Wells Fargo Fee Refund
If you have a Wells Fargo checking account, you may qualify for a fee refund. The bank plans to start reimbursing some customers after confusion over how they can avoid a $10 monthly service fee, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
The bank will also pay a $1.7 billion penalty after it repeatedly violated consumer financial laws over several years. Those include illegal fees and interest on auto loans, mortgages and bank accounts; and surprise overdraft charges.
What is a fee refund?
A fee refund is when Wells Fargo reimburses you for a service charge or other fees that you paid to the bank. It’s a relatively common practice, especially for customers with checking accounts and credit cards.
To get a Wells Fargo fee refund, you need to know the type of account you have and how much you’ve paid in fees. The most common fees are returned item fees, overdraft protection fees, and ATM withdrawal fees.
A Wells Fargo returned item fee occurs when you conduct an ATM or everyday, non-recurring debit card transaction and don’t have enough money in your account to cover the transaction. You don’t have to pay a returned item fee if both your ending daily balance and available balance are overdrawn by $5 or less after the bank has processed all of your transactions on that day.
How do I get a fee refund?
If you have a bank account at Wells Fargo and are not satisfied with the service or the way your money was handled, you may be entitled to a fee refund. These refunds may include returned item fees, overdraft fees and other charges you’ve been charged that you believe were illegal or unfair.
According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Wells Fargo violated several laws over the years that harmed consumers. In some cases, the CFPB ordered the bank to provide refunds to harmed customers.
Those who believe they’ve been wrongfully impacted should check with their state Attorney General or Wells Fargo customer care team for more information about the program.
Some customers who have an Everyday Checking or Opportunity Checking account with Wells Fargo may be eligible for a refund. The bank has acknowledged that there was some confusion over which debit card transactions counted toward the waiver of the $10 monthly fee, Capitol Forum reported.
What if I don’t qualify for a fee refund?
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently ordered Wells Fargo to provide compensation to customers whose accounts were damaged by the bank’s illegal and abusive practices. This includes redress for borrowers who were wrongfully repossessed by the bank, and for other consumers who had their homes or cars seized by the bank.
For example, borrowers had their vehicles repossessed by the bank even after they started making payments again on their loans. This was a systematic failure of Wells Fargo’s auto loan servicing.
Another example is that borrowers had to pay back fees on add-on products that they had bought, like insurance, when their loans were turned over early. This was also a violation of state law.
How do I get a fee refund from Wells Fargo?
A fee refund is a cash payment that Wells Fargo offers to customers who were charged fees unfairly. It’s available for auto loans, mortgage loans, and checking and savings accounts.
During the last three years, the bank was ordered to pay $3.7 billion in fines and refunds for violating federal consumer financial laws. Those violations involved improperly applying payments to auto and mortgage loans, wrongfully repossessing customer vehicles, charging surprise overdraft fees, and incorrectly applying fees and interest charges on deposit accounts.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has said that these practices affected 16 million Wells Fargo customers.
To receive a fee refund from Wells Fargo, you must contact customer service and explain the situation in a calm and polite manner. The customer service representative will likely be able to help you get a fee refund.
