Thursday, September 22, 2016

Wells Fargo Scandal


I don't understand money matters too good, and you can probably learn more by googling "Wells Fargo scandal" than by what I can explain to you. But I do pose one question . . . Do  you think that 5,300 employees sneaked and created millions of fake accounts for years, individually, on their own, without management and higher ups knowing? I don't think so.  

I got the following information from here:

On Thursday, federal regulators said Wells Fargo (WFC) employees secretly created millions of unauthorized bank and credit card accounts -- without their customers knowing it -- since 2011.
The phony accounts earned the bank unwarranted fees and allowed Wells Fargo employees to boost their sales figures and make more money.
Wells Fargo confirmed to CNNMoney that it had fired 5,300 employees over the last few years related to the shady behavior. Employees went so far as to create phony PIN numbers and fake email addresses to enroll customers in online banking services, the CFPB said. 
The scope of the scandal is shocking. An analysis conducted by a consulting firm hired by Wells Fargo concluded that bank employees opened over 1.5 million deposit accounts that may not have been authorized. 
The way it worked was that employees moved funds from customers' existing accounts into newly-created ones without their knowledge or consent, regulators say. The CFPB described this practice as "widespread." Customers were being charged for insufficient funds or overdraft fees -- because there wasn't enough money in their original accounts. 
Additionally, Wells Fargo employees also submitted applications for 565,443 credit card accounts without their customers' knowledge or consent. Roughly 14,000 of those accounts incurred over $400,000 in fees, including annual fees, interest charges and overdraft-protection fees.

6 comments:

K and S said...

scary!

jalna said...

How can yah, Kat?!

Kay said...

Oh... they knew all right and maybe encouraged it. So why aren't heads rolling? Aggravation!

Mark Shelby said...

I saw this news. I am going to have to look into this further. I just may have to cancel my Wells Fargo Credit Card. And start using my First Hawaiian Bank M/C more! I got my FHB M/C when I was just 18 years old when I went to San Diego for college. And hey! That was 1973! ; )

Mom helped me get it! Thanks Mom!

Honolulu Aunty said...

I have Wells Fargo accounts - all were opened by me, and I never had excess fees, overdrafts, etc. from Wells Fargo. Actually, I really like how they make things convenient and easy to view online. All my accounts are accessible with one log in. Hard to believe that so many bogus accounts were opened by so many employees.

My other accounts are at Bank of Hawaii. Customer service has gone downhill, imo. I wanted the convenience of having all my accounts accessible with one log in, and they said that they can't do that - security reasons - and then when I grumble, they give me their proud line, "We're the best bank in America."

Ha! If not for a few excellent tellers and managers that I see often at our branch, I would switch to another bank.

jalna said...

I agree, Kay.

LOL, Mark.

Aunty, interesting to see where this issue will go. Glad you weren't affected. Bummahs about BOH.