Wells Fargo Class Action Settlement

[james.hendrickson]

This email came across my inbox today:

Basically if you had a wells fargo account, you should strongly consider signing up for this class action settlement - you might get $40 or $50 bucks.



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[Petunia 100]

I do have a Wells Fargo account, but I have never had any account opened without my consent, nor have I ever purchased identity theft protection.

I don't understand how an account could be opened in my name without my notice. Where did the opening deposit come from?

[james.hendrickson]

I do have a Wells Fargo account, but I have never had any account opened without my consent, nor have I ever purchased identity theft protection.

I don't understand how an account could be opened in my name without my notice. Where did the opening deposit come from?

Petunia - that's the whole point of the scandal. Wells Fargo staff just went ahead and opened accounts for people without their knowledge or consent. Its a huge violation of Federal law.

[disneysteve]

I don't understand how an account could be opened in my name without my notice. Where did the opening deposit come from?

I don't know how they accomplished it but they opened thousands of unauthorized accounts. Obviously they had to forge all of the paperwork because you can't open an account today without jumping through a bunch of hoops due to the Patriot Act. I guess they took money out of an existing account to fund the new account though I don't know how they got away with that for so long without anybody noticing. I'd know within a month as soon as I got my monthly statement.

[james.hendrickson]

I don't know how they accomplished it but they opened thousands of unauthorized accounts. Obviously they had to forge all of the paperwork because you can't open an account today without jumping through a bunch of hoops due to the Patriot Act. I guess they took money out of an existing account to fund the new account though I don't know how they got away with that for so long without anybody noticing. I'd know within a month as soon as I got my monthly statement.

They didn't get away with it - it just took a while for the bureaucracy to respond. There was something like 30 or 40 thousand complaints to the CFPB and the state of California had to sue Wells Fargo before the Feds got cranked up and took action.

Part of the problem was Wells' high level executives and the Wells Fargo PAC's gave a TON of money to the Senate banking committee, so its unclear if senate had incentive to look the other way.

A lot of the initial narrative was it lower or mid level people who were responsible, but the scale of the scandal and some of the testimony in the California suit suggests to me it was a matter of corporate policy.