ComplaintsforWells Fargo Advisors

• Initial Complaint

  01/05/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Requesting help to add funds to an existing Wells Fargo college 529 brokerage account and correct their mistake of depositing my $1400 into a ‘cash & cash alt’ portion of the account. Account # ******** established in Feb 2021. I have tried repeatedly to add funds with zero success. After numerous telephone discussions: On 10/29 ****** ****** recommended that I complete & submit an ACH/Money Transfer Authorization form. In November ******* ********* recommended that I establish a Brokerage Cash Option with the account & restated that I submit the ACH form. I submitted the form with a note to contact me with issue – didn’t hear back. In 12/2021 reconnected w/******* ********* who referred me to ***** ***** who’s office is in Sarasota Florida. ***** ******’ staff recommend that I overnight funds I wish to add to Wells Faro Advisors Cash Management branch in St Louis, which I did. The $1400 check was deposited in the ‘cash’ portion of the college 529 account, in essence, benefitting WF but not me – no investment while they have my money. On January 5 I contacted Mr ****** office again and talked extensively with Anthony Linger. We spoke – he consulted with management and called me back. He gave me a number to call to resolve my issue – I selected the ‘add money to a brokerage account’ option and the recording stated they couldn’t help me and disconnected. To be clear, I want to add funds to an existing 529 college account in the 529-C investment portion of the account. Additionally, am asking that WF Advisor correct their mistake of depositing the $1400 in a non-interest bearing portion of the 529 college account. After months of trying, it is clear that Wells Fargo is incapable of managing something so simple as adding funds to an existing account. I have USPS tracking receipts for mailings.

  Business response

  01/12/2022

  Dear ****** ***** :
  
  Thank you for your patience while we looked into your concerns. We’ve completed our research and are ready to share our findings.
  
  First and foremost, please allow us to apologize for any frustration or inconvenience this matter may have caused. Wells Fargo Advisors strives to provide our clients with the most outstanding customer service, and we sincerely regret that your experience has fallen short of your expectations.
  
  During our review we identified that you encountered numerous difficulties depositing $1,400.00 into your 529 brokerage account and investing the proceeds into the Growth Fund of America Mutual Fund, (Symbol *****) due to incorrect instructions from the Investment Contact Center representatives. We confirmed that you were incorrectly instructed to submit ACH Money Transfer Authorization forms which are no longer accepted and to set up a Brokerage Cash Services option which is not allowed on 529 Brokerage accounts. Additionally, you were misdirected initially to the wrong service channel within Wells Fargo Advisors to complete this deposit and investment transaction.
  
  After you made numerous calls to Wells Fargo Advisors and spoke with multiple individuals we confirmed the
  $1,400.00 was deposited into the cash portion of your 529 brokerage account on December 27, 2021 but was not immediately invested. Please note the investing portion is a separate step from the deposit and requires you to provide specific investment authorizations. We verified on January 7, 2021 you were finally directed to the correct Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, (FiNET) contact center and spoke with Trading Services Representative **** *, and with your authorization he invested the $1,400 cash proceeds into the Growth Fund of America.
  We confirmed that part of the confusion and misdirection was your accounts are now Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, (FiNET) “House Accounts” because your former FiNET Financial Advisor and their branch closed and disaffiliated from Wells Fargo Advisors. We verified that FiNET 529 “House Accounts” have very limited online or periodic investment features requiring you to call in and speak with the FiNET Investment Contact Center at ************ whenever you want to make deposits and investments in the account.
  
  Therefore, we strongly suggest that you inquire with the various Wells Fargo Advisors Brokerage Channels and consider upgrading your “House Accounts” to a dedicated brokerage channel which would greatly improve your future service experiences and investing flexibility. During our conversation on January 7, 2021, we provided you with the FiNET Investment Contact Center phone number for service and making investments while your accounts are in still in the “House Account” status. We also provided you with contact information for the various Wells Fargo Advisor Brokerage Channels as well as Financial Advisors within your Virginia geographical region you can reach out to and discuss possible account reassignments options.
  
  We are grateful that you have shared your concerns, as they are invaluable in assessing our service levels and for identifying areas where we can initiate improvements. Your feedback is extremely important to us, and we want to assure you that we will utilize this information as an opportunity to enhance our abilities to best assist our clients with their financial needs.
  
  Should you have any questions regarding your account or this process, please contact FiNET Investment Contact Center at ************ during normal business hours
  
  How to contact us
  
  We appreciate your time and effort you took to contact us. If you have questions, please contact
  me at **************, ext. *******. We’re ready to help you Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00
  p.m. Central Time. We accept telecommunications relay service calls.
  
  Sincerely, ***** *
  Executive Office Case Specialist

• Initial Complaint

  01/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have had a 401k account with Wells Fargo Advisors for over 5 years, however now Wells Fargo has decided to sell my 401k to another company called Principal, who has liquidated all of my funds and has told me the money is "gone", that it was "lost during the transition". I was never notified of this change and I was DEFINITELY not notified that my 401k is no longer accessible and cannot be transferred to another bank. I have spoken with SEVERAL representatives at both Wells Fargo and "Principal" and nobody has any access to my money, which is over $36,000. Please resolve this ASAP or I will file a lawsuit for the full amount.

  Business response

  01/11/2022

  Dear ******* ********:
  This letter is in response to concerns you expressed on January 4, 2021 to the Better Business Bureau under case #********, and to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under case #**************, regarding the ******** Consulting 401k Pension Profit Sharing account ending in ****, concerns the account had been transferred to another firm, not being notified of the change, and misinformation you received when calling in for assistance. Thank you for your patience while we looked into your concerns. We’ve completed our research and are ready to share our findings.
  Thank you for taking the time to speak with us on January 7, 2022. As we discussed, the above referenced account is with Wells Fargo Advisors, and we want to assure you there have been no changes. We reviewed the recorded calls into our Investment Contact Center in an effort to determine who you may have spoken with that provided you with misinformation but we were unable to locate the recorded call interaction. Please know, representatives in the Investment Contact Center make every effort to assist clients in a knowledgeable and efficient manner; we sincerely apologize for any misinformation you may have received when calling into the Investment Contact Center for assistance.
  We reached out to Financial Advisor ***** *****, who confirmed he had spoken with you later in the day on January 7, 2022, to discuss your account. It is our understanding that you will be working with your Third Party Administrator (TPA) to transfer the funds to a self-directed Individual Retirement Account (IRA).
  Thank you for being a valued client and for providing feedback as it is invaluable in identifying areas where we can initiate improvements. We know you have chosen Wells Fargo Advisors over scores of alternatives in a highly
  Investment products and services are offered through Wells Fargo Advisors, a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member SIPC, a registered broker-dealer and non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.
  We may collect personal data as part of the complaint resolution process. For the categories of personal data that Wells Fargo may collect and how we use it, see the Wells Fargo California Consumer Privacy Act Notice at Collection at **********************************************************************. See additional Wells Fargo privacy notices at*********************************************
  ********** ********** ********** ****** ** *** **** ***** ****** ** *****
  Investment and Insurance Products are:
  • Not Insured by the FDIC or Any Federal Government Agency
  • Not a Deposit or Other Obligation of, or Guaranteed by, the Bank or Any Bank Affiliate • Subject to Investment Risks, Including Possible Loss of the Principal Amount Invested
  © 2021 Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC. All rights reserved.
  ***** ********************
  competitive industry and we will continue to work hard to earn your business and trust. For additional questions regarding the above referenced account, please contact Financial Advisor ***** ***** ** ************** during normal business hours.
  How to contact us
  We appreciate the time and effort you took to contact us. If you have questions, please contact
  me at ************** *** *******. We’re ready to help you Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Time. We accept telecommunications relay service calls.
  Sincerely,
  ***** ** Executive Office Case Specialist
  Enterprise Complaints Management Office
  cc: BetterBusinessBureau
  Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
  

• Initial Complaint

  12/30/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I was divorced in May 2021, and was given a portion of my ex-husbands IRA. The paperwork was signed by all parties including the judge. My ex-husband passed away in July 2021 and I am still waiting for Wells Trade to transfer the funds to my account. I have spent many long hours on the phone with their estate processing department and every time the person on the phone doesn't seem to know what to do. I have sent the appropriate paperwork several times and they keep telling me to send the Transfer due to Divorce form several different ways, with a signature, without a signature, don't fill out anything etc. I have complied with all requests but the situation seems to be in limbo. According to the court documents this transfer is to take place even if the account holder dies before the transfer is completed and it is to be done in a timely manner. They first received the appropriate documents on Sept 16, 2021, it's now December 30, 2021. This doesn't seem to be taken care of in a "timely manner". I have received zero communication from them and have to wait on hold for over an hour each time I try to speak to someone. I just want this to be taken care of since I am loosing money because I am unable to self manage the funds I am entitled to. Also, our adult children (his heirs) are to receive the remaining funds and this is holding up that as well.

  Business response

  01/13/2022

  ******* *** **** ***** *********** ***** **** ********* ***** **** *** ********* ** **********Subject:

  We’re responding to your concerns Case number: *****************

  Client name: ***** *********** 

  Better Business Bureau, case number: ********

  Dear ***** ***********:

  I am writing with reference to your recent complaint submitted to the Better Business Bureau on December 31,2021 and to your email to Wells Fargo Advisors on December 10, 2021, regarding the above referenced matter.Specifically, you expressed concerns with the lack of communication from the Estate Processing team regarding the receipt of court ordered documents you submitted authorizing you as the recipient of a disbursement from the Individual Retirement Account of ******* * ***** due to divorce. Due to Wells Fargo Advisors’ ongoing commitment to ensuring that client concerns are given due attention, your comments were forwarded to the Commercial, Investment, & Centralized Complaint Executive Office for review and response.

  First and foremost, please allow us to apologize for any frustration or inconvenience this matter may have caused.Wells Fargo Advisors strives to provide our clients with the most outstanding customer service, and we regret that in this case you received less than our best. One of the primary objectives at Wells Fargo is to provide you with the confidence that comes with continuity of outstanding service. While each individual Financial Advisor brings his or her strengths and personality to each client relationship, we feel that continuity is especially crucial when we fall short of that goal. We have conducted a review of your concerns and would like to take this opportunity to share with you our findings.

  Our research has found that the above mentioned documents have been received by the Estate Processing department. Due to the nature of the request and the deceased status of the account holder, the court ordered documents were escalated to our Legal department for further review and approval. Please be advised that the legal review has now been completed and approved for disbursement as outlined in the previously submitted documentation. Service Request #********* has been initiated by the Estate Processing Team to begin the disbursement process. This matter has also been escalated for expedited processing, please reference the service request number when inquiring on the status of completion or to provide any additional information for processing. Estate Processing Customer Service can be reached at ************* Monday through Friday during the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST

  We sincerely appreciate your business, as we know you have chosen Wells Fargo Advisors over scores of alternatives in a highly competitive industry. We will continue to work hard to earn your business and your trust.

  How to contact us

  We appreciate your time and effort you took to contact us. If you have questions, please contact me at ************** **** *******. We’re ready to help you Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.Central Time. We accept telecommunications relay service calls.

  Sincerely,

  ******* **

  Executive Office Case Specialist

  Enterprise Complaints Management Office

  Customer response

  01/19/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. The account was finally transferred on January 15th. Thank you for looking into this matter and expediting the process. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *****-*****

• Initial Complaint

  12/23/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I, with my late husband, have a brokerage account ****** and I need to transfer the assets into an individual account. I am getting a complete run around by Wells Fargo advisors and Wells Fargo Estate Services. Every time I call I am given different information. At first I was told that assets could transfer between ****** account into a trust account. Only after submitting all paperwork, including a Letter of Authorization, was I told this was incorrect. I then opened an individual account and submitted a Letter of Authorization and was told the transfer would take 2-3 business days. I'm not told that Estate Services has a hold on the transfer and the transfer may take place in 6-7 business days. Enough is enough. I simply need this simple process to take place.

  Customer response

  02/03/2022

  Wells Fargo has resolved the issue.

• Initial Complaint

  12/13/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My father, ***** *******, passed away in December of 2018, leaving an IRA to my step-brother, ****** ***. I am still getting my father's mail from Wells Fargo Advisors. ****** *** passed away in February of 2019. An estate was opened in McHenry County, Illinois, where ****** lived. There was an administrator named and they contacted Wells Fargo Advisors about this IRA. To this day, the account is in limbo. Wells Fargo has not paid out to ******'s estate. I talked to the attorney and she said she has spent many hours on the phone and still they will not pay this out and close the account. I worked for attorneys for many years and don't understand the reason for this delay. Would you please look into it?

  Business response

  12/20/2021

  Dear ****** ****:
  
  Thank you for your recent communication. Your concerns have been forwarded to the Wealth and Investment Management Complaints Executive Office for review.
  
  Given Wells Fargo Advisors’ commitment to privacy and compliance with industry privacy regulations, we are unable to release any information to you regarding your concerns at this time. After a preliminary review, the Wells Fargo Advisors Home Office has been unable to locate a document that would permit us to discuss this matter with you. If you currently have legal authority to act on behalf of another person or entity with an account at Wells Fargo Advisors, please contact the phone number below to provide the document(s) on which you rely in taking that position. We will review the documentation and provide a response to you.
  
  We value the feedback provided and appreciate the time and effort taken to share your concerns. If you have questions, we are here to help. You may reach us at **************. We’re available to assist you Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time. For customers with hearing or speech disabilities, we accept telecommunications relay service calls.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  Wealth & Investment Management Complaints Executive Office

• Initial Complaint

  12/10/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Hello, On December 1, 2021, I got the following notice from Wells Fargo about my online brokerage account: "On Dec 01, 2021, a 90 day freeze was placed on your account ending in 1378. The freeze occurred when a security was bought and liquidated before full payment was made for the initial purchase. This resulted in your account and all related accounts being placed under a Regulation T Liquidation Freeze. While the freeze is in effect, you must have settled funds in the account before making another security purchase. Any purchases made without settled funds will result in a trade cancellation." This 90 day restriction allows the bank to profit by holding my funds, from an incoming bank transfer or the sale of a security, for an extra business day. It also prevents me, the customer, from executing trades and making purchases of stock on time. I only spend funds when my account indicates that those funds are available, in my cash balance, to spend. As a customer, I do not have control over when the full payment is made for an initial purchase OR when my cash balance updates. Additionally, if the a full payment for a trade is not yet made, the cash balance of my account should indicated that the funds are not used yet. I only buy and sell stocks based on the cash balance of my account. I do not have a satisfactory answer for why this restriction was imposed on my account. Also, I do not have any specific detailed about the alleged violation, including date, time, and name of security that was bought and sold.

  Business response

  12/17/2021

  Thank you for your patience while we looked into your concerns. We’ve completed our research and are ready to share our findings. We are responding to concerns expressed in your letter addressed to the Better Business Bureau on December 10, 2021, regarding the Regulation T 90-Day Freeride Freeze trading restriction placed on your account on December 1, 2021. You also expressed frustration you did not receive any specifics about the security or date that triggered this restriction and requested that Wells Fargo Advisors remove this trading restriction. First and foremost, please allow us to apologize for any frustration or inconvenience this trading restriction matter may have caused. Wells Fargo Advisors strives to provide our clients with the most outstanding customer service, and we sincerely regret that your experience has fallen short of your expectations. During our review, we identified on December 1, 2021, a 90-Day Freeride Freeze trading restriction was placed on the above-referenced account, restricting your ability to purchase securities with only settled funds. In a cash account, an investor must fully pay for the purchase of a security prior to selling it. Please note settlement occurs two business days after the trade date and this is referred to as T+2 settlement. If an investor buys and then sells a security prior to fully paying for it, (on the same trade date), the investor is “freeriding,” and this is not permitted under Regulation T set by the Federal Reserve Board. We verified the security triggering this restriction was Apple Inc., (AAPL). Specifically on November 30, 2021, you sold 1 share of Tesla Inc. (TSLA) and then used those proceeds to purchase 7 shares of AAPL. The trade that triggered this trading violation was the subsequent sells of 1 share and 11 shares of AAPL on November 30, 2021 and constituted a day trade. Since the purchase of 7 AAPL shares was funded by the sale of 1 TSLA the same day sells of AAPL were not fully paid for on November 30, 2021 and triggered the restriction. We have also reviewed our technology and unfortunately, our website does not have the capability to give a warning if a client is using unsettled funds when placing a trade. This a future enhancement we are looking into. Therefore, it is important to keep a track of the amount of unsettled vs the settled funds you have in your account before placing trades in a cash account. We verified you have margin set up for this account and may want to consider using it to avoid trading on unsettled funds in the future. We double checked and confirmed the 90 Day Free Ride restriction will remain in effect and be lifted from your account on February 28, 2022. We appreciate the time you have taken to share your concerns, as they are invaluable in assessing our service levels and for identifying areas where we can initiate improvements. Your feedback is extremely important to us, and we want to assure you that we will utilize this information as an opportunity to enhance our abilities to best assist our clients with their financial needs. For additional questions regarding your account or this process, please contact our WellsTrade® representatives at ************* ****************. They are available Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to Midnight Eastern Time. If at any time you feel that you are not receiving our best, please request to speak with a supervisor and they will be happy to assist you accordingly. How to contact us We appreciate your time and effort you took to contact us. If you have questions, please contact me at ************** ext. ******* We’re ready to help you Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Time. We accept telecommunications relay service calls. Sincerely, ***** * ********* ****** **** ********** Enterprise Complaints Management Office cc: Better Business Bureau 
  

  Customer response

  12/18/2021

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  ******* **********

• Initial Complaint

  11/28/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 09/17/2021, Wells Fargo Advisors charged me $175 as Annual Fee for my brokerage account ending in 2267. The Advisor, Mr. ******** ********** did not contact us regarding a change in schedule of fees. In fact, when contacted in the first week of November to reverse the fees, he mentioned that the fees was $150, so, that clearly shows that he did not even know the right amount, let alone letting us know. He also mentioned that previous years, this fee was waived because my wife was a Wells Fargo employee. But, my wife had left Wells Fargo on April 30 2018 and we were not charged any fees in 2018, 2019 or 2020. So, all this information was incorrect. We opened several complaints for this fees, but, they all have been closed and instead have now been mailed with the fee schedule after the fact.

  Business response

  12/01/2021

  Please see the attached Bank response.      

  Customer response

  12/01/2021

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Advisor did not contact us personally as he normally does for other transactions on the account. Incorrect information was given regarding fees and the reason for why fees was not applicable in prior instances indicating the lack of knowledge of the Advisor. The primary purpose of the Advisor is to clearly communicate any changes to the account so that proper decision can be taken on it's implications.
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ******

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩