Wells Fargo refunding ‘tens of millions’ of dollars to customers for add-on products: report
Scandal-ridden bank Wells Fargo is under fire once again, this time for reportedly charging customers for add-on products that they may have been deceived into purchasing.
The bank is refunding tens of millions of dollars for charging hundreds of thousands of customers for everything from pet insurance to legal services, Dow Jones reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
These customers reportedly did not understand or know how to use the add-on products, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is said to be looking into whether they were deceived by the charges.
Wells Fargo did not immediately return FOX Business’ request for comment.
The bank is in the process of reviewing the add-on products that were sold to customers and notifying them, Dow Jones reported. Wells Fargo is said to have stopped selling add-on items last year and is phasing out existing products.
On Wednesday, it was reported that Wells Fargo automated portfolio management services for high-level clients as advisors were pushed to focus on sales at the potential expense of the clients.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street behemoth is still reeling from a slew of other recent scandals.
The troubled commercial bank agreed to pay a $185 million fine in 2016 after it was revealed that employees were creating fraudulent accounts for customers without their approval.
Then in May of this year Wells Fargo came under fire after it was revealed that it kept rebates that should have been deposited in a Tennessee public pension fund.
The U.S. Labor Department is also reportedly looking into whether Wells Fargo pressured participants in lower-cost corporate 401(k) accounts to roll their savings into more expensive IRA plans when they retire or leave their jobs, according to reports released earlier this year. Investigators are examining whether the bank encouraged savers to purchase in-house funds that would have increased its own revenue.
Meanwhile, last month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced that Wells Fargo had agreed to pay a $1 billion fine as part of a settlement after the bank forced an auto loan insurance program onto hundreds of thousands of consumers that did not need it and mischarged consumers for certain mortgage interest rate lock extension products.