You may remember the scandal involving national bank Wells Fargo opening accounts (checking, saving, credit cards, etc.) for people that had no idea those accounts had been opened. If you have no idea what I’m talking about read this article. As more people come to understand that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a great tool to help resolve complaints with large financial services companies (they also work to help with mortgage companies and credit card companies) complaints against banks are skyrocketing (which is why I advocate for using credit unions, but I digress).
If you were a Wells Fargo customer between May 2002 and April 2017, you may be owed some money (if not for them opening a fraudulent account for you, perhaps for charging you ridiculous fees on your mortgage). The types of accounts that were opened include:
- Checking accounts
- Savings accounts
- Credit cards
- Lines of credit
- Identity theft protection
Some customers have already been refunded for fees associated with the fraudulent accounts (the Los Angeles times says around $3.2M so far) but others have yet to be contacted. Notices for customers that have already been identified should be mailed out toward the end of September. Customers that have not yet been identified should visit the Wells Fargo settlement website: https://wfsettlement.com/
The money probably won’t be out until 2018 as the judge has to approve all the settlements. The scheduled court date is January 4th. To find out more about the Wells Fargo settlement read “Wells Fargo’s $142-million sham accounts settlement: What you need to know” from the Los Angeles Times.
Bigger Than Your Block 