Wells Fargo Forced Unwanted Auto Insurance on Borrowers
Asked about the bank’s insurance practices, Bryan Hubbard, a spokesman for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Wells Fargo’s regulator,
said, “I cannot comment on specific ongoing supervisory matters or potential pending actions pertaining to a particular bank.”
Wells Fargo borrowers sustained financial damages beyond the costs of the insurance, the report said.
Asked about the findings on auto insurance, Wells Fargo officials confirmed
that the improper insurance practices took place and said the bank was determined to make customers whole.
When customers who checked their bills saw the charges and notified Wells Fargo
that they already had car insurance, the bank was supposed to cancel the insurance and credit the borrower with the amount that had been charged
In one example, an unidentified Wells Fargo customer reported providing proof to the bank on three occasions
that the car was already insured and the new insurance was unnecessary, only to continue receiving calls from bank employees demanding payment of insurance charges.
Wells Fargo, one of the largest banks in the United States, is struggling to repair its image after a scandal in which its employees created millions of credit card
and bank accounts that customers had never requested.
The bank also stands accused of having made improper adjustments to the terms of
the home loans of customers who were in bankruptcy, which Wells Fargo denies.