Never thought I’d use this blog to complain about a company, but Wells Fargo has officially pushed me over the edge. I am getting daily calls accusing me of being a deadbeat as a result of their own error.

Here’s a short history of my nightmare that never seems to end!

November 28, 2008: Requested an electronic payment of full amount due on the account be sent to Wells Fargo.
December 2, 2008: Those funds cleared my account.
Mid December: Received a bill from Wells Fargo indicating account had not been paid.
Following receipt of bill: Contacted Citibank. Filed a claim for a missing payment
December 17, 2008: Funds were recredited to my account.
December 22, 2008: Citibank sent letter confirming their inquiry and the mistake in processing (I received the letter after the holidays).
January 17, 2009: Authorized the second payment for full amount.
January 27, 2009: Check cashed.
February 10, 2009: Received phone call from Wells Fargo notifying me of delinquent payment. Immediately called Citibank to determine status of payment and file report. Citibank confirmed that the check was cashed by Wells Fargo on January 27, 2009.
February 12, 2009: Received written notification from Citibank that the paid check had been forwarded to Wells Fargo. I also sent my first letter via fax to Wells Fargo detailing all of the above. That letter put my account “into dispute” while they looked into it.

A couple of weeks later, I started getting more calls from Wells Fargo and was informed that they had determined they hadn’t cashed my check. So, I still owed them the original amount — plus growing interest and finance charges, of course. I was at a loss as to how to proceed at that point. What other recourse did I have? Who had my money?

Then I received a call on March 19th, from the only helpful person from Wells Fargo that I dealt with — Donald St. John. It was clear to him as I told my story that I was actually looking at a copy of the cashed check in question. So, he asked that I fax it to him, which I did the next day. That day, I saw a light at the end of the tunnel!

That happiness didn’t last long. Within days, I got a nasty note in the mail saying they had “researched” my claim and found that they did not have the payment and my account was past due. Again, what was I to do? Should I pay them again? Not a chance.

So, I called Citibank on March 31, explained the situation to them, and asked for their advice. The customer service representative (Gilbert) listened to my problem, pulled the documentation, and then conferenced in Wells Fargo. As we sat on the call and listened to the Wells Fargo representative verbally berate me, even Gilbert seemed appalled with how I was being treated.

Since Citibank had clear documentation of the check being cashed, they demanded that Wells Fargo complete an affidavit of non-receipt. Miraculously, on the day they were asked to sign that form, Wells Fargo found my missing payment.

However, there seems to be no end in sight. Despite the fact that they lost the payment, they are continuing to bill me for interest, finance charges and late fees. The calls from them resumed again last week and I can’t even describe the contempt in the voices of each of the people who have called me.

I just sent off my third letter detailing this saga for them and asked that they remove all interest, finance charges and late fees. For good measure I also asked that they retract their negative reports to the credit bureaus — since my credit reports show that I am delinquent.

We’ll see whether they comply. Either way, it’s a safe bet that I will never do business with Wells Fargo again.

On the flip side, I have grown eternally loyal to Citibank. Through each and every step in this saga, they have responded promptly and courteously. I suspect I will become a life-long customer!