Wells Fargo class action: Bank enrolls customers in unwanted insurance, financial products

Wells Fargo class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Plaintiff Winfred Thomas filed a class action lawsuit against Wells Fargo & Company and Wells Fargo Bank NA.
• Why: Wells Fargo has allegedly enrolled customers in unwanted insurance and financial products without their consent since at least 2008.
• Where: The Wells Fargo class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.

Wells Fargo has enrolled its customers in various insurance and financial products without their consent since at least 2008, according to a new Wells Fargo class action lawsuit filed March 11 in California federal court.

“Since at least 2008, Wells Fargo has unilaterally enrolled its customers in various financial and insurance products and services that its customers did not want, did not consent to, could not have qualified for the purported benefits, and typically knew nothing about,” the Wells Fargo class action lawsuit alleges.

Plaintiff Winfred Thomas says he received four letters in February about his enrollment in various Wells Fargo products. However, he claims he never knew about these products and did not consent to his enrollment.

Thomas says he initially thought the letters were part of a phishing scheme. He also said he believes he may have thrown out other letters about unauthorized Wells Fargo products.

When he called Wells Fargo’s customer care department, the representative reportedly confirmed that he was enrolled in the Wells Fargo products without his consent.

Wells Fargo allegedly offered some financial compensation, but Thomas claims the bank’s offer was inadequate.

Bank offered inadequate compensation for unwanted Wells Fargo products, plaintiff says

Thomas claims Wells Fargo offered “pennies on the dollar” for customers’ enrollment in unwanted Wells Fargo products instead of fully compensating them for the fees, penalties, interest and other costs associated with enrollment.

Thomas notes Wells Fargo has been subject to class action lawsuits and regulatory actions based on allegedly unlawful business practices, such as creation of fake credit card accounts and deposit accounts in customers’ names without their knowledge.

Wells Fargo reportedly paid more than $2 billion to consumers and $1.7 billion in civil penalties after a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau investigation found the bank was mismanaging loan accounts by charging improper interest and fees.

Thomas filed the Wells Fargo class action lawsuit on behalf of a proposed nationwide class and Georgia subclass of consumers who received a letter from Wells Fargo informing them about their enrollment in products and notifying them to contact Wells Fargo if they did not want the product.

The Wells Fargo class action lawsuit asserts claims for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, California’s Unfair Competition Law, violations of Georgia’s Fair Business Practices Act, unjust enrichment, conversion and invasion of privacy.

Another recent Wells Fargo class action lawsuit accused the company of charging illegal overdraft fees.

Were you enrolled in Wells Fargo products without your consent? Tell us about your experience in the comments.

Thomas is represented by Timothy G. Blood and Paula R. Brown of Blood Hurst & O’Reardon LLP and James M. Evangelista of Evangelista Worley LLC.

The Wells Fargo products class action lawsuit is Winfred Thomas v. Wells Fargo & Co., et al., Case No. 3:24-cv-01496, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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