Wells Fargo Apologizes After Hundreds of Customers Lose Their Homes Due to 'Computer Glitch'

[appalachiablue]

Source: Think Progress

The big bank says “sorry” a lot, but this is just the latest of its many, many scandals to have potentially destroyed the lives of its customers.

Wells Fargo is making things right for its customers, building a better banking experience, identifying and fixing its problems, and becoming better and stronger each day. This is what the company’s website says, anyway.

However, Wells Fargo’s actual banking practices continue to be at odds with the increasingly cheerful and apologetic tone of their advertising copy.

This week, a new regulatory filing revealed that hundreds of customers — 625 in total — were denied loans and, in many cases, foreclosed upon because a company computer glitch marked “certain accounts” between April 2010 and October 2015 as undergoing the foreclosure process.

The company said in the filing that it set aside $8 million to pay off those affected. It later issued a statement saying it was “very sorry,” according to CNN...More...

Read more: https://thinkprogress.org/wells-fargo-computer-glitch-caused-hundreds-of-customers-to-lose-their-homes-ee42574cc6cb/

---

Since 2000, the federal government has slapped Wells Fargo with a grand total of $12.5 billion in fines, for a range of unlawful practices including mortgage abuses, banking violations, toxic securities abuses, and False Claims Act violations, according to the corporate watchdog group Good Jobs First. But, Republicans, through the passage of its corporate tax cuts over the winter, have ensured that the fines will not be damaging to the bank’s bottom line.

[lagomorph777]

1. Out of $12.5B in fines, how much has gone to the cheated customers?

Zero?

Wells Fargo needs to get the corporate death penalty.

[Sherman A1]

6. Agreed

Their corporate charter needs to be yanked and the company dissolved. The officers and board need to face indictments. They were either culpable or negligent.

[appalachiablue]

25. In 2016, WF was fined for opening 2 million 'fake' accounts

without customers' knowledge or consent, to pad the books. As a result, 5,300 pressured lower level bank employees were fired, but the executive in charge of the program was hailed for initiative.
- From the article: "That’s a fact worth keeping in mind, considering that the company’s wide array of ignominies included a scheme wherein Wells Fargo employees created 2 million fake credit card and bank accounts in their customers names, without those customers’ knowledge or consent. For that scandal, the bank was fined $185 million in 2016 and 5,300 people were fired — with the blame being placed on a company-wide incentive structure that pressures low-level employees to bring in new business, according to the Street."
------
*Wells Fargo Fined $185 Million For Unauthorized Accounts,* USA Today, Sept. 8, 2016.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/09/08/wells-fargo-fined-185m-over-unauthorized-accounts/90003212/

Wells Fargo Bank, one of the nation's largest banks, has been hit with $185 million in civil penalties for secretly opening millions of unauthorized deposit and credit card accounts that harmed customers, federal and state officials said Thursday. Employees of Wells Fargo (WFC) boosted sales figures by covertly opening the accounts and funding them by transferring money from customers' authorized accounts without permission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Los Angeles city officials said.

An analysis by the San Francisco-headquartered bank found that its employees opened more than two million deposit and credit card accounts that may not have been authorized by consumers, the officials said. Many of the transfers ran up fees or other charges for the customers, even as they helped employees make incentive goals. The findings stem in part from a Los Angeles County Superior Court lawsuit filed last year in which Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer accused the bank of violating California unfair competition laws.
The civil action charged that Wells Fargo Bank and its parent, Wells Fargo & Co., "victimized their customers by using pernicious and often illegal sales tactics to maintain high levels of sales of their banking and financial products."

"Wells Fargo built an incentive-compensation program that made it possible for its employees to pursue underhanded sales practices, and it appears that the bank did not monitor the program carefully," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. He added that thousands of bank employees "misused consumer names and personal information to create new checking and credit card accounts to inflate their sales figures to meet their sales targets and claim higher bonuses."

The bank agreed to pay full restitution to all victims and a $100 million fine to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's civil penalty fund- the largest in the regulator's five-year operating history. Wells Fargo will pay a separate $35 million penalty to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and an additional $50 million to the city and county of Los Angeles. The settlements, which the bank said it had made provisions for as of June 30, include an additional $5 million in customer remediation. Additionally, Wells Fargo said it terminated approximately 5,300 employees and managers over a five-year period for their involvement with the unauthorized accounts. The firings, representing roughly 1% of the total workforce during that time, "reflect our commitment to monitoring & addressing any inappropriate sales conduct," the bank said. **Wells Fargo fined $3.6M over student loan practices**, MORE.

[AllaN01Bear]

2. "computer error" rigggghhht. why wernt these handled by people. blame it on computor error.

[erronis]

5. But computers don't make mistakes, people do (like the gun argument). So they'll blame

the programmers, the people they want to fire anyway.

The managers and other folks who should have been in charge of things like compliance, time for a promotion to another department.

Sounds like the (not)Catholic churches way of handling wayward priests, bishops, cardinals, papes.

[RKP5637]

3. Sleazy bank IMO. n/t

[erronis]

4. I know when I hear "Sorry" in a sarcastic tone. They don't really give a shit.

[Maxheader]

7. When will the corp thieves

start blaming computer problems on the foreign bots?
Suprised it hasn't happened yet...

[mwooldri]

8. First Union Disease.

That's what I call it. I should have known better - my first bank account in the USA was with First Union. Deposited cash. Wrote my first check. To the Immigration and Naturalization Service. First Union bounced it.

If a bank couldn't handle a freaking checking account, how the heck could it handle anything more complex?

First Union had such a bad reputation, it gobbled up Wachovia and took on its name (at that time Wachovia had a good reputation as a regional bank in the Carolinas). But the bad practices continued. Then Wachovia nearly went totally belly up; Wells Fargo agreed to take it over. Now Wells Fargo may have had some bad practices of its own, but I bet you that a good number of those bad practices had their root in First Union.

[Kensan]

21. You have that right...

Wachovia was already a damaged bank due to its involvement in abusive tax shelters. Then its mortgage portfolio took a huge hit in the financial meltdown when it was revealed their underwriting standards were nonexistent.

The best part was there was someone on DU that was an investor in Wells that kept touting how Wells was an exceptionally run bank at the time. He was upset that Wells was being forced to take $25B from the TARP funds. The TARP funds were distributed to all banks, so that the "problem" banks wouldn't be so easily identified by the public, and cause people to make mass cash withdrawals from those troubled banks (ensuring their immediate failure).

I explained to him that his exceptionally run bank was taking the money, and instead of wisely investing that money into the communities it served, decided to acquire Wachovia at bargain basement prices. Wachovia's mortgage pools were a pile of dung, but Wells had a backup plan. They were going to use those toxic pools as leverage to get even more money out of the second TARP payment that was being held until Obama was sworn in. If they could hassle the debtors into paying anything on those mortgages, that was absolute gravy. The TARP funds were practically an interest free loan from the government. It made perfect business sense to milk the program for all it was worth. A properly run bank would easily turn a profit on the funds, and be able to pay back the loans and accrued interest.

Wells has been an absolute shit-show ever since the acquisition of Wachovia. I think your hypothesis is right about inheriting some of those bad practices from First Union/Wachovia executives. The slimy folks (with lots of connections) always seem to be able to stay around after mergers. The middle-tiers and duplicative administrative staff get shown to the door, and they don't get any golden parachute payments on the way out.

[crazycatlady]

22. First Union was really good to me

I only chose them because (at the time) they were the only bank that had locations at home and college.

AT 19, a (former) friend stole my identity and compromised my bank account. The service I got from them in resolving it (and recovering my money) was outstanding.

Still have that same account. Wells Fargo has always been very good in the customer service department for me.

[0rganism]

9. oops, so sorry we TOOK YOUR HOME AWAY

these bastards can fuck right off, as far as i'm concerned.

[Joe Nation]

10. How many times are they "re-established" now?

[BadGimp]

11. At least they said the were "Sorry"

this sucks!

[keithbvadu2]

12. There's a computer button labeled "Glitch"?

A person is responsible, not a machine.

[PuppyBismark]

13. Not the computers fault, but the human beings who programed or entered the data.

I am sick and tired of companies blaming problems on their computers, the computers just did what the programmers told them to do or reacted to the bad data entered by the company staff.

This is just an excuse for incompetent staff and management.

[rocktivity]

14. Seems like yesterday when they were foreclosing on homeowners

who were on active military duty during Gulf War I -- which just happens to be a violation of federal law.

rocktivity

[The Conductor]

15. Paltry!

That $8 million sounds far more fair until you do the actual math. These people who were needlessly tossed out on the street and left with crap credit scores as a result of another Wells Fargo scandal get a whole $12,500 each. That's barely enough to buy a decent used car to live in!

[LuckyLib]

16. WF has been taking out multiple full page ads in The NY Times touting its

civic responsibility and community outreach. This is a toxic corporate entity. We can do our part by NEVER patronizing them. No accounts, no credit cards — nada.

[DoctorJoJo]

17. I'm Amazed That These Cretins Have Any Customers Left!

[rocktivity]

19. I've taken to avoiding their ATMs

rocktivity

[Moral Compass]

18. And these apologies will fix...?

Let’s see...Wells Fargo foreclosed on these folks houses which means that these people no longer own a home and their credit standing was seriously damaged.

Apologies are going to fix what? What repercussions will Wells Fargo experience? What penalties of any significance will the corporate entity or the executive decision makers incur?

With the large financial firms the penalty never seems to fit the crime.

[Mc Mike]

20. Sorry!

Look on the bright side, W F has some spiffy new p.r. commercials running.

[pecosbob]

23. Can't believe anyone still banks with WF

I caught them delaying deposit posts so I would incur overdraft charges and I refused to pay them way back in the 80's. They still send me credit card apps which always go straight in the garbage.

[central scrutinizer]

24. No restitution but thoughts and prayers

Should be enough

[bitterross]

26. If like the other "mistakes" 625 will turn into 625,000 soon.

Seems like they also have a bad habit of under-reporting the number at the first press release. Then when that dies down enough, they release the real number which is far worse. But the news has moved on by then.

[BlueWI]

27. Too criminal to exist.

No doubt about that. More than 3 strikes in a short span of time. People have been locked down and lost their voting rights over less.

[FailureToCommunicate]

28. SO glad we got out of our mortgage with them! Despicable company.

[Aristus]

29. I worked as a loan officer for Wells Fargo for a little over a year, a long time ago.

It was hands-down the most stressful job I've ever had. Constant pressure to open accounts and close loans. I worked for a branch located in a supermarket, and we were required to walk the aisles doing cold solicitations with people shopping for groceries. If we opened a checking account, and we didn't include at least three more 'products' (that's what they called them; 'products', not services) i.e. savings account, credit card, on-line banking service, certificates of deposit, line of credit, etc. we got a write-up.

I set up an automatic payment for a woman who had just closed on a mortgage, and sent the paperwork to corporate. I know the paperwork went through because the woman's first mortgage payment went through without a hitch. Three months later, she comes in to ask why her mortgage was in arrears; sometime after the first payment, corporate stopped the auto set-up for reasons they never explained to me, although I hope they explained it to her. They told me they had "never gotten the paperwork" - a bald-faced lie.

Every night, I came home with a raging headache and looking for a bridge to jump off. I had to keep going until Mrs. Aristus graduated from dental hygiene school. One month after she graduated and got a good-paying job, Wells Fargo fired me; 'underperformance' they told me. What a joke. In loans and accounts, I was rated seventh in the state, but that wasn't good enough for them.

I walked out of the bank for the last time, on Cloud 9 and as happy as I could remember being. I got in my car, put on my happy music, and drove home ecstatic that I no longer worked for Wells Fargo.

[populistdriven]

30. 8 mil / 625 is only 13k for each mortgage / foreclosure

people literally die from stress of foreclosure

if a doctor or hospital did this they would lose license

[Snellius]

31. Is this what happens when banks are allowed to regulate themselves?

Open bank. Cheat customers. Customers lose their money. Customers complain. Customers go away. Bank says "Oops! My bad". Bank says "Come back. We fucked up but we're really good now". Customers say "Screw you!". Bank closes.

Note to bankers: Business does not run on greed. It runs on trust.

[hatrack]

32. But! But! But! Folksy!! Stagecoaches!! 'Murca!! We're All Different And Fixed Now!!

I wouldn't give WF a dime if they were the last financial institution on the planet.