Wells Fargo Business Line Master card Business Direct ripoff San Jose California

Our business was issued a credit line of $10,000 on 1/11/96 and upped to $12,500 on 9/10/97. First check on account was written 1/98. In October 1993, we found a second account was opened without our authorization in April 1998. Therefore, we were being charged interest and late fees on two accounts for 6 months due to not knowing, and not receiving two different statements, on the two accounts.

Harrasing calls from the Wells Fargo collection agency is what alerted us to the problem. But when asked for verification of authroization for the second account, and an explanation of how we went from a credit line of $12,500 to owing a balance of $20,000 went unanswered. In fact more harrasing calls came in, 3 times a day at our business and 3 x a day at our home.

In an effort to keep this off our credit report, we agreed to make payments on both accounts, while disputing the verocity of the 2nd account, as long as it stayed off of our credit report. We paid more than $4000.00 in 18 months and then, low and behold, we found on our October 2000 credit report that both accounts were being shown as written off as bad debt!

That is when we hired an attorney. He questioned Wells Fargo reporesentative several times about an accounting of these accounts and our payments. Nothing. They did send two tapes. Each one is of the original agreement in 1996, which says nothing about their ability to open a second account without authroization. After 1 year had passed without any further correspondence from Wells Fargo, we have been contacted by TWO collection agency regarding these accounts; the notorious STUART ALLEN & ASSOCIATES, and American Recovery Services, Inc.

By my best accounts, we borrowed $22,000 from Wells Fargo and, including interest and late fees if it was the original account, paid over $17,000.00. Now they are threatening lawsuits of approximagely $22,000.

Does anyone have any advice or similar experiences with Well Fargo BusinessLine Mastercard?

Conni
Fairfield, Illinois
U.S.A.