account.  It has to be a logistical nightmare to be in a different country and have a bank account in the US.

EVERYONE GROW UP AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOURSELVES!!!

posted by anon_killerJuly 11, 2002 at 23:38

Actually, you're wrong. [ e ]

No, killer. You're wrong.  WF has horrible customer service.  I work as a senior vice president for a regional bank here in San Francisco.  Their customer facing departments are notorious for being horrible.

posted by anon_mikebJuly 12, 2002 at 11:00

To Killer [ e ]

I agree that to those people that actually made mistakes (didn't pay their account on time even once), while they might not have gotten good service but they did kind of start the fiasco.

As for me though. I did move.  The issue though is that it's a fiasco to live abroad and pay bills in the states (credit cards, insurance, storage etc)  So, I wanted to keep my account open at Wells Fargo.  That should not be a problem.  I did that last time I lived in Japan.   But I also wanted to be able to get money from my account to Japan.  Wells Fargo said they could do this but clearly they are inept.  If they could not do it they should have just said so.  They caused me all kinds of REAL of problems.  As a consumer I needed to take my business elsewhere which I did.  As a citizen it would be wrong of me to not warn others to stay away from Wells Fargo.

posted by greggmanJuly 12, 2002 at 23:28

title [ e ]

I understand that you have had a hard time with Wells Fargo.  I am a Supervisor for the Customer Service Hotline and I deal with customers with complex issues all the time.  To break your problem down, the International Re-Occurring Wire Transfer is something that is available to customers, however, since it requires customer signature and proper identification, it needs to be done in a branch.  We can't mail them or fax them (under normal circumstances) because it would risk potential fraud and since it would be to out of the country, it would be next to impossible to prosecute the person.

Why the Japanese banker or customer werent able to get a routing number for you is beyond me.  All banks have routing numbers to tell the Federal Reserve which bank should be getting the funds once the processing is complete.  One possible reason why the teller at the Wells Fargo Branch may not have known how many characters or digits the Japanese Routing number has is because when you are dealing with International Accounts, there may be more or less routing numbers depending on the country and financial institution.

It is painfully obvious that the branch you were dealing with doesnt or at least didnt do many wire transfers before because the forms needed and the information required werent communicated to you properly.  All branches have a help line that they call with more complex issues.  It is not the 24 hour customer service line.  It is a number to bankers with experience and training that surpasses even the best branch managers.  Why they didnt call the number is beyond me, as well.

I understand that when calling from International locations, the toll charges can be outrageous.  That is the reason Wells Fargo has set up a number with AT&T for our customers to access when out of the country.  You call a certain toll free number and ask to be connected to wells fargo and it is no cost to you.  Obivously you couldnt use that number if nobody offered it, but I do want you to know it is available. 

It certainly sounds as though the branch manager was avoiding you because he knew he made a mistake.  I dont know why he didnt fax you the forms needed to Japan and then have you mail them back.  As an exception, I could see that being done.  Especially with a notary service to confirm the signature.

As for the verification letter, we do offer them to our customers and the request normally takes 7-10 business days.  If for whatever reason, the letter gets lost in the mail or it is not recieved by the customer, we are left with no alternative but to start over and send a new one.

I understand how frustrating it is to have a routing number changed, but when a two banks merge, many things have to change that can inconvenience customers.  Account numbers may change, routing numbers may change, and fees may be added or raised depending on what the prior bank's procedures were compared to ours.

We absolutely send notification when numbers are sent, but as many people know, the US Postal Service tends to lose mail.  Also many times people throw away mail if they think its junk mail or advertisements.  I dont know what caused you to not get the notification, but it is sent out. 

Regarding your checks, of course you can't get emergency checks in Japan.  Emergency checks are something printed at the branch so you can use them temporarily.  Why would we send you emergency checks when we can take the same amount of time to send you new ones.  Oh, and about the address on the checks, we use a vendor named Deluxe to print checks.  When the banker submitted the check order, it would have automatically updated your address on the account.  When you had him read you the address, it was prior to the updating.  As for why the branch received your checks, it was because that is the return address printed on the checks.  So, if the post office cannot deliver checks to your address, they will return them to a safe location.

As for the fees charged to you.  If you are getting charged 20.50 per month, you are in the wrong account.  First off, the 10.50 cent fee can be reduced or eliminated if you move to a customer checking account.  That would ensure that your monthly service fee is only 8.00 and if you have direct deposit or maintain a certain daily balance, you dont get charged at all.  As for the checks being returned.  That fee is charged because we will hold checks for you at no cost and send photocopies if needed.  If you chose to have them returned, well of course that is a service that will cost you.  And I dont know why you use Quicken for online and Bill Pay when wells fargo offers it free if you use their secure website.  Those options alone would move you from 20.50 per month to 8.00 or less.

A funny little note about Credit Unions.  People always say their better and they love them and blah blah blah... but little do they know, Credit Unions are part of a larger bank.  Half of the Credit Unions everyone has switched to is owned by Wells Fargo so it really didnt do anything more than cause you the headache to switch banks.

All in all, I understand why you wouldnt bank with Wells Fargo because you have had to deal with multiple runarounds on numerous occasions.  Im really sorry you had to do that and had I been the one you talked to, it wouldnt have happened like that.  We train our employees well and as with all companies, there are always new persons to deal with and there are always those who dont care enough to help.  We do our best to identify those problems and address them right away.  I make no claims that we are perfect, but I guarantee you that, at least in my center, we work hard to serve the customer and we offer options to help them out.  Often times, we will call branches and instruct them on how to do a task they are unfamiliar with in order to make our customer happy. 

I feel it is unfair for you to claim that Wells Fargo as a whole is a bad bank.  I think you should limit your claim to the persons you dealt with.  Wells Fargo offers superior products to our customers, we offer options such as direct deposit advance and free online banking to customers so they can manage their finances cheaper and easier.

We have atms and branches located all over the western United States and hopefully soon the eastern portion.  We obviously have friendly staff or most people would never have opened an account.

Keep in mind that mistakes do happen and there are bad people to deal that we deal with on occasion, but if I was to visit your city and talk to seven or eight people, all of whom are rude, obnoxious, and dont know what they are doing, wouldnt you feel offended if I made a national claim that you have the worst city in the world and that all of the people there are evil.  Perhaps if I were to say nobody should visit there because they would be supporting the evil that is your city.  I think you and your family would be offended.  Basically what Im saying is dont judge an entire bank and all of its employees by the actions of a few.

posted by anon_Dmoney602July 21, 2002 at 11:56

A Response, only 20 months late [ e ]

Thank you for the response.  Let's go over it.

the International Re-Occurring Wire Transfer is something that is available to customers, however, since it requires customer signature and proper identification, it needs to be done in a branch.  We can't mail them or fax them (under normal circumstances) because it would risk potential fraud and since it would be to out of the country, it would be next to impossible to prosecute the person.

Which is why I went into the branch to fill it out and stay with a manager to do it correctly instead of trying to guess at all the strange bank terms and yet I still got screwed.

Why the Japanese banker or customer werent able to get a routing number for you is beyond me.  All banks have routing numbers to tell the Federal Reserve which bank should be getting the funds once the processing is complete.  One possible reason why the teller at the Wells Fargo Branch may not have known how many characters or digits the Japanese Routing number has is because when you are dealing with International Accounts, there may be more or less routing numbers depending on the country and financial institution.

Clearly you have not dealt with Japanese banks.  THEY DO NOT HAVE ROUTING NUMBERS!!!!!  I verified this MORE THAN ONCE. I'm sure you don't believe me so fine, I challenge you to find out my routing number.  I'll give you any information you need.

It is painfully obvious that the branch you were dealing with doesnt or at least didnt do many wire transfers before because the forms needed and the information required werent communicated to you properly.  All branches have a help line that they call with more complex issues.  It is not the 24 hour customer service line.  It is a number to bankers with experience and training that surpasses even the best branch managers.  Why they didnt call the number is beyond me, as well.

Yes except that I went to 3 different branches.  They are in areas where you one would expect alot more international transfers than say Maine or Iowa given the % of foreigners in the area.  And besides, the specific branch manager (Brentwood) I tried to get an example from and who would not give me one claimed he did them all the time. 

Oh, and about the address on the checks, we use a vendor named Deluxe to print checks.  When the banker submitted the check order, it would have automatically updated your address on the account.  When you had him read you the address, it was prior to the updating.  As for why the branch received your checks, it was because that is the return address printed on the checks.  So, if the post office cannot deliver checks to your address, they will return them to a safe location.

I had updated my address September.  I asked for the checks in November.  Like I said, my sister had already gotten my statements addressed to the new address so the address should have been up to date at order time.

As for the fees charged to you.  If you are getting charged 20.50 per month, you are in the wrong account.  First off, the 10.50 cent fee can be reduced or eliminated if you move to a customer checking account.  That would ensure that your monthly service fee is only 8.00 and if you have direct deposit or maintain a certain daily balance, you dont get charged at all.  As for the checks being returned.  That fee is charged because we will hold checks for you at no cost and send photocopies if needed.  If you chose to have them returned, well of course that is a service that will cost you.  And I dont know why you use Quicken for online and Bill Pay when wells fargo offers it free if you use their secure website.  Those options alone would move you from 20.50 per month to 8.00 or less.

I use Quicken because it lets me enter my payments directly in Quicken instead of entering them online first and then having to download them days later into Quicken and having to then categorize them after I've forgotten what they were for.

A funny little note about Credit Unions.  People always say their better and they love them and blah blah blah... but little do they know, Credit Unions are part of a larger bank.  Half of the Credit Unions everyone has switched to is owned by Wells Fargo so it really didnt do anything more than cause you the headache to switch banks.

I didn't switch to a credit union I switched to Citibank Personal Banking for Overseas Employees.  They only deal with people like me, people living abroad, so they are aware of all the issues Wells Fargo claimed they could handle but couldn't.  (like the fact that Japanese banks do not have routing numbers)

All in all, I understand why you wouldnt bank with Wells Fargo because you have had to deal with multiple runarounds on numerous occasions.  Im really sorry you had to do that and had I been the one you talked to, it wouldnt have happened like that.  We train our employees well and as with all companies, there are always new persons to deal with and there are always those who dont care enough to help.  We do our best to identify those problems and address them right away.  I make no claims that we are perfect, but I guarantee you that, at least in my center, we work hard to serve the customer and we offer options to help them out.  Often times, we will call branches and instruct them on how to do a task they are unfamiliar with in order to make our customer happy. 

I feel it is unfair for you to claim that Wells Fargo as a whole is a bad bank.  I think you should limit your claim to the persons you dealt with.  Wells Fargo offers superior products to our customers, we offer options such as direct deposit advance and free online banking to customers so they can manage their finances cheaper and easier.

Unfortunately that has not been my experience with Wells Fargo.  It was only this occasion that prompted me to write about it but there were many many others.  I do wish more people were like you and your center.  I hope you can spread your quality service attitudes throughout the rest of Wells Fargo.

We have atms and branches located all over the western United States and hopefully soon the eastern portion.  We obviously have friendly staff or most people would never have opened an account.

It's not necessarily true that people would not come to WF if WF didn't have friendly people.  People could be choosing WF for many reasons (1) the closest bank to them is a WF.  (2) the closest ATM to them is a WF.  (3) as WF has the most ATMs so it's the most convienient.  I suspect that most people do not really think about the bank they choose.  I know I didn't until the last few years.

Keep in mind that mistakes do happen and there are bad people to deal that we deal with on occasion, but if I was to visit your city and talk to seven or eight people, all of whom are rude, obnoxious, and dont know what they are doing, wouldnt you feel offended if I made a national claim that you have the worst city in the world and that all of the people there are evil.  Perhaps if I were to say nobody should visit there because they would be supporting the evil that is your city.  I think you and your family would be offended.  Basically what Im saying is dont judge an entire bank and all of its employees by the actions of a few.

I understand what you are trying to get at but what would you do?  If you bought a Panasonic TV and had nothing but trouble would you buy another?  If you heard your friend was about to buy a TV and was considering a Panasonic would you not tell them that you had nothing but trouble with them and they should consider another brand?  Or would you instead assume you just got a lemon and keep giving them your money and telling your friends to do the same.  My experience with WF has been almost nothing but bad and so this page is here to recommend people do not patronize badness.  Capitalism works when people don't support bad things with money and instead support good things.  In my opinion, WF is a bad thing.

posted by greggmanJuly 21, 2002 at 21:21

WFB Employees Cannot Read [ e ]

It is interesting to me that the (2) WFB employees who have posted to your page insist that your problems were caused because you did not 'go to a branch'. Yet, you clearly state in your description of your troubles with WFB that you went to not one, but three branches. Do you think the rot begins with their employees being unable to read? Or is it that only complete fools are hired there in the first place?

posted by anon_farmerjaneJuly 22, 2002 at 18:33

I'M IN TOTAL AGREEMENT ..... WELLS FARGO SUCKS...& STINKS AS WELL [ e ]

WELLS FARGO IS OUT TO SCREW YOU WITH AS MANY FEES IN AS MANY WAYS POSSIBLE. MY PERSONAL FAVORITE IS WHEN YOU HAVE A BALANCE OF $800 IN YOUR ACCOUNT AND HAVE A $799 CHECK COME IN ALONG WITH 6 OTHER CHECKS RANGING FROM $4 TO $77 AND THEY CASH THE $799 CHECK AND BOUNCE THE OTHER 6.  THE FEE IS ABOUT $32 FOR EACH RETURNED OR OVERDRAFTED CHECK.  THAT WAS $240+.  VERY RUDE WF CUST. REPS ACTUALLY CLAIM THIS IS SO THAT YOUR LARGE MORTGAGE OR CAR PAYMENTS WON'T BE RETURNED BECAUSE ....OF COURSE THESE ARE MORE IMPORTANT. (YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO PAY YOUR MORTGAGE ANYWAY WITH THESE KIND OF FEES) WELLS FARGO LOVES TO KICK YOU WHEN YOU'RE DOWN, THEN THE NEXT DAY AS YOU'RE STILL LYING IN THE ROAD, WF RUNS YOU OVER WITH THEIR LARGE CORPORATE VEHICLE, BACKS UP , ROLLS DOWN THE WINDOW AND SPITS ON YOU.  IT'S HARD NOT TO FEEL LIKE AN APPRECIATED CUSTOMER AT WELLS FARGO.  I JOINED MY LOCAL CREDIT UNION. I URGE YOU ALL TO DO THE SAME.  THE CU WAS AS HORRIFIED AS I WAS AT WF POLICIES.  MY LOCAL CU'S OVERDRAFT FEE IS $15, (THEY WILL RETURN THE $799 CHECK AND CASH THE OTHER 6, FEE $15)

posted by anon_WFdespiserJuly 24, 2002 at 12:53

WFdespiser points blame in wrong direction [ e ]

Wells Fargo clearly tells you in your disclosure that they pay checks in a certain fashion according to the laws of your state. Most States are highest dollar amount to lowest dollar amount.  The only state that I am aware of that is different is Nevada.  They require banks to pay by serial number.

WFdespiser is upset that he wrote checks and didnt have the money to cover them and wanted the bank to pay them in the order that he was most comfortable with.

Basically, he wants the bank to pay checks that he wrote with WELLS FARGO's Money and not be charged overdraft fees.  Okay Mr. Despiser, that makes sense and we all now hate the bank for your loss..... hahahaha....

posted by anon_loyalWFcustJuly 28, 2002 at 8:01

Good for you. [ e ]

Greggman, I think that if you are as uncomfortable with Wells Fargo as you seem to be, than by all means, you should bank with a financial institution that supports you better.  Wells Fargo can't claim that they are right for everyone, if they did, they'd be lying.

I stand by my previous statement that Wells Fargo is a good bank and good people do work here.  But I make no excuse for the incompetence that you have run into.  If I were you, I wouldnt bank with Wells Fargo either.

But, lets be real, yours is truly a rare story.  Like I said, I deal in customer service and with escalated issues primarily.  I'd say probably 95 percent of the time (seriously, that high) it is the customer who caused the problem at some point.  Of course my job requires me to refrain from pointing out the obvious mistakes in a way that I would like to.  We seriously get callers who say things to the effect of "I know I deposited an empty envelope at the atm, but why did you return my check?"  And it's usually one of those same people that either start up websites like yours or post the type of arrogant messages that "Farmerjane" or "WFdespiser" wrote.

I did check up on your claim that Japanese banks do not use routing numbers and you are absolutely correct, they do not.  All they have to identify themselves for wire purposes are a bank code (usually 4 digits), a branch code (3-5 digits), the phone number, and account number.  That was something I didnt know until you told me and I reaffirmed with my helpline, so thank you for that bit of knowledge.

posted by anon_Dmoney602July 28, 2002 at 8:25

Hmmmm... [ e ]

Well Gregg, looks like your little WFB employee feels that again, the Stupid Customer causes their own problems. If they protest the ignorance and rudeness of the WFB Evil Empire they are seen as 'arrogant'. Believe me, little WFB employee person, there is NO arrogance like the chumps who work at WFB. Sorry if Gregg's website stings a little - must be embarrassing to read about your horrible company.

posted by anon_farmerjaneAugust 13, 2002 at 19:01

I'm so livid w/ WF right now. [ e ]

Well I've had enough of WF, tomorrow I talk to a branch manager before closing my account.  Here is my story.

I made out all my monthly bills as usual and sent all of them in except my car payment, I needed to wait until after the 12th so I would have money in the bank to cover it.  Well it got placed in the mail somehow anyways and all hell has broken loose.

On 8/8/02 my car payment cleared and sent me under by about $250.  2 more checks were cleared on 8/8 which took me down to -$300.  A trip to Target and the grocery store, both using the ATM method not the credit method took me to -$365.

Now on 8/9 WF gets to tack on all the overdraft fees, so that was 3 checks and 2 POS transactions so that's 5 overdraft fees @ $24.  So now I'm -$485.  On the 9th I'm still blissfully unaware of what's happening so I go fill up at the gas station, -$500, and stop by the drugstore to buy some ant traps and get $20 cashback, now we are at -$530. 

On the 12th the overdraft fees for those transactions come through, 2 @ $30 this time.  -$590.  Also on the 12th a few weekend purchases w/ my checkcard clear and their associated $30 overdraft fees.  -$715

The 13th finds me filling up the gas tank again and enjoying a meal at Chevy's.  -$740, oops almost forgot those overdraft fees.  -$800.

On the 14th I finally go to the bank so I can deposit some money into the account and mail off my car payment (which I thought was still sitting in the outbox) and to my suprise I'm $800 in the hole and am freaking out.  I deposit the money (-$200 now) and start calling friends to see who will give me an advance on my next unemployment check.  Finally find somebody with money to burn and run back to the ATM and deposit another $650.  (+$450)

I proceed to call customer service and the rep I spoke with was very friendly but couldn't do more than reverse a couple of the charges.  I went to a local branch this morning but the CSR I spoke with gave me the same corporate policy line and told me to come back tomorrow (the 16th) when the branch manager was in the office if I wanted to pursue it any more.

Now where my anger comes from is the fact that on 8/8 I went overdraft in my account but they didn't mail out a notice until 8/12 and I didn't receive it until today, 8/15.  The fact that it takes WF 4 days to print out a overdraft notice and stick it in the mail is total BS.  If WF had printed and mailed the overdraft notice on 8/8 like WaMu or my CU would do then I could have avoided at least 5 more overdraft charges.

Also my checkcard continued to allow me to make purchases using both the ATM and credit methods after I was overdrawn and even let me get cashback.  None of my other bank accounts allow this, if I don't have the funds I can't use the card simple as that, that's 9 overdraft fees I could have avoided.

Now I know I screwed up and am willing to pay for the overdraft fees on the checks that were paid, 3 for a total of $72, but had WF notified me of my overdraft status in a timely manner and had their authorization system told merchants to decline my card instead of authorizing it WF wouldn't be holding $270 of my money right now.  Now I have to kiss a branch managers ass until he reverses a few more of the overdraft fees or I'll be eating Ramen 3 times a day for the next month.  I can't help but think that WF waited 4 days to notify me of my overdraft status knowing they could extort more money out of me and that thier "policy" of allowing people to continue using their checkcards even if they are overdraft is yet another way to extort money out of people.  The CSR I spoke with this morning was trying to convince me that their system was benificial to the customer, yeah 9 overdraft fees due to it has been very benificial to me.  Thanks alot WF.

posted by anon_PissedatWFAugust 16, 2002 at 1:13

Greed at Wells Fargo [ e ]

13 Overdraft feels latter - the whole story of how is not important - not my mistake - my resposibility - SURE.

Any help from WF - NONE!!!

Told me they can't reverse any charges - reason: system would not allow them to do it.

What kind of BS is that??

Taking my money elseware - away from the greedy.

For  those of you here who defend WF - in all reality I can tell you this: Fuck You! Get a new job and stop being this banks bitches.

This bank has a growing negative rep in my town (Fort Collins Colorado ) and many are fleeing, going to local banks or customer owned credit unions.

Hopefull enough people will leave that WF will notice and change thier ways. Kind of doubt it though. At least greed is always rewarded in kind!

posted by anon_taldSeptember 9, 2002 at 0:27

I HATE WELLS FARGO LOAN DEP [ e ]

$73 DOLLARS IN LATE FEES ON $27 INTEREST. COMPLETLY RIDICULOUS.
FUCK WELLS FARGO AND FUCK ADOLF HITLER WHO IS APPARENTLY RUNNING THE COMPANY.

posted by anon_DANSeptember 25, 2002 at 12:06

Wells Fargo must be destroyed!! [ e ]

I hate those fucking whores!! They have screwed me and my business associates so many times it's ridiculous. Their employees are so poorly trained that they give bad info that costs people time and money.

One transaction has cost me over $3,000 that I will never see again because a teller give me the wrong info!! I hate these fucking animals and I will spend the rest of my life warning people about them.

God help anyone who does business with them.

posted by anon_GBOctober 3, 2002 at 12:36

I will never do business with them again!!! [ e ]

I applied to have my home refinanced with Wells Fargo. They asked me for a refundable fee of $300 to process my application and I gave it to them because their representative was a member of my brother-in-law's family. Well, she told me that my credit was so bad they would not even bother to process my application. I guess my check was good because even though they did not process the application they cashed the check. I have been trying now for over 2 months to get a hold of her but she refuses to take my calls and never returns them when I contact her secretary. The cashing of the check for $300.00 dollars caused my bank account to go into a minus status. I had 4 minor checks bounce at a charge of $35.00 per check to my bank. Plus the people who's check bounced charged me late fees totaling over $150.00. On top of that the withdrawl made my account go into a negative state-(I had -$80.00 dollars in my bank account) which made my bank cancel my debit card. I am seriously thinking about taken legal action against them. Please!!! Do not deal with these people!!!

posted by anon_easy_anonymousOctober 10, 2002 at 13:06

I CANT STAND WFB!!!!! [ e ]

I'm not violent, but after 6 years as a WFB customer, I'm ready to go into a couple of branches and kill some fucking employees. I also have 2 credit union accounts through my job, and those banks operate 1000% more efficiently, intelligently, and with 1 Million times more concern for indvidual customer satisfaction. FUCK WFB! I will discourage anyone I know from doing business with the bank until the day I die.

posted by anon_LAFIREMANOctober 14, 2002 at 13:24

Thanks! [ e ]

Thank you for giving me the chance to blow off steam.  Although my problems are small, I have had so many with Wells Fargo in the past four months that I am moving my accounts to a local bank here in the Twin Cities.  I believe my problem stems from Wells' takeover of Marquette Banks, another local bank at which I done business for several years.  God forbid, I was used to decent customer service, low fees, and a genuine sense of satisfaction with Marquette. Now that the big boys have taken over greed is in the air, fees are rampant and customer service is a thing of the past.  I work for a very large US company and I know how difficult it can be to please every customer, but after listening to the idiots Wells Fargo has working for them I don't know how they can even open their doors every morning.

posted by anon_WFBasherOctober 16, 2002 at 17:51

I'd rather have a pap smear in public than bank with WFB ever again [ e ]

Here is a list of things that I have decided I would rather do than ever bank with WFB ever again

have my teeth cleaned by a blind man with only hooks for hands

get 100,000 paper cuts on my face

eat puppies

give birth to the anti Christ

run a Victoria's secret in Iran

have my toenails removed with an icepick

be Osama bin Laden's "love slave"

have laser eye surgery performed with the laser on the Death Star

have leprosy

have a testicle growing out of my forehead

tag and track head lice

posted by anon_anothersatisfiedWFBcust
omerOctober 20, 2002 at 16:32

short and simple [ e ]

WFB is:
too ignorant
too greedy
too large
and there's ample evidence it's run by people who kick puppies

posted by anon_angryredheadOctober 29, 2002 at 19:33

THE IDIOTS OF THE WORLD WORK FOR ONE COMPANY [ e ]

and that company is Wells Fargo.  Who would want to bank with a company that charges you up the ass for any and everything?  Use your debit card, okay, $1.00.  Checking account? Pay $5 a month.  Deposit a canadian check?  $1.25.  Use an ATM that is not a Wells Fargo ATM?  Not only will the bank owning the ATM charge you, but Wells Fargo will too -- $4 in fact.  Call us because we fucked up?  That's $2.  The day I close my account will be a great, great day.  I will do a dance in their branch and tell them they can take their monthly fees and shove them up their ass.

posted by anon_aaanonOctober 31, 2002 at 17:42

I think I'm being fucked by wells fargo [ e ]

Here's my story:

I sold some stuff online and got an official bank check.  It was "accidentally" made out to about $4500 (I got $9500 instead of $5000) more than it should have been.  Of course, I naturally thought that it was a counterfeit, but I took it to the bank anyway, and talked to the teller about it. 

I had asked the teller to PLEASE go through as many tests as she could to make sure that it wasn't a counterfeit (as I was VERY weary about it and did not want to deposit it if it were indeed a counterfeit).  She did numerous tests, and said, "Nope...this is an official bank check, and it isn't counterfeit." 

I was like, what the fuck?  Are you sure?  She assured me it was fine and was NOT counterfeit.  So I told her to go ahead and put it into my account. 

I waited until it had cleared AND waited a couple days after just to make sure that Wells Fargo didn't fuck up, and guess what?  NOTHING happened!  So, I figured that it was an honest mistake on the guy's part and I sent him his "difference" via Western Union. 

It turns out that THREE days after I sent the money to the guy (about SIX days after my initial deposit), I checked my online balance and it stated a negative $6000+.  I was like...oh shit.  I called their 24hr service, and they told me that the check was a counterfeit.  HOW COULD THEY CLEAR THE CHECK?!?

I went to the Wells Fargo the next day and talked to a bunch of the employees there including the manager.  They all said that I was liable to pay off the negative amount in my account.  EXCEPT, one teller...she had leaked out that in the Wells Fargo procedure, they are supposed to HOLD checks of an unusually large amount for new account holders (I've had my account for roughly 2 months) to make sure that it isn't counterfeit.  Of course, RIGHT AFTER she said that, the manager took her into another room while I was talking to another teller about all of this. 

According to the manager, Wells Fargo is being "nice" to me by extending the period that I have to pay the amount, before they send the collections agency off to me.  What do I do?!?!?  Do you think that I have a legitimate case against them?  I CAN'T afford to pay this off!!  I'm only in college!!!! 

PLEASE EMAIL ME if you can help me!!!  Or post here...I don't check here very often, but I will try as much as possible.

Andrew

PS - My email address is xcrezyx@yahoo.com

posted by anon_andrewNovember 1, 2002 at 2:21

Here's my story . . . [ e ]

My daughter and I were in a car accident when she was 5.  She is now 19.  We had a settlement and placed her money in a court-ordered blocked account until she reached 18.  Not a problem.
The bank we selected was First Interstate Bank.  Wells Fargo took over First Interstate and closed the branch where we orginally opened the account.  The bank lost the court order, have no record of the case number, and wants us to close the account.

So, what happens?  We try to close the account.  Wells Fargo will not permit that because they can't find their court order and do not know if the account is blocked until she is 18, 21, or 25.  I said, "But, you called us to close the account so that she doesn't lose her money (or go to the state funds, as they put it WITHIN A FEW MONTHS)."

However, I'm wondering, if she has to close the account when she is 18, then all we have to do is prove that she is over that age.  If they are telling us to wait until she is 21 or 25, then why the rush to close the account?  This does not make sense to me and the WFB employee does not understand this concept.  DUH!!!

posted by anon_anonymousSoCaliforniaNovember 6, 2002 at 12:54

id like to sue w/f for damages-discrimanatory practices [ e ]

text believe it or not,i had just finished a 30 miute tirade about my lack of any service and or support,regardind cashing check issued to me by there customer,i was booted rite before i closed it,{my story},so,i refuse to rant any more on this subject,except that wells fargo practiced inconsistent,rude,and ambiguous business practice in my instance,treating me discourtously,disrespectaful
ly and with out ethical logical or consistent policiy,refusing me bluntly and without reasonable explanation except whatever they deemed as appropriate to me not being a "customer",{they even have a "guest" customer line,where you wait,until there customers are helped first}and deniying the presenting for funds,my check for there own amusement,in closing,wells fargo-sandiego sucksssssssss well water!~thank you,contimplating suit-vs.wells fargo,discrimanatory practices,r.a.c. email:redcellaphane@aol.com

posted by anon_wellsthisaintasfarasigoNovember 22, 2002 at 13:19

WELLS FARGO SUCKS [ e ]

I HATE WFB, I WILL NEVER EVER TIL MY DYING DAY DO BUSINESS WITH THEM AGAIN... MOST OF MY FRIENDS PREVIOUSLY HAVE DONE BUSINESS WITH THEM AND FEEL THE SAME.  THEY ARE DISHONEST IN THEIR DEALINGS AND SUCK THE BIG WEENIE.

posted by anon_anonymouschickNovember 24, 2002 at 17:25

Don't Post Date your checks, WFB WILL STILL CASH THEM!!! [ e ]

I have a VERY HUGE problem with Wells Fargo. Let me tell you a little story. I work for a company that switched (thank God) from using Wells to BofA. Anyways, when I chose not to have a account with WFB, I couldn't cash my own paycheck on Thursday nights because it was post dated for Friday (so said tellers). Fine, good. Now, my problem. I wrote a check out to be cashed on Friday 12/6/2002 as the due date of the bill is Saturday 12/7/2002. I mailed out my payment on last Saturday on 11/30/2002 so that I can avoid being late on my payment. I thought, "ok", I don't have much money in the account, but since I get paid on Friday 12/6/2002, when they cash it THAT DAY, it will be fully covered. Since WF doesn't cash post dated checks. Boy was I WRONG. Check was cashed 12/3/2002, and other checks have been bouncing now. I have accured at least $50.00 (which I need for presents by the way) and I know it will be at least around 100-150 by the time money is finally into the account. I called Customer Service, seeing that this happened. Well, seems like cheaters run the whole damn company. "Chris", a Manager mind you, told me that once my signature is on a check (what if it's forged?) it's going to be cashed. Doesn't matter what the date says! WTF?!?!?! What is the point of even putting dates on checks if the bank doesn't even check it!?!! Why doesn't Wells Fargo CASH PAYROLL CHECKS THEY WRITE UNTIL THE DATE ON THE CHECK!??! Is there a way I can be heard?? A bank like WF slowly ripping ordinary JOES like myself!?

posted by anon_WELLSFARGOSUCKSDecember 5, 2002 at 11:31

Whoa! [ e ]

Although many of the stories on this site are obviously not Wells Fargo's fault, there are MANY examples that leave me awestruck.  I personally bank with Wells Fargo and have had absolutely no problems in the last 12 years or so of banking.  At least none that I can blame Wells Fargo for.

I used to work at Bank of America for many years and I heard stories just like these every single day.  As most people know, the larger the corporation gets, the greater the amounts of complaints will be.  I mean Im sure the smallest credit union has at least a few people walking away from it saying "they are horrible" but because it deals with people on such a small level, nobody notices. 

Because I worked at a bank, I know to read my disclosures, I take responsibility for fees I owe, and I dont blame the bank when I made the mistake.  But I do feel sorry for the few of you who had legitimate problems that were not handled correctly.  In every business, there are employees that aren't exactly projecting the quality standard the company would like and eventually those persons end up leaving anyway, by their own choice or otherwise.

But to Greggman, this was a brilliant idea to add this to your site.  My roommate actually works at Wells Fargo as a Customer Service Project Manager and forms committees to discuss and handle situations that pose a threat to Wells Fargo credibility and reputation in her region.  Basically she works as "damage control."  She is the one who told me about this site because it gets mentioned a lot by people in her assigned region.  I think your mission may be getting accomplished.

posted by anon_ddiddyDecember 16, 2002 at 8:04

More WF [ e ]

Well, it's good to know someone at Wells Fargo read it.  While I will never go back, if they become a better bank that can only be a good thing.

I'm a little sad about some of the posts below though.  Some people have been wronged, other people have contributed to their own problems.  For example I know of no bank that honors posted dated checks.  And although it may seem mean about overdraft fees, they are spelled out in the contracts and those people that had huge overdraft fees did actually have an overdraft.  I'm not trying to excuse WF for the multiple fees, but still, the original problem is/was the customers fault.

I'd be curious to know though just how $25+ per overdraft is justified.  Obviously people that have overdraft problems should try to find a bank that has low overdraft fees but is there anything about them that justifies more than about a $1 fee?  It seems like in the pre-computer days a person would look at the check, check your account, if you had the money send it to the destination bank, if not, send a letter to the check writer.  Now with computers it seems like it would be even less work.  It clearly seems at $25 it's meant to be in income generating thing and it seems especially bad since it hurts the people that are already having the toughest time.

posted by greggmanDecember 16, 2002 at 10:11