Wells Fargo
Collections Seized $21,000 From Account for Ex-Husband's Business Credit Line

I was divorced in 2008. During the last week of August of this year, I received a call from Wells Fargo Collections, insisting that I owed $21,700 on a line of credit. I was only given the last four digits of the account. I had no record of that account, nor was it listed on my online banking records with Wells Fargo. After several more calls, I was given the name on the account, which was a business managed by my ex-husband, back in 1997.

I was able to look it up in the divorce papers and the court's judgement was that my ex-husband pay it off. I was told, then, by the abusive collections people, that it didn't matter what the court ordered, my name was on the account and I was liable for the amount. "We can't reach your husband by phone", I was told. I asked for documentation, since discovering during the divorce that my former husband had forged my name on many documents and checks, and I wanted to make sure I was actually responsible.

I was told, "you'd better make a payment, in the presence of a bank officer", by the Friday of that week. No documentation was sent to me. I went to the bank, against the advice of my lawyer, who said the bank needed to back up their demand with documentation, to make the payment. The banker I spoke with told me: "I can't see how you're responsible for this debt; I'll look into it and call you on Tuesday." I left, feeling relieved.

When I went online to pay my bills the following Monday, I saw that the $21,000 had been taken out of my account. I was never told this was even a possibility; the collections person told me: "Both you and your ex-husband's credit will be hit", if I didn't make a payment. When I called Wells Fargo, that same woman said: "If you'd known we were going to take your money, you would have removed it from your account." Which, I suppose, is what a lot of people would have done.

I take my responsibilities very seriously, and have had both a home mortgage, a checking account, and a line of credit with Wells Fargo for years, and it would never occur to me to be anything less than honorable. When I went into the bank that day to speak to the person who was supposed to "have looked into it", I was met with stony silence and no explanation. A typical CYA (forgive me) response to a very angry customer.

A person who worked there heard the discussion and called me later that day and told me: "File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. They shouldn't get away with this." Apparently, even the people who work for Wells Fargo are horrified by the tactics of their employer. I walked around my house in the mountains of Arizona in 3 layers of clothing, during the divorce, without turning on the heat, so I would have enough money to pay the mortgage. Historically, I have treated my business relationship with Wells Fargo responsibly and respectfully and I was lied to, stolen from and manipulated.

Company: Wells Fargo
Country: USA

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