Houston-area couple battles Wells Fargo after $40,000 disappears from business account
Houston-area couple battling Wells Fargo over $40,000
A business in the Houston-area says $40,000 was stolen from their account, but Wells Fargo says no fraud was committed.
HOUSTON - In a letter, Wells Fargo Bank told Jose and Amanda Vasquez they've completed their investigation and, since they found no fraud, they're not returning the couple's money. But a Wells Fargo spokesperson tells FOX 26, they are still investigating.
The backstory:
The Vasquez's have a business account with Wells Fargo. They own Grindstone General Contracting.
"We mainly do renovations for apartment complexes," Jose said.
When he checked his online account on January 27, Jose says he noticed someone had set up a direct pay transfer for $20,000.
"I said, 'hey, please stop the transaction. It's still pending. I don't recognize it. I don't authorize this transaction,'" he said. "They said, 'no, we're going to let it hit the other account, and we'll investigate."
The following morning, Jose says he sees another $20,000 gone from his account.
"The same thing happened last night, you guys got to stop it, another $20,000 in less than 24 hours," he said.
The couple initiated a criminal investigation.
They say a Fort Bend County Sheriff's Detective believes it's fraud, and has sent subpoenas to a bank in Alabama where the direct pay account is located, and to Wells Fargo. The Vasquez's say they sent affidavits to the bank detailing the fraud.
The couple says they don't understand why Wells Fargo let the second $20,000 leave their account when they had made the bank aware of the first one.
"Three days later, they sent us a letter saying the case was closed. They didn't think this was fraud," Jose said.
While the sheriff's detective apparently considers it fraud, it's up to Wells Fargo to return the $40,000. The bank has told the Vasquez's that's not going to happen.
What they're saying:
"It's frustrating," said Amanda. "At the end of the day, the bank is there to protect customers and they've done absolutely nothing to do that. They wrote us a letter saying this is not fraud. Sorry."
"Fortunately, this came from a business account. It didn't affect our personal account," Amanda said. "Had it been someone else, like our parents or someone old or retired who rely on this, what would they do? How would they pay their bills?"
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The Source: FOX 26 Reporter Randy Wallace spoke with Jose and Amanda Vasquez about what happened.