5,300 Wells Fargo employees fired for creating over 2 million phony accounts

I saw people signing customers up at online stations using the "generic" email as we were instructed to use by upper management 'if the customer didn't have an email'.

I'll take a shot at it

statementshredder at wellsfargo.com

Quick little anecdote:

I just took my daily deposit to the bank for for work (we recently switched from BofA to WF) and was hit with "do you have a personal account with us?" by the teller who processed my deposit. She went in to her spiel and said that they'd be happy to have a personal banker come to my place of employment to help people get signed up with them.

I thought about showing her this thread but chuckled to myself instead.

a reply to: roadgravel

That's a good one, lol.

It was the zip code and @wellsfargo.com. How shady is that!

After seeing everything taking place with the fake accounts and being asked to wear low cut shirts and 'shake my skirt' to get new accounts, I quit. Being able to sleep at night is too important.

Totally surprised only 5300 were fired...

Company tip lines are there to make the company appear concerned, not to be actually used...

"They ruined my life," Bill Bado, a former Wells Fargo banker in Pennsylvania, told CNNMoney.

Bado not only refused orders to open phony bank and credit accounts. The New Jersey man called an ethics hotline and sent an email to human resources in September 2013, flagging unethical sales activities he was being instructed to do.

Eight days after that email, a copy of which CNNMoney obtained, Bado was terminated. The stated reason? Tardiness.
...
Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf made precisely that point on Tuesday when he testified before angry Senators.

"Each team member, no matter where you are in the organization, is encouraged to raise their hands," Stumpf told lawmakers. He mentioned the anonymous ethics line, adding, "We want to hear from them."

But that's not the experience of some former Wells Fargo workers.

One former Wells Fargo human resources official even said the bank had a method in place to retaliate against tipsters. He said that Wells Fargo would find ways to fire employees "in retaliation for shining light" on sales issues. It could be as simple as monitoring the employee to find a fault, like showing up a few minutes late on several occasions.

"If this person was supposed to be at the branch at 8:30 a.m. and they showed up at 8:32 a.m, they would fire them," the former human resources official told CNNMoney, on the condition he remain anonymous out of fear for his caree

Link

if anyone's interested, here's a video of the full senate investigative hearing on the subject... I think it was over four hours long though, if I am remembering right...

www.banking.senate.gov...

it's worth listening to if you can find the time to.

Thank ghod I've not #ed with Wells Fargo since like 2001.


I use Chase now, they charge me for anything and everything lol oh well.. life.... drain it from me.

originally posted by: dawnstar
if anyone's interested, here's a video of the full senate investigative hearing on the subject... I think it was over four hours long though, if I am remembering right...

www.banking.senate.gov...

it's worth listening to if you can find the time to.

Here's a condensed version of Elizabeth Warren taking down the Wells Fargo CEO. I'm no Warren fan, but this truly was epic.
money.cnn.com...

Not mentionend so far in this thread:

Exclusive: Hillary Clinton Campaign Systematically Overcharging Poorest Donors

Wells Fargo charged one time donors of Clinton (the small ones, people, not corporations) several times without notice.

Banking:
- screw customers over - fire the low level workers, no other consequences
- screw your own business - get a bail-out from tax payers
- screw the whole economy (LIBOR scandal et al.) - no consequences

a reply to: UnBreakable

"eight rhymes with great!!" good reason to try to convince your workers that their customers should all need eight wells fargo accounts! almost sounds like it could have come out of trump's mouth.

I spent time listening to all of it yesterday..
after they were done with the ceo, they questioned three guys from three different agencies that worked together investigating the mess. one of these guys was asked if there was any possibility of criminal charges being brought against anyone... he couldn't answer, but kind of hinted (at least that's how I interpreted he answer) that there would be.

a reply to: svetlana84

www.snopes.com...

the verdict might still be out on this one..

The hole is being dug on "too big to fail". Props to the people who stood up.

Now CNNMoney is hearing from former Wells Fargo (WFC) workers around the country who tried to put a stop to these illegal tactics.
Almost half a dozen workers who spoke with us say they paid dearly for trying to do the right thing: they were fired.

"They ruined my life," Bill Bado, a former Wells Fargo banker in Pennsylvania, told CNNMoney.

Bado not only refused orders to open phony bank and credit accounts. The New Jersey man called an ethics hotline and sent an email to human resources in September 2013, flagging unethical sales activities he was being instructed to do.

MSM Source

The federal class action suit accuses Wells Fargo of orchestrating a "fraudulent scheme" to boost its stock price that forced employees to "choose between keeping their jobs and opening unauthorized accounts."

In a statement to CNNMoney, Wells Fargo said: "We disagree with the allegations in the complaint and will vigorously defend against the misrepresentations it contains."
...
Employees who refused to take part in the scam were "systematically and routinely terminated," while those who did open unauthorized accounts were often promoted, the lawsuit alleges.

Nearly a half-dozen Wells Fargo employees even reached out to CNNMoney to say they were fired after flagging unethical sales tactics by calling the company's ethics hotline.

Link

Wells Fargo, in a statement, said it "works hard to foster a culture that is centered on doing what is right for our customers and exhibiting high ethical standards and integrity." The company added that "the vast majority of our team members serve our customers' best interests every day in every interaction."

The whole incident invalidates that statement. WF seems to think saying it makes their action align with that view point.

Thing with the Banks is, when one figures out how to do it... the others learn too!

Lets see what the other banks are doing while we are at it!

wells fargo must be feeling the heat....

Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf will forfeit much of his 2016 salary -- including his bonus and $41 million in stock awards -- as the bank launches a probe into its phony accounts scandal.

The fallout from the controversy has also resulted in its first major executive departure. Carrie Tolstedt, who headed the division that created the fake accounts, has left the company ahead of her scheduled retirement at year end.

Wells Fargo, under pressure from lawmakers and shareholders to take action, said Tolstedt will not receive a bonus or severance, and that she'll forfeit all of her $19 million worth of unvested stock awards. Wells Fargo also said Tolstedt has agreed not to exercise some $34 million in stock options, the bank's independent directors announced Tuesday.

However, Tolstedt could still be walking away with a fortune despite running the retail bank during the entire time the unauthorized accounts were opened.

Tolstedt owns roughly $43.3 million in stock outright that she accumulated during her career with the bank, according to a letter Wells Fargo sent to Senator Elizabeth Warren. That means if she is allowed to keep her stock options, Tolstedt could leave Wells Fargo with stocks and options valued today at roughly $77 million.

money.cnn.com...

the article goes on to say that Stumpf will work for free while the company does it's own investigation. ya, that's it, let's make the shady ceo's of these big banks slave laborers!!!

Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf is retiring, immediately...

guess he won't be volunteering to help investigate the mess after all...

money.cnn.com...