The $2 Billion Wells Fargo Settlement: How to Claim What You’re Owed

Wells Fargo must compensate millions of affected customers because of the wide variety of unlawful activities the bank conducted over ten years. Wells Fargo received a $3.7 billion fine from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in December 2022, which specified a customer compensation amount of $2 billion.

Director Rohit Chopra from CFPB stated, “Wells Fargo’s multiple illegal actions have caused harm to millions of American families” during his time. The move establishes an important foundation for both accountability and the establishment of new systems.

Those who experienced consumer abuses at Wells Fargo can now obtain the compensation determined by the CFPB. The article provides necessary information to Wells Fargo customers about this historical settlement, giving details on who qualifies and how to collect their funds.

Final Judgment and Settlement

Wells Fargo received its conviction on December 20, 2022, for illegal practices regarding auto and mortgage loans as well as vehicle repossessions without legal basis and wrong payment redirections. The bank imposed both illegal overdraft fees and made incorrect fee charges on checking and savings accounts to its customers.

Prior to this conviction, the CFPB had already identified Wells Fargo for fraudulent activity. Before this incident, Wells Fargo had faced multiple accusations, which included receiving mortgage kickbacks, mismanaging student loans, opening fake accounts, and abusing its auto loan authority.

Under Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf’s leadership, the bank began compensating consumers after regulators and the bank discovered many unacceptable practices.

Who is affected?

Numerous people fell victim to Wells Fargo’s fraudulent activities since one-third of American households possess bank accounts at this institution.

Understanding both your account losses and payment distributions from Wells Fargo becomes essential for customers who use their services, and they need to remain cautious about future complications from this bank. The following details provide information about your potential impact as a Wells Fargo customer and necessary steps along with allowable compensation.

In total, more than 16 million Wells Fargo accounts were subjected to illegal activity.

Auto loan customers

Some customers’ loan payments were not correctly applied to their loan balances, leading to higher interest charges, late fees, and incorrectly repossessed cars. In some cases, where customers had paid for GAP cover, the bank did not refund the outstanding balance if the loan was repaid early. More than 11 million accounts were affected by this fraudulent activity, and the owners of these accounts are due to receive a combined $1.3 billion in compensation.

Mortgage loan customers

Wells Fargo prevented some borrowers from making changes to their loans so they could avoid foreclosure. The bank declared some customers dead and incorrectly increased attorney fees, leading to rejected applications and thousands of erroneous foreclosure actions.

Thousands of customers have been affected by the mortgage mistakes and will receive compensation of nearly $200 million.

Wells Fargo deposit account customers

Some Wells Fargo deposit accounts were charged additional overdraft, withdrawal, and monthly fees. In some cases, the bank froze customer accounts for weeks to prevent fraudulent deposits from being made.

More than 5 million accounts were affected by this wrongdoing, and these accounts will receive compensation of more than $500 million.

How to get compensation

If you think you have been affected by the cases mentioned above, Wells Fargo will have to contact legal to compensate you. You don’t need to take any action to receive compensation, and some customers have already received payments.

Wells Fargo entrepreneurs can reach the bank by phone at 844-484-5089 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday to obtain compensation if they feel entitled but did not receive any outreach. People who fail to get assistance from the bank should send complaints to the CFPB. Every payment depends on the particular violation that occurred.

Customers who had their cars repossessed due to incorrect reasons will obtain a minimum of $4,000 in compensation to cover their process expenses. Victims of Wells Fargo can become targets for criminal attempts at fraud because of this compensation program, according to the CFPB. Contact from individuals pretending to assist with compensation while demanding electronic transactions might possibly be a fraudulent attempt. Immediately contact the CFPB regarding suspected fraud through their available hotline number that operates Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.: (855) 411-2372.

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