Why Wells Fargo might promptly close your new account

So, Wells Fargo will open accounts for you without your permission or knowledge, but they’ll close accounts that you voluntarily open. Obligatory Wells Fargo scandal joke out of the way. 

When applying for an account with Wells Fargo, you’ll want to ensure that your address that the credit bureaus and other reporting agencies have listed for you matches the address that you provide on your Wells Fargo application. Experian is usually the credit bureau that Wells Fargo pulls, but they have been known to use data from other bureaus and sources. So, you’ll want to ensure that your data is correct everywhere.

Some people have reported having their Wells Fargo account either not opened at all or closed shortly after being opened. The reason cited by Wells Fargo is that there was an issue confirming the identity of the person opening the account. In my case, and this may be the same reason that others received, Wells Fargo suspected that my account was opened without my consent.

“Wells Fargo performs ongoing reviews of its account relationships in connection with the Bank’s responsibilities to manage risks in its banking operations. We recently reviewed your account relationship and, as a result of this review, we will be closing your above referenced accounts because we believe that the account has been compromised or impacted by potential identity theft. The accounts are expected to close by 03/15/23. Please note that the Bank reserves the right to close the accounts sooner if circumstances arise that warrant an earlier closing.”

If you receive such a notice, you can contact Wells Fargo at the number listed in the communication. At the time of this posting, the number is 888-231-0757 and reps are available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Explain to the phone agent that you attempted to open a Wells Fargo account, but received a notification that your identify needed to be verified. By doing so, you may be able to skip a trip to a branch to confirm your identity and complete the account opening. The phone rep can a few routine credit bureau quiz questions to confirm my identity and reinstate or open your Wells Fargo account.