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Wells Fargo to pay $3.7B for mistreating customers

finance.yahoo.com

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Re: Wells Fargo to pay $3.7B for mistreating customers

#141

Post by dghlsakjg »

kodyo wrote: post #47
supernova87a wrote: post #37

After so many incidents with Wells Fargo, doesn't this point to something deeply ingrained in that company's culture? Such that even executives cannot change something about the system at the company that they have created? There must be some bad, little, everyday incentives permeating working at WF that causes the people there to produce these bad behaviors year after year. You can blame and change the execs, but th…

There is nothing forcing anybody to bank with Wells Fargo. Their customers are clearly content, because they're still Wells Fargo customers. Edit: shit, someone else pointed out that they buy mortgages. Nevermind.

My oldest credit file is a credit card that I don't use anymore but it is owned by WF.

If I close it, my credit score is negatively impacted by losing a decades old credit line. I don't particularly care about my credit score, and this sort of lock-in is pretty low friction, but changing banks can have costs.

I hate them, over the years that I banked with them, they have consistently been a bad bank. I think I have at least two complaints that went to the CFPB with them (both ended in my favor). I switched my banking activity to another institution years ago, but I do still have accounts open with them.

I'm a financially saavy rich white dude with a degree, and I still find it hard to sever the relationship. Imagine how lesser advantaged people feel. If you're choice is between WF and BOA because of geography or whatever, and you're used to financial institutions being shitty, why bother switching from one predatory institution to another?

Re: Wells Fargo to pay $3.7B for mistreating customers

#142

Post by njdvndsjkvn »

pksebben wrote: post #68
_skel wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Example number ten thousand of why the "vote with your dollars and don't do business with them" defense of capitalism fails completely in practice. Example number ten thousand of how everything bad is blamed on "capitalism." It's a lazy, shallow, knee-jerk reaction that is plaguing this site and ought to be forbidden by the guidelines. When you apply for a mortgage you are informed in advance that it might be sold.…

your analysis of the situation as being interchangeable is rendered invalid by the story you're responding to, and claiming "you should have read the fine print" is clearly bad faith in an era where EULAs are a half mile long. Also, to say "don't buy it if you don't like it" ignores a whole ton of a nuanced and complex situation, where there might not be better alternatives. I would be more than happy to discuss why…

[dead]

Re: Wells Fargo to pay $3.7B for mistreating customers

#143

Post by pc86 »

mymacbook wrote: post #83
obblekk wrote: post #9

I feel so much cognitive dissonance realizing that there are hard working people literally losing their home and shelter wrongly while I might be sitting across from them at any time, expecting them to behave within normal social boundaries. Imagine a family with a new born, working 50+ hours at a physically demanding job, making $80k/yr combined, and then losing their home for no reason... and then being expected to…

I agree, but why do we need to make it 50+ hours? What if they only worked 35 hours a week with horrible shifts at different times and no consistency at a non-physically demanding job? Work is still work unless you’re living your passion, the mainstream outside of tech work to put food on the table and they put up with a lot compared to the worst days we have in tech. Anyway just frustrated lately with this idea you…

Not the GP but I use 50+ hours as an example often because most people have worked unpaid overtime at one point in their life. Most people haven't done your strangely specific multi-job 35 hour thing.

It's about having a relatable example, that's it.

Re: Wells Fargo to pay $3.7B for mistreating customers

#144

Post by Kye »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #16
mbg721 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact that people experience this and then somehow don't say "burn it all down" is miraculous.

I was unable to obtain a government backed mortgage for a decade because LexisNexis Risk Solutions was reporting a judgement inaccurately on my risk profile that they would not remove until I had a lawyer file suit against them and notified the CFPB. I received a $600 check as part of a $21M class action settlement [1]. I was lucky, and had the means to obtain creative financing (non-QM) when needed. Others are not s…

The CFPB is so good. It's one of a small number of federal agencies that actually has teeth. I went 30 rounds with PNC after they devoured what was left of Simple before someone suggested filing a CFPB complaint. Basically, I received some mail for the account despite being assured it was closed before the Simple closure.

I asked for a letter stating in no uncertain terms that the account was closed and that I wouldn't be liable for anything if they screwed up. They bombarded me with emails and calls for a week trying to avoid working through the CFPB before finally answering the complaint with what I asked for. I was adamant that it happen with the CFPB so their statement would be on file. Now the PDF is there if the bank gives me any trouble.

People report similar success filing FCC complaints to get action from phone companies and ISPs that otherwise ignore them.

Re: Wells Fargo to pay $3.7B for mistreating customers

#145

Post by efsavage »

theandrewbailey wrote: post #5

I don't understand why anyone still does business with Wells Fargo.

I doubt many people really want to use them, any more than they really want to use any other megabank. A lot of people just use the bank that's closest to their house/work, thinking (and often not wrong from a retail point of view) that banks are fungible.

As a former "customer", in many cases, like ours, it's because they use their capital/position to buy loans from other businesses, and there's nothing the borrower can do about it.

Re: Wells Fargo to pay $3.7B for mistreating customers

#146

Post by ectopod »

supernova87a wrote: post #37

After so many incidents with Wells Fargo, doesn't this point to something deeply ingrained in that company's culture? Such that even executives cannot change something about the system at the company that they have created? There must be some bad, little, everyday incentives permeating working at WF that causes the people there to produce these bad behaviors year after year. You can blame and change the execs, but th…

Why on earth would you think this? The executives don't change the system because it continues to make them money and they suffer no consequences for the company's malfeasance. Maybe this fine is enough to rebalance the equation but I doubt it.

Re: Wells Fargo to pay $3.7B for mistreating customers

#147

Post by tcmart14 »

googlryas wrote: post #56
willcipriano wrote: post #13

My father taught me that if you are going to steal from someone you never steal his tools or his vehicle, because those are the means he uses to make a living and you dont want to be responsible for his kids going hungry. Given this history of Wells Fargo this isn't a one off accident. It's often said but people really need to go to prison for this, not club fed either, send them to be with the other carjackers.

A hierarchy of things to steal is a weird father-son lesson I must say.

It can be. My dad would tell me growing up about home protection something along the lines of, "if someone breaks in and just wants the TV in the living room (or other living room type items), it ain't worth it to put my body in harm's way to stop them over a $300 TV. If they start coming back to the bedroom area of the house, its a different ballgame because they aren't looking just to steal something." Now as an adult with a two story town home, I have the same line of thinking. If someone breaks in is just staying down stairs, it ain't worth it. Once they hit the stairs to come to the bedrooms, its a different ballgame.

And yea on stealing things. I remember someone locally was stealing Cadillac symbols on cars, it made big news, and my dad telling me something like, "don't assume the person is a bad person. They could just be feeding their kids." This was during the 2008-crisis and with an emphasis of, yea they are stealing, but it is rather benign in comparison to what they could be stealing.

Re: Wells Fargo to pay $3.7B for mistreating customers

#148

Post by naikrovek »

finally a somewhat sizeable fine for these turkeys.

they will continue until it is not profitable to do so. large fines are basically the only leverage that the CFPB has that can really hurt, and historically fines for this thing have been very low, to my knowledge, which has not done a lot to deter the behavior that they are trying to deter.

Re: Wells Fargo to pay $3.7B for mistreating customers

#149

Post by EdwardDiego »

calibas wrote: post #119

Some good reading on Wells Fargo: https://www.theroot.com/ghetto-loans-for-mud-people-17908695... And a little story from my own experience. I was completely broke, and they slapped me with a big fine for not having enough money in my account. Then the teller smugly explained that I should be thankful because they could have fined me even more if they wanted to... I closed my account at that point. And for people who…

How in the hell is it legal to charge someone a fee for having a balance below $X?

Re: Wells Fargo to pay $3.7B for mistreating customers

#150

Post by runako »

Wells Fargo is the worst repeat offender in American consumer financial services.

There should be serious discussions around withdrawing their banking license. It's incredibly difficult to get a banking license in this country, and it does not serve the public good to have this predatory institution operating under the aegis of the American government.

Pull their license, let some new entrants into the market.

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