Everyone, thanks for all the positive posts. I'm not sure all of the $hit $hows are beHeine me but there's positive progress. Apologies for setting a new record for longest multi-quote on the GJ.
Good luck. I spend way too much time wrangling BofA. I'll be so glad when the NWA moves banks.
Kay, like Big Phone I absolutely hate Big Bank.
**** Bob. Sorry to hear this.
I had someone draw money from my Wells Fargo account in branch. I went through the same line of questions. I ended going to a local branch to straighten the mess out. The customer rep admitted to me that it was an inside job. The biggest problem was I had a charter account that I had to paid nothing for. They closed that account and a few months started charging me. I went back to complain and the customer rep went to the manager and told him that my account had to be changed because of fraud. When he spoke to me he said that my checking account didn't have enough money to warrant a waiver. Closed my account and had all my other accounts transferred out. It was enough money to garner attention from the district manager.
Leonard, the Wells Fargo rep pawned the mess off on AT&T for allowing someone to fraudulently transfer the phone number we used for 35 years. She then mentioned that the scammer had not provided a properly formatted drivers license number so it was the DMV 's fault. The Peter Principle (in an organizational hierarchy, employees tend to receive a promotion until reaching a state of incompetence) is on full display at AT&T and Wells Fargo. I am stuck with WF for a while longer because a number of my expenses are automatically paid through them. I'm changing things as fast as I can but it's not clear how soon our new accounts at Fidelity will gain full control.
Bob, IMHO Wells Fargo is the WORST bank I’ve ever dealt with when it comes to fraud.
We had NO accounts, ever, with Wells Fargo but when someone stole our identities Wells Fargo was the only institution the thief was able to con into issuing a credit card in my wife’s name.
There were three separate attempts to get cards issued in my name from other banks, all were blocked.
As well as an attempt with another bank to get a different card in my wife’s name, also blocked.
Only Wells Fargo accepted the fraudulent application.
After zero success with their phone service I went to the bank branch near me only to be told that the bank part of Wells Fargo could do nothing with anything concerning a credit card.
There was a lot more to this story but compared to the service I got from Chase bank during this fiasco Wells Fargo was worse than useless.
Short story long, they ****.
Good Luck brother
@Jgaz, it's hard to know which of the big banks is the worst but Wells Fargo is a top contender. I inherited our Wells Fargo accounts through a series of mergers and acquisitions. Citi Bank allowed several dozen fraudulent charges to be posted to our Costco credit card and it became a full-time job to get the mess fixed. I carry an American Express Blue card because they have fixed problems with no drama and no delays and no annual fee. I've had excellent luck with Chase [Amazon] and like the 5% cash back feature.
@Bob Heine ****** terrible situation. Feel free to coin a well known Australian saying
"Not happy, Jan!".
@kitdoctor, I've taken to responding to the people at the other end of the phone by calling them 'Jan' regardless of the name they give me at the start of the "We can't do anything to fix our mistake..." conversation.
Garsh, Bob, all of your tools and you don't have a wood burner?
@Squankum, after so many years with a keyboard, my penmanship (ironmanship?) is so poor I fail to buy things I intended to pick up because I can't decipher my scribbles on the list.
Screaming out a window might be satisfying approach for me. Talking into a phone sure isn't.
It's not as widely known as yours, but here in the USA we do have this:
But Bob is usually so happy!
***** to hear about the **** show you're dealing with. Seems scammers are at an all-time high this year.
My wife had her direct deposit changed by a scammer recently. She noticed that her check didn't deposit in the banking account so when she got to the office Monday, she found a printed check in her office mailbox. Apparently, scammers emailed the payroll department a change of direct deposit form to them to change my wife's direct deposit information to their banking account. The payroll department was so stupid to this scam that they automatically made the changes without question. They didn't question the email address, the signature that wasn't even my wife's name, or even question the name of the bank that the checks were to be deposited to now. They wanted to say the hacking was done to my wife's banking account, but I told my wife it was the payroll department that got scammed. Her bank checked her account just to be sure and there's no indication of the account getting hacked. Luckily the payroll department prints the first check when any changes is made, cause if they didn't, they would have been eating a loss of fund due to their stupidity.
Cody, my neighbor and I were having some tree work done and I mentioned our fiasco. He got hit even worse. He and his partner run a consignment shop and they use physical checks to pay customers (providing a paper trail). Someone took a check with his signature on it, photoshoped it to remove the payee and amount information and started writing checks with phony names and amounts. The bank finally questioned the checks when the total exceeded $250,000. Doesn't make me feel better but I know I'm not alone.
Sorry to hear that Bob.
We had a bank issue about a year ago and I know how stressful it can be, especially not being in control of one's funds.
Hope everything gets worked out for you.
Mike, thank you for the encouragement. I keep reminding myself of the addage: "If you can fix it with money, you don't have a real problem." Unfortunatey the majority of this problem requires time and effort to fix. In addition to changing bank routing and account information at all the places that we pay directly from our checking account, we have to notify everyone who calls us that our phone number has changed.
I know of this terrible feeling, Bob.
I feel confident your situation is going to work out. And you will soon get all your money returned. They are supposed to be insured for this very thing, none of this makes any of us remain calm and cool. And of course, it happens to us on a Friday just before everything closes.
There outta be a law I tell's ya! (old man shakes cane)
Alan, the money has been returned to our locked accounts at Wells Fargo but I can't check on activity without going to the bank or calling the corporate rep overseeing our case. On the bright side, our visits to Social Security resulted in both deposits being made at our Fidelity account. I can adjust the projected balance at Wells Fargo and I my IBM pension (Prudential Annuity) will be deposited May first. My two additional retirement accounts are with Fidelity so I know for sure the MRDs (Minimum Required Distribution) will be transferred.
Bob,
That's horrible.
I feel Wells Fargo must be the most frequently targeted bank by scammers.
I have received emails & texts pretending to be from Wells Fargo wanting me to click on a link to "verify" that I didn't make a particular purchase, and I HAVE NEVER HAD ANY WELLS FARGO ACCOUNTS.
Jon, most of the years I worked at IBM I belonged to the credit union and had no problems. When I was offered a two year assignment in Australia, I needed a way to pay bills for our Florida residence without writing and mailing checks from down under. A friend of mine told me about his bank, Hollywood Federal Bank, which would make automatic monthly payments for the mortgage, utilities and our lawn and pool service people, as well as someone to keep an eye on the house. It worked great so I stayed with that bank when we returned in 1991. Bank went into receivership, and then became part of Hollywood Federal Savings Bank. Couple of years later it morphed into First Union National Bank of Florida. Soon it became First Union National Bank, which acquired a slew of regional banks and renamed itself Wachovia Bank. The final slew of acquisitions culminated with the merger of Wachovia and Wells Fargo.
Hollywood Federal Bank, A Federal Savings Bank is not active anymore since 02/22/1991. Hollywood Federal Savings Bank was the successor institution. The headquarter was located at 1909 Tyler St, Hollywood, FL 33020.
www.usbanklocations.com
Bob
Sorry to hear with your banking troubles. It really *****!
Unfortunately like many have said here, often it takes a bit of time to work through the frustrating red tape and lack of proper customer support.
We had a somewhat similar issue some years back and after a lot of back and forth eventually it got sorted out. Like y’sguy stated, banks have mechanisms to deal with it and unfortunately this is not an isolated situation and they have many such cases. As frustrating as this process is, it will be sorted out!
Ps
I have never heard anything good about Wells Fargo and Bank of America and luckily have never banked with them. Once this is over, you might want consider banking with another institution.
I have had very good experience with regional credit unions. They are small with less bureaucracy and local branches are always friendly and eager to help.
@gman007, after our visit at the Wells Fargo branch office, we gathered up a small pile of cash we keep at the house and went to Fidelity Investments. Fidelity managed our IBM retirement plan until last year, when it was turned over to Prudential Insurance, which pays us as an annuity. I dealt with a slew of brokerage houses over the years and Fidelity won me over with the way they handled the SEP (Simplified Employee Pension) when I worked as a sole proprietor for AOL. I eventually moved all but those two Wells Fargo accounts to Fidelity so now they've set up Cash Management accounts that work like savings and checking accounts.
Oh so now they are taking precautions on new accounts and transferring of money!!!!
Cody, you nailed it! When I asked the corporate rep why they notified me of the first six attempts to open accounts using the US Postal Service she said they'd look into a better method. They responded to my "How was your visit to the Wells Fargo Bank" survey comments the very same day via e-mail. A score of zero to every question and a less than stellar and quite lengthy comment got their attention.
Isn't there a saying about barns and horses that fits this situation?
IMHO, When institutions get as large as Wells Fargo or BOA they become dysfunctional.
Howard, so true. I always thought the Peter Principle only applied to individuals but these banks have grown to a size where they are no longer competent.
Oh, thank goodness! You never really know how long a cat can live. Nine lives, indeed. Now I hope she doesn't have too-slow healing on those toes from her diabetes.
@Squankum, I guess we should have parrots and tortoises as pets. With care, both will outlive us.
@Squankum thanks for posting the "Not happy, Jan!" video.
@kitdoctor, that Australian Yellow Pages ad came out a decade after we moved back up over. I do remember the gigantic telephone books they delivered to us every year.
They were both **** before day one.
Kay, fifty or sixty years ago the top ten corporations included some really amazing companies who took care of customers and employees like they were something besides data storage units.
Guess I'm fortunate with my BoA account as I've never had any issues with them. I've had a credit card and checking account with them for 24 years now. Was my first account when I started college and first credit card. I've had to haggle them about my checking account fees but, they usually waive the monthly fee after I talk to them.
Cody, you probably have a contact at your bank who knows you and values your business. The check I mailed to pay the balance on my Discover card arrived a day late so they charged me a late payment fee. When I called, they reversed the charge when they saw it was the first time. Wells Fargo reminds me on my monthly statement that the fee is added and deducted because the balance is above their minimum requirement.
The fact they charge you a fee for banking with them is a problem in the first place. They are using your money to make and charging you for the privilege to do so.
@Xti04, I try to keep Liane's savings account balance under $5,000 for exactly that reason. Anything more gets transferred to a mutual fund at Fidelity that pays her hundreds of times more in dividends than Wells Fargo pays in interest. Wells Fargo pays 4¢ monthly interest on her $5,000+ Money Market account balance. Fidelity pays a bit over $1 a month for a Cash Management account with $500 in it. Only reason she has the WTF account is so she can go to the bank and withdraw cash if and when she needs it. Getting her to agree to put the money into a Fidelity account is one of the small blessings in this fiasco. Her preferred savings plan is a mattress.
If I recall right there was also the scandal sometime back, where unbeknown to their customers, they were opening extra frivolous accounts under their customers names and then charging fees for those accounts !
Yes. And this was just the first of a series of notable scandals.
I almost responded to this last night, but I wanted to get caught up on this thread before saying anything. Still not caught up, but when I saw this:
My first response was, "Federal regulators agree!"
Egads, this list is longer than I knew:
en.wikipedia.org
And the final entry on this list:
@gman007 and
@Squankum, I am certain those banks are thrilled to pay the fines and go right back to their bad behavior.
Maybe I see more spam than other folks, due to some weirdness with how I do my email, but the spammers just use every large corporation's name like that. Hey you! Your Netflx payments aren't processing! We need your credit card! Costco, Harbor Freight, on and on, they use companies people have generally heard of and try to imitate them with their email.
I see one in my spam file right now for Ace Hardware rewards -- get your Ego leaf blower! The domain name it comes from is "@fm3.mckinneytxhomeinspectr.com" -- somehow I think that's not really the Ace hardware rewards list.
The spam I get from the ghost of a "Sears" company is, sadly, real! 12 stores left and they're still hitting me up via email.
@Squankum, as someone who has had an AOL e-mail account for 32 years I get my fair share of spam. I sometimes tag them but mostly I just select all, scan the 80 headers and un-mark the three or four that affect me and delete the other 70-something messages, I have a Gmail account so I can authenticate my AOL account and it just accumulates piles of junk e-mails. Every once in a while I cleanse the lists.
I just remembered this sketch about the internet and sleaze and scammers. Twenty years later, it's still accurate:
While I agree, but it's usually in the print if they are going to charge or not before you open an account. If you have $X of dollars being deposited into your account, then the fee is waived. But, in my case I explained to them that I really didn't need the account anymore and I can just close the account today to avoid the fee and they decided to waive it. Only reason I keep it is due to the fact it's my oldest credit card and it helps my credit score.
Cody, I'm happily canceling the two Wells Fargo cards and could care less if it lowers my current 800+ FICO score, I'll live.
That's just the recent one. Wells Fargo did it before that! See my Wikipedia link above.
They have no shame and despite all the fines over so many years , they make more money through fraud than they pay in fines so fines are not an incentive for them to stop!
Now if the top executives were send to prison for awhile, then this could have put an end to this behavior. Alas white color criminals always get only a slap on the hand!
I'm going to bite my tongue. My response would probably earn me a ban.
At a former employer, the AP department received a call from a vendor notifying us that they were changing banks. Can you see where this is going?
So... A while after the next payment to them (several hundred thousand $$) went out....
Vendor: "Where's our payment?"
AP department: "We wired it to your new bank."
Vendor: "We don't have a new bank."
AP department:
Roger, seems like the whole "Trust but Verify" thing is too much trouble today. OMG, actually use that
ankle bracelet phone to make a call.
Good grief. So, what’s the plan to get the accounts straightened out and get the money back that was taken?
Cody, I received two letters dated 4/7 (last Monday) on 4/12 (Saturday) notifying me they restored the money to our locked accounts. Haven't seen proof yet but I'm too wore out to visit that branch right now,
What a ridiculous mess Bob. Bad enough to have to deal with Liane's and your health issues, but the unnecessary stress of jumping through the Wells Fargo financial hoops of fire is intolerable. Your ordeal sounds like a 2025 updated version of Catch-22.
I am not a litigious person, but I would discuss your situation with an attorney.
Howard, I called the police instead. I'd like this AT&T/Wells Fargo screwup to be on record.
Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts and best wishes on my little cat. She really is the best. I realize it takes takes me a bit of time to respond to everyone but I really do appreciate it. I realize that I talk about things like this on Bob's thread, and by no means want to steal Bob's thunder. I only pick things to talk about that I think Bob "has been there, done that" type of subjects.
Rick, you are more than welcome to post on my thread about anything. Sometimes it helps just knowing someone out there cares.
That would just waste whatever money he gets refunded from the current fucculicious mess.
Kay, I used Willmaker software to create wills for Liane and me last year. I wanted a lawyer to formalize them so I provided the printout (he doesn't use software) with all the details and paid him $800 at the end of November 2024. Told him it wasn't a rush but the crickets are getting louder and louder. I should have checked if he was doing pro-bono work for Wells Fargo.
I wish I could do small parts of your responses to do justice to you, Bob. But I'm not smart enough to do that. In anyhow, I've talked slightly about Miss Kissa, from just a few years ago. Kissa could've been related to my little cat, Kiwi. I don't think they knew each other, but they were about one in the same as far as kitties go. Both of them spent much time in my lap and I loved Kissa dearly. Kissa, sadly, developed cancer in her face and, after a while, I stopped taking pics of her, in her honor. She was exactly like Kiwi and Kiwi reminds me so much of her. I've had many cats own me, and I never show favorites, but these two cats really stand out to me.
Rick, I had three cats growing up and loved them all dearly. Our last cat, Phoebe, a calico I found in a box thrown into a vacant lot. We lived in a very old house at the time (Civil War era) and didn't have a key for the front door. When Phoebe wanted to go out, she jumped up on the little table next to the front door and batted the doorknob until it released. Never could teach her to close it on the way out. Liane named her Phoebe in honor of Holden Caulfield's sister in "The Catcher in the Rye."
Quite frankly, Bob... I feel that I'm not keeping up with everything that's going on with the thread, pull up a chair... I feel bad about it. I feel that it's a bit easier to keep up on your thread. Don't get me wrong... The chair thread got me out of my shell in the first place and I really appreciate that. But it's really getting popular and that's a good thing, but I can't keep up lately and hate that I'm not involved as much as I want to be.
Rick, there are quite a few threads I have trouble keeping up with. Pretty sure I'm ten (default size) pages behind in that one as well as the "What did you do in your garage today" thread.
Bob, good luck on all things, physical and fiscal. The banking sounds like an absolute sh*t show.
Thank you
Joel, I'm trying to take it one day at a time. I am quite certain that high stress levels shorten our lives so I'm trying not to fixate on the negatives.
I was thinking of you and Liane this morning after reading about this continued mess. I really hope things level out soon for you guys.
Alan, I appreciate the support. It's getting better and the best news was Liane's visit with our Urinary Oncologist (he's guided a robot inside both of us to remove malignant tumors). The results of her two CT scans and lab tests were clear of any issues.
Bob, you've had a week. Sending some positive vibes your way!
Marc, thanks for the vibes. I could feel them.
I hope that your health issues and banking troubles will be sorted out soon. Best of luck. Hang on there!
@gman007, I get my CT scan at the end of May and then it's hopefully a breathing spell.
I kicked WF to the curb back in 2010 when they consistently showed $20-$30 less than my balance in Quicken despite all the transactions lining up. When asked to explain this they couldn't so I told 'em if they couldn't do simple math they couldn't be my bank. If they do that to all their customers that's a big chunk of change.
I transferred my money to a regional bank, and have been happy since. F the big banks. They all ****.
Interesting thing about WF is they were bought out by NorWest Financial. NWF had such a bad rep that they ditched the NWF name, and assumed WF. That's when all the trouble started.
@M.Brane, I believe WF built an organized crime bank by acquiring all the disorganized crime banks they could find.
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