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Wells Fargo says that its customers gave up right to sue by having their signatures forged
BoingBoing ^ | 25 November 2016 | Cory Doctorow

Posted on 11/26/2016 5:03:48 PM PST by Lorianne

Even though disgraced Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf has left the building, his most outrageous legal theories live on: on Wednesday, the company filed a motion in a federal court in Utah seeking dismissal of a class action suit by the customers it defrauded -- the bank argues that since customers sign a binding arbitration "agreement" when they open new accounts, that the customers whose signatures were forged on fraudulent new accounts should be subject to this agreement and denied a day in court. REPORT THIS AD This is the same argument that Stumpf made during his disastrous performance in front of a blazing Elizabeth Warren -- that Wells's poor customers should be subjected to agreements they never made, because Wells stole their identities and "agreed" on their behalf.

Mandatory arbitration rules inserted into account-opening agreements prohibit customers from joining class actions or suing Wells Fargo. Instead, the agreements require individual, closed-door arbitration. Mandating arbitration when signing up for financial products has become standard practice after a 2011 U.S. Supreme Court decision validated the practice. But customer advocates say it improperly denies customers the legal protections of court proceedings, such as the right to appeal, and helps to conceal corporate misconduct from the public and regulators because documents and hearings are not made public. Customers trying to recover small sums of money are also unlikely to find lawyers to represent them in arbitration, critics say, and the cases do not set a legal precedent to help other affected individuals.

(Excerpt) Read more at boingboing.net ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption
KEYWORDS: banking; ceo; corporateamerica; cultureofcorruption; johnstumpf; lawsuit; wellfargo
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1 posted on 11/26/2016 5:03:48 PM PST by Lorianne
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To: Lorianne

Uh-uh... fraud won’t work, Wells Fargo...


2 posted on 11/26/2016 5:06:05 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: Lorianne

Headline error.

That aside, how outrageous wfc’s theory is will depend on the wording of the customer’s agreement with them.


3 posted on 11/26/2016 5:10:27 PM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: BenLurkin
That aside, how outrageous wfc’s theory is will depend on the wording of the customer’s agreement with them.

And if the customer didn't sign the agreement for accounts fraudulently opened in their name...? I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter at all what the agreement states since they're not a party to it.

4 posted on 11/26/2016 5:12:19 PM PST by kingu (Everything starts with slashing the size and scope of the federal government.)
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To: kingu

The agreement they actually did sign might cover all claims for fraud.


5 posted on 11/26/2016 5:15:17 PM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: Lorianne

We recently had the bank try to slip
In $$1800 of extra fees — after it promised there wouldn’t be any such charges. That included $500 for a phantom appraisal — the contract was for a no- appraisal loan!! Ungood.


6 posted on 11/26/2016 5:17:27 PM PST by faithhopecharity ("Politicians are not born. They're excreted." Marcus Tullius Cicero. $500for an appraisal of gen on)
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To: Lorianne

Wow, you mean a “cost of doing (criminal) business” fine isn’t enough to discourage bad behavior? I’m shocked.


7 posted on 11/26/2016 5:17:37 PM PST by Wolfie
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To: Lorianne

Even if one hasn’t been personally harmed by this conduct, and even if it is a major inconvenience, it is the obligation of every Wells Fargo customer now to close their accounts as quickly as possible and move on. They will not learn, and they are Too Big to be Spanked.


8 posted on 11/26/2016 5:20:54 PM PST by Mr. Jeeves ([CTRL]-[GALT]-[DELETE])
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To: Lorianne

How sharia of them.


9 posted on 11/26/2016 5:22:26 PM PST by madison10 (Almost disenfranchised Michigander.)
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To: Lorianne

They should shut down the company and distribute all the assets between the shareholders & everyone that was defrauded.


10 posted on 11/26/2016 5:22:52 PM PST by smokingfrog ( sleep with one eye open (<o> ---)
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To: Lorianne

Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf raises his hand as he is sworn in to testify about the unauthorized opening of accounts during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Capitol Hill.

11 posted on 11/26/2016 5:29:20 PM PST by JoeProBono (SOME IMAGES MAY BE DISTURBING VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED;-{)
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To: JoeProBono

Where are the crosshairs for this photo?


12 posted on 11/26/2016 5:33:45 PM PST by Surrounded_too
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To: Lorianne

Try again.


13 posted on 11/26/2016 5:34:05 PM PST by TBP (0bama lies, Granny dies.)
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To: JoeProBono

Looks like he may have gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar.


14 posted on 11/26/2016 5:37:09 PM PST by ROCKLOBSTER (The fear of stark justice sends hot urine down their thighs)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

.
Won’t work for you and me anyway...
.


15 posted on 11/26/2016 5:38:01 PM PST by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: Lorianne

Customer never agreed to have the accounts opened, never signed anything, never even knew it was being done until after the fact. Their signatures were forged by Wells-Fargo employees.

Talk about chutzpah and screwing their customers not once but twice. I have no accounts with them other than a mortgage that is a few years from being paid off. I’d refinance just to get away from them, but it won’t pay out.

I’ll have no desire to do business with such a miserable, dishonest company again, once I’m done and out.


16 posted on 11/26/2016 5:43:47 PM PST by RegulatorCountry
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To: RegulatorCountry

I despise Wells Fargo as a fee-hungry bank that watched accounts close because they refused to listen to complaints about fees; long ago they stopped sending out customer satisfaction surveys (they really couldn’t care less).

That being said, I can’t for the life of me figure out how they thought these scams were going to work; did they really think most of these victims wouldn’t notice new fee-laden accounts opened in their names? I mean, you need an opening deposit from somewhere, no?


17 posted on 11/26/2016 5:49:52 PM PST by kearnyirish2 (Affirmative action is economic warfare against white males (and therefore white families).)
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To: JoeProBono

What a phucking pussy...wrap your hand in gauze and ask for forgiveness...what a putz


18 posted on 11/26/2016 6:07:06 PM PST by Stayfree (yes)
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To: Lorianne

WF needs to give every affected customer a few thousand dollars in addition to actual losses.
Their attitude proves they approved of the fraud.


19 posted on 11/26/2016 6:09:17 PM PST by I want the USA back (Lying Media: willing and eager allies of the hate-America left.)
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To: Lorianne
so much for the commercials they've been running on Fox then saying they will make whole all customers who had accounts opened without their knowledge
20 posted on 11/26/2016 6:14:07 PM PST by Chode (You Owe Them Nothing - Not Respect, Not Loyalty, Not Obedience, NOTHING! ich bin ein Deplorable...)
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