Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) is in the midst of refunding customers for products including pet insurance and legal services that they did not understand or know how to use, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The bank, which is still recovering from a major scandal when it was discovered to have opened more than 3 million accounts without customer knowledge or approval, is refunding tens of millions of dollars for the products, which were added to hundreds of thousands of accounts, said the Journal.
Wells Fargo charged monthly fees for these add-on products that are now being investigated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The probe is focused on determining whether customers were deceived, were aware of the products and charges and had the ability to cancel them.
Wells Fargo is "reviewing add-on products sold to consumers by the bank or its service providers and if issues are found during this review, we will make things right with customers in the form of refunds or remediation," Wells Fargo spokeswoman Catherine Pulley reportedly said. The bank is "working with our regulators on the ongoing review."
Just last week, the San Francisco-based bank disclosed a $619 million charge in its second-quarter earnings to refund customers who were overcharged in its foreign exchange, wealth-management and auto- and mortgage lending units.
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