SAN FRANCISCO–Another black mark has been added to the already bruised reputation of Wells Fargo.
The latest problem is a glitch in the big bank’s online bill payment system that led to some payments being processed twice and even some accounts being emptied out due to the double processing, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
The problems with accounts resulted in the bank's customer service lines being jammed, according to the report.
The American-Statesman said that some customers' balances were reduced to zero, which triggered overdraft protection fees. Some customers also received emails indicating their checking accounts had no funds.
"Customers who waited out the hour-plus wait to reach a customer service representative Wednesday night were being told that their accounts would be fixed overnight," the America-Statesman reported.
Not surprisingly, Wells Fargo customers took to social media to vent their frustrations.
The list of tactics and practices for which the bank has been fined or criticized in recent years includes:
- An account opening scandal in which more than three-million fake accounts were opened as employees attempted to meet extremely aggressive sales goals. In all, some 5,000 employees were let go by the bank as a result. According to employees, the bank would “round up” immigrants in the country, push them into branch offices and cajole them into opening accounts. The bank paid more than $185 million in fines for the bogus accounts.
- Wells Fargo employees, in legislative hearings, referred to what they called “unconscionable behavior” by the bank, including intimidation and the denial of bathroom breaks.
- Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, issued a 38-page report that is critical of regulators for failing to punish the bank more severely following scandals that have involved millions of customers and heavy fines.
- Wells Fargo is the subject of several lawsuits alleging it extended the terms of mortgages and raised costs for customers who were in bankruptcy.
- The bank was fined $24 million to settle allegations that it mistreated members of the military -- including illegally repossessing their cars.
- Wells Fargo acknowledged that more than 800,000 customers with car loans at Wells Fargo were charged for auto insurance they did not need, with some still paying for it, according to an internal report that was prepared for Wells’ executives. The bank said it would pay back approximately $80 million to customers who had been wrongly charged. That amount includes $64 million in cash and $16 million in account adjustments. Compounding matters, the expense of the unneeded insurance, which covered collision damage, pushed roughly 274,000 Wells Fargo customers into repossessions.
- Approximately 10,000 small business accounts were affected by improper Wells practices.
- In Manhattan federal court, Wells Fargo "admitted and accepted responsibility" for having from 2001 to 2008 falsely certified that many of its home loans qualified for Federal Housing Administration insurance.