Dear Anonymous,

If you're like me, when the bank says your account is closed and will no longer accept deposits or honor withdrawals after a specific date, you believe it. But it looks like that's not so for Wells Fargo -- and that's a big problem.

When Wells Fargo decides it will close an account, it informs customers of the final closing dates.1 But instead of closing the accounts on the scheduled date -- which you'd think any other bank would do -- Wells Fargo is accused of programming its computers to keep accounts with a positive or negative balance open two more months, collecting overdraft fees and not notifying the customer.2

Customers have brought their complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), but the agency has yet to take action, putting more people at risk.

When Wells Fargo closes an account, it should be closed. Period. Tell the CFPB: Investigate Wells Fargo and hold the company accountable.

Bank customers and employees have reported that accounts closed by customers were kept open two months after their closing date, incurring overdraft fees as the bank continued to honor withdrawals, according to the New York Times.3 Many of the people affected were previous fraud victims.

Each time a transaction was processed on these overdrawn accounts, even new fraudulent transactions, Wells Fargo tacked on a fee. Many of these customers found out their account was still open after it was sent to collections, or they tried to open another account at a different bank but were unable to because of outstanding bank fees.4

If customers don't pay these overdraft fees, the bank reports them to a national credit bureau database -- making it difficult to impossible for a consumer to open an account anywhere else, and if it's a serious delinquency, even affecting their credit scores.

Call on the CFPB to investigate Wells Fargo for wrongdoing now.

Wells Fargo is the poster child for why we need the Consumer Bureau to be a watchdog on Wall Street, looking out for consumers -- this is just the latest example.

The company has paid more than $15 billion in settlements since 2008 to resolve investigations into wrongdoing -- including:

• In 2016, the CFPB fined Wells Fargo a record $100 million for opening fake accounts in its customers' names without their knowledge to meet sales quotas.5
• Between 2012 and 2016, Wells Fargo forced unwanted and unnecessary auto insurance onto more than 800,000 people who took out car loans from the bank.6
• In 2017, Wells Fargo was caught failing to make refunds to consumers who pay their loans off early, as is required in several states.7

And these are just the most recent examples.

The CFPB has taken action against Wells Fargo to protect consumers before, and the bureau needs to do so again. Consumers should be able to be sure that if their account is closed, it is closed -- and they are protected from fraud or excessive fees.

Add your name today.

Thank you,

Faye Park
President

1. Emily Flitter, "Wells Fargo Closed Their Accounts, but the Fees Continued to Mount," The New York Times, August 16, 2019.
2. Emily Flitter, "Wells Fargo Closed Their Accounts, but the Fees Continued to Mount," The New York Times, August 16, 2019.
3. Emily Flitter, "Wells Fargo Closed Their Accounts, but the Fees Continued to Mount," The New York Times, August 16, 2019.
4. Emily Flitter, "Wells Fargo Closed Their Accounts, but the Fees Continued to Mount," The New York Times, August 16, 2019.
5. "Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Fines Wells Fargo $100 Million for Widespread Illegal Practice of Secretly Opening Unauthorized Accounts," Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, September 8, 2019.
6. Gretchen Morgenson, "Wells Fargo Forced Unwanted Auto Insurance on Borrowers," The New York Times, July 27, 2017.
7. Gretchen Morgenson, "Wells Fargo, awash in scandal, faces violations over car insurance refunds," CNBC, August 7, 2019.