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Wells Fargo are crooks

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Tempusfugit

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Wells Fargo Overdraft Lawsuit: Bank Ordered To Pay $203 MILLION In Fees Over 'Unfair' Charges


So on top of illegally foreclosing a bunch of people's houses recently, wells fargo has been sued for reordering customers deposits and withdrawals, to maximize overdraft fees.

theoretical situation
-On Friday, you have 120 dollars
-On Saturday you made 5 purchases for $5 each.
-On Sunday, you remember you have to pay your cell phone bill for 120 dollars.
-You only have 90 dollars, but you know you can pay it and only take one overdraft fee.
-Monday rolls along, WF does their "batch processing" and decides its best to process the cell phone bill first, dropping you to 0 dollars. Then they put each of the 5 $5 charges through, EACH one pinging you with an overdraft fee.

JUST in CALIFORNIA, over 5-6 years, they made over 200 million dollars in fraudulent overdraft fees.

They are appealing saying they were doing it in the customers best interest to assure that high dollar transactions, which are obviously the most important, go through without being declined - The thing is, the first judge told them was bull crap, and until recently they would have let every transaction go through regardless of order.



I'm fairly certain every major bank does this, or things very similar, but I closed my account and told the rep it was because of this court case. I suggest anyone else with an account do the same
 
seems like it would be easier to just make sure you arent bouncing checks

come to think of it......... I dont think I know anyone who still uses checks..... I havent had checks in years for my personal account.... so much easier to use a debit and carry a little pocket cash for those places who dont take it or small purchases
 
copestag said:
seems like it would be easier to just make sure you arent bouncing checks

come to think of it......... I dont think I know anyone who still uses checks..... I havent had checks in years for my personal account.... so much easier to use a debit and carry a little pocket cash for those places who dont take it or small purchases
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Ya, read the article.. We're talking about debit. And we're talking about a service with a charge that people signed up for. We're also talking about wells fargo, a bank, STEALING money, usually from people who 6 months ago were children.

And this is after they took 25 billion in bailouts.






>.<

There's the point... You seemed to have missed it the first time around. I'll be sure to come looking for you if I need a personal financial advisor.
 
Well maybe my math is rusty but if you pay a bill thats $120 and you have $90 you will still be in the negative. Maybe the person should manage their money better or pay the Cell bill when they get more money to cover it. Sounds like someone is trying to blame the bank for their incompetence.
 
Dark Jedi said:
Well maybe my math is rusty but if you pay a bill thats $120 and you have $90 you will still be in the negative. Maybe the person should manage their money better or pay the Cell bill when they get more money to cover it. Sounds like someone is trying to blame the bank for their incompetence.
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First, I haven't had an overdraft fee in ~5 years, this has nothing to do with competence, except yours for this story.

You would be at negative $65 given a 35 dollar overdraft. The correct amount. The way wells fargo had been processing it, you would be at negative $200..

If this thread was about my ability to manage my money, there wouldn't be a case that wells fargo already lost. I have a feeling, the first two ignorant responses are the reason large corporations are allowed to get away with outright theft.
 
In the end you paid a bill that you knowingly didnt have the funds to cover.

Also If you made 5 $5 purchases would be $25 and minus that from $120 would be $95 and not $90.

Also no its people like you putting your account in the red knowingly is what makes banks their money.
 
Dark Jedi said:
In the end you paid a bill that you knowingly didnt have the funds to cover.

Also If you made 5 $5 purchases would be $25 and minus that from $120 would be $95 and not $90.

Also no its people like you putting your account in the red knowingly is what makes banks their money.
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So its ok for wells fargo to steal money, because there was something I could have done to prevent it, got it.

I'm glad you have always had money to pay for everything you need, and never had any emergency situations in your life - but just because somebody used a service they had signed up for already, doesn't give wells fargo the right to charge however many fees they feel like.
 
Tempusfugit said:
So its ok for wells fargo to steal money, because there was something I could have done to prevent it, got it.
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You seem to not have a problem of stealing their money when you knowingly paid a cell bill you knew you didnt have the money for to cover?
 
Dark Jedi said:
You seem to not have a problem of stealing their money when you knowingly paid a cell bill you knew you didnt have the money for to cover?
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K, still not my cell phone bill, or my overdrafts, but continue to make this personal because I know it helps you sleep at night.

No, while the funds in that account were insufficient, any wells fargo customer before they recently changed policy(after being forced to) was automatically enrolled in overdraft protection. This is a service that allows a person to get immediate credit at a flat fee of 35 dollars. This service is paid for by fees - both direct overdraft fees, and monthly checking fees.

By your logic, anyone that uses a credit card should be subject to whatever fees the bank decides to throw at them on a whim, regardless of contracts.


It still amazes me that this is a major bank profiteering illegally, and somehow the first 2 random somebodies to reply can only look down their nose at the idiots that get overdrafts.
 
Not making it personal. You are the one thats making it personal. As your hot that you got tagged for overdraft fees. Dont blame me for paying a bill you should of waited on till you got the funds. I dont condone what WF did but you gave them the opportunity to do this to you by knowingly paying that cell bill when you didnt have the funds.

So both of you are at fault. Them for doing it thst way and you for giving them the opportunity to do the shady practices.

I hope they are no longer your bank?
 
So you are getting hot over nothing. Then resort to attacking people that dont agree with you. One word comes to mind. Troll
 
Dark Jedi said:
As your hot that you got tagged for overdraft fees.
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Ya, I'm just so angry about those fees from 2006... grrrr

Dark Jedi said:
Dont blame me for paying a bill you should of waited on till you got the funds.
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I never did. I'm starting to see a pattern here...

Dark Jedi said:
I dont condone what WF did but you gave them the opportunity to do this to you by knowingly paying that cell bill when you didnt have the funds.
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So again, anyone who has ever used a credit card is basically just asking to be robbed?

Dark Jedi said:
So both of you are at fault. Them for doing it thst way and you for giving them the opportunity to do the shady practices.
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You're right. In fact I should pay back half of the overdraft fees for the rest of the customers. I got everyone into this mess.
 
Not getting in to an argument with you. So take your drama elsewhere. I am done
 
Tempusfugit said:
lol.. coming into a thread you didn't read and calling someone incompetent in your first post is trolling, troll.
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Also I didnt call you incompetent. Reread what I said.


Well maybe my math is rusty but if you pay a bill thats $120 and you have $90 you will still be in the negative. Maybe the person should manage their money better or pay the Cell bill when they get more money to cover it. Sounds like someone is trying to blame the bank for their incompetence.
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How am I calling you incompetent?
 
Tempusfugit said:
doesn't give wells fargo the right to charge however many fees they feel like.
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ummm. yes it does. it's Wells Fargo's credit card. their service , their contract, their rules. and they can change them whenever they see fit. as a matter of fact, i got a letter from one of my credit card companies about them changing the TERMS OF SERVICE, for them ALLOWING me to use THEIR credit card.

it's a CREDIT card, it is not real money. it is CREDIT...that means you don't really have it, nor have EARNED it.

if someone were with Wells Fargo, they should have known about the automatic enrollment in overdraft protection and planned accordingly. it is not Wells Fargo's fault when someone cannot manage their money/credit.

So again, anyone who has ever used a credit card is basically just asking to be robbed?
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they aren't being robbed. they are being penalized for being dumb with their finances.

my opinion is that the judge is wrong, and is an idiot liberal.

signed, a Wells Fargo customer since 1991
 
OK... lets all take a breath! Now doesn't that feel better?

The issue with Wells Fargo, unfortunately, isn't an isolated case. Commercial banks aren't in business to provide customer service, they are in business to make money.

Now that I've said this I feel compelled to note that, till 5 years ago, I was Director of Technology for the second largest Credit Union in the state where I live. I don't have a lot of love lost for commercial banks... and the years I spent at the Credit Union taught me more about the true meaning of customer service than I suspect I've ever known.
 
Really, this shouldn't be news to anyone. Every bank does this crap. They are there to make money period. Do I think what they are doing is right? No, but hey I got to keep my money somewhere. The way I look at it is, if I manage my money the way I should, then I won't run into these problems.
 
I agree its a crappy service, designed just to hit people with more penalties. But you do nothing for your case when you refer to it as "theft" and "illegal." Its neither, just a crappy service, that, according to a judge, they didn't do a good enough job of informing their customers how crappy it was.
 
cipher6 said:
I agree its a crappy service, designed just to hit people with more penalties. But you do nothing for your case when you refer to it as "theft" and "illegal." Its neither, just a crappy service, that, according to a judge, they didn't do a good enough job of informing their customers how crappy it was.
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Obviously a judge agreed that it was theft, and ordered them to return the money.

So, I don't think it's out of line to refer to it as theft or illegal.
 
byteware said:
Obviously a judge agreed that it was theft, and ordered them to return the money.

So, I don't think it's out of line to refer to it as theft or illegal.
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Just because you sued and a judge said pay back the money doesn't mean it was theft. There is a strict legal definition of theft, and if this WF was stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from customers, cops or the SEC would get involved.

A federal judge in California ordered Wells Fargo & Co. to change what he called "unfair and deceptive business practices" that led customers into paying multiple overdraft fees...

U.S. District Judge William Alsup accused Wells Fargo of "profiteering"...

a policy Alsup referred to as "gouging and profiteering."
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An intentionality crappy service, that they don't explain well enough for people to realize its a crappy service... yeah. Theft? No.
 
I blame BOTH sides in this. Sure, I agree its pretty shady that WF is applying it five times to the low dollar transactions. That said, is Wells Fargo stealing? I don't think so. As a business they're just trying to maximize their bottom line.

STILL, the account owner SHARES in the responsibility here. They KNOW that they only have $90 in their account, why are they paying a $120 cell bill?
 
cipher6 said:
Just because you sued and a judge said pay back the money doesn't mean it was theft. There is a strict legal definition of theft, and if this WF was stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from customers, cops or the SEC would get involved.
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The SEC doesn't get involved over Banking functions, they get involved over investment functions

Banking Regulators

The Federal Reserve regulates banking functions, and they don't prosecute.

Also, cops don't get involved in this kind of corporate theft.

cipher6 said:
An intentionality crappy service, that they don't explain well enough for people to realize its a crappy service... yeah. Theft? No.
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If it was legal, then the customers would have no legal recourse. The fact that they were re-ordering the purchases in order to make the customer pay more fees was not legal in the courts eyes. That makes it illegal. And taking someone's money illegally is referred to as theft.

Homan13PSU said:
I blame BOTH sides in this. Sure, I agree its pretty shady that WF is applying it five times to the low dollar transactions. That said, is Wells Fargo stealing? I don't think so. As a business they're just trying to maximize their bottom line.
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Yes, they are changing the order in which they process actions on the customers accounts in order to maximize how much money they can take from the customer.

The judge found that to be illegal, i.e. theft. Therefore they are ordered to make restitution to their customers, a.k.a. victims.

Homan13PSU said:
STILL, the account owner SHARES in the responsibility here. They KNOW that they only have $90 in their account, why are they paying a $120 cell bill?
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No doubt. They absolutely do. However, just because they make one mistake, doesn't give the bank the right to turn it into 5 mistakes.
 
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