(WHNT) — Over 16 million Wells Fargo accounts that were at the mercy of “illegal practices” were included in a recent $2 billion settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
As a result of that settlement, some customers might be eligible for payments if their accounts were included in those that were affected by “misapplied payments, wrongful foreclosures, and incorrect fees and interest charges,” according to the CFPB.
If you were a customer of Wells Fargo from 2011 to 2012, there is a possibility you are covered by the settlement. The financial institution is required to notify its customers if they are included.
That being said, if you think you are entitled under the guidelines and haven’t received a letter yet, you’re encouraged to call Wells Fargo at (844) 484-5089.
You can also submit a complaint online here.
Exactly how much money you’re eligible to receive will depend on a few factors. For vehicle repossessions, you could get at least $4,000. Around $77.2 million has been set aside for roughly 3,200 customers who had problems working with Wells Fargo to modify loan payments to avoid foreclosure.
The following loans could be included in the settlement:
Auto loans
- Auto loan borrowers that prepaid for GAP coverage. The CFPB said Wells Fargo was in the wrong by not refunding money when loans were terminated early.
- Some customers’ auto loan payments weren’t applied correctly to their balances, which resulted in higher interest charges, late fees and wrongful repossessions.
- Some repossessions were also mismanaged, including how the vehicles were sold after repossession.
Mortgage loan borrowers
- Some mortgage loan borrowers were unjustifiably turned down when they requested modifications to their loans to avoid foreclosure, while also being charged incorrect fees and other costs.
- Wells Fargo is also accused of incorrectly reporting that some customers were dead, overstating attorney fees that meant applications were denied instead of approved and bringing thousands of wrongful foreclosure actions.
Bank account holders
- Some customers were charged “surprise” overdraft fees on debit purchases and ATM withdrawals, even if they had enough money in their accounts.
- Customers were also charged monthly fees when they shouldn’t have been; Wells Fargo advertised no fees if a customer made “10 or more debit card purchases and/or payments” in a month, but the bank would limit the types of eligible payments and didn’t count debit transactions that posted days later.
- Some customers’ money was “frozen” for weeks if Wells Fargo suspected a single deposit was fraudulent.
Again you can contact Wells Fargo by calling (844) 484-5089 or submit a claim with the CFPB here.
You can also contact the CFPB at (855) 411-2372.
