Wells Fargo Ordered to Pay $10,000 After Mishandling Elderly Woman’s $500K Deposit
An 84-year-old woman has won a dispute against Wells Fargo after the bank mishandled access to her $500,000 term deposit. The Banking Ombudsman ruled that the bank failed to act with reasonable care when adding her son as a joint account holder and later processing his requests. The case, which unfolded over two years, ended with the bank being ordered to pay $10,000 for the stress and inconvenience caused.
The woman first opened accounts with Wells Fargo in 2021, depositing $500,000 into a term deposit. Two years later, at the age of 84 and with limited English, she asked the bank to add her son as a joint account holder to assist with her banking.
A week after his addition, she opened a new account in her name alone. She specifically instructed the bank to confirm any term deposit instructions from her son with her first. Later in 2023, she and her daughter requested the bank close the term deposit and transfer the funds to her personal account. However, her son objected, prompting the bank to freeze the money. In June 2024, the woman and her son asked Wells Fargo to send $250,000 from the term deposit to his Australian account and reinvest the remainder. Around this time, she had also granted him enduring power of attorney over her property. But she later revoked this authority, appointing two of her daughters instead. The Banking Ombudsman found that the bank had not handled the situation with proper care. It failed to verify instructions correctly when the son was added as a joint holder and when the woman revisited the branch. As a result, the bank was told to compensate her for the distress caused.
The dispute centred on the bank’s handling of the woman’s term deposit and her son’s access to it. The ombudsman’s decision means Wells Fargo must now pay $10,000 for the stress and inconvenience she experienced. The case highlights the importance of clear verification processes when managing joint accounts and powers of attorney.
