Monday, May 11, 2015

OBAMA'S CRONY-WRITTEN TRADE DEAL - Warren: Trade deal could be used to 'punch holes' in Wall Street rules | WashingtonExaminer.com

Warren: Trade deal could be used to 'punch holes' in Wall Street rules | WashingtonExaminer.com


SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R)

“No party can win without working and middle class
voters. The path forward for the GOP is to become the party
of the American worker. The party of higher wages. The party
of full employment.
The Democratic Party has already cast its lot: its members
have endlessly enabled the President’s anti-worker policies,
including his wage-cutting agenda of uncontrolled
immigration and the bleeding of American manufacturing
wealth overseas.”

 




WILL OBAMA CAUSE THE IMPENDING GLOBAL  ECONOMIC MELTDOWN?



"Notwithstanding these powerful trends, the stock markets continue to power on, providing a graphic demonstration of the degree to which the accumulation of wealth by global financial elites has become divorced from the actual process of production."

STAGGERING EXPLOSION OF POVERTY IN AMERICA …
as Obama eases millions of illegals into our jobs and hands
them billions in welfare!

 



even after the 2008 meltdown, criminal banksters that destroyed billions in home values across the nation, are still fucking over the entire nation!

After L.A. lawsuit, Wells Fargo customers express anger over bank's practices

By ANDREW KHOURI AND JIM PUZZANGHERA

Lawsuit alleges Wells Fargo's high-pressure sales culture spurred workers to commit fraud to keep their jobs Wells Fargo opened accounts without customers' knowledge, lawsuit alleges
The city of Los Angeles' lawsuit against Wells Fargo & Co. unleashed an outpouring of anger from customers and current and former employees who said the nation's third-largest bank saddled clients with unwanted accounts, unwarranted fees and untold hardships.

From Florida to Montana and throughout California, they recounted Tuesday aggressive sales tactics that snared unwitting victims. Some customers who noticed problems said they found it difficult to correct the mistakes, much less recover all the charges.

The lawsuit, filed by City Atty. Mike Feuer, alleged that the bank's high-pressure sales culture set unrealistic quotas, spurring employees to engage in fraudulent conduct to keep their jobs and boost the company's profits.

"In its push for growth, Wells Fargo often elevated its profits over the legal rights of its customers," Feuer said Tuesday in announcing the suit.

Wells Fargo sued by L.A. city attorney for 'unlawful, fraudulent conduct'


Business owner Ken Wallman figures he was one of the luckier ones.

About two years ago, he went into a Wells branch in Marina del Rey to open one checking account, signing several documents to get it going. About six months later, he said, he learned he had a dozen additional accounts he never authorized, and some were dinged for monthly fees.

Wallman said that after many attempts to fix the problem, he eventually got the bank to "weed out the erroneous accounts and reverse some fees," but he's sure some charges slipped through "and cost me money."

The allegations against Wells Fargo could damage the bank's reputation and probably already are being looked into by regulators, said G. Michael Moebs, who heads industry research firm Moebs Services Inc.

"This is a fundamental reputation problem with any depository in the world. You don't want this happening," Moebs said.

Regulatory officials at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau declined to comment.

Wells Fargo declined to comment on specific stories from customers or former employees.
"We will vigorously defend ourselves against these allegations," the bank said of Feuer's lawsuit. "Wells Fargo's culture is focused on the best interests of its customers and creating a supportive, caring and ethical environment for our team members."

The bank said it provides training, audits and processes "that work together to support ... our commitment to customers receiving only the products and services they need and will benefit from."
Feuer launched his investigation after a December 2013 Los Angeles Times report based mainly on interviews with some three dozen current and former Wells employees and a review of internal bank documents and lawsuits filed against the bank.

This is a fundamental reputation problem with any depository in the world. You don't want this happening.- G. Michael Moebs, who heads industry research firm Moebs Services Inc.

The employees described how staffers, fearing disciplinary action from managers, begged friends and family members to open ghost accounts. The employees said they also opened accounts they knew customers didn't want, forged signatures on account paperwork and falsified phone numbers of angry customers so they couldn't be reached for customer satisfaction surveys.

Wells Fargo has long heralded its unrivaled success in selling additional accounts and services to customers. Last year, about 26% of the company's revenue was from fee income, including those from credit and debit card accounts, trusts and investments.

Fee income is a crucial part of banking revenue, Moebs said.

"You're looking at well over 85% of all depositories — banks, credit unions and thrifts — which, if they didn't have fee income, could easily go belly-up," he said.

The tactics described in the lawsuit could not only harm consumers but also damage their credit scores, Feuer and consumer advocates warned. Wells Fargo, for instance, put customers into collection when fees for unauthorized accounts went unpaid, the suit alleged.

Down the line, for instance, borrowers seeking mortgages or car loans could end up paying higher interest rates because the bank's actions could have lowered their credit scores, said Norma P. Garcia at advocacy group Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine.

"If you don't pay on time you risk a lot," she said. "There is a lot going on behind the scenes that could cost you money."

Garcia said consumers who notice unauthorized accounts or activity should immediately call their financial institution, cancel the transactions and demand refunds of any charges.

City officials and former Wells Fargo employees are asking consumers to scrutinize their bank statements and pay extra attention to online accounts after a lawsuit Monday accused bank employees of opening unauthorized accounts and moving clients' money around to meet corporate sales quotas. ( James Queally )

Feuer said Wells Fargo clients should call his office immediately at (213) 978-3393 if they notice checking or savings accounts have been opened in their names at the bank without their permission.

The city's lawsuit alleged that the root of the problem was an unrealistic sales quota system enforced by constant monitoring of each employee — four times a day.

"Managers constantly hound, berate, demean and threaten employees to meet these unreachable quotas," the lawsuit said.
Maged Nashid, a former Wells Fargo manager in Southern California, said Tuesday that he was fired for questioning practices similar to those alleged in Feuer's lawsuit. Employees who opened fraudulent accounts usually attached them to bogus mailing addresses, Nashid said.

"The client would never be aware of it," he said. "The only way to actually find out about it is through the online banking."

Randall A. Marquis, who has written about bank fraud as an editor at an industry publication, said Wells employees twice opened accounts for his 79-year-old grandmother and took money from her existing account.

"It was not fun to see her crying and saying, 'I want them to leave me alone.'
L.A. sues Wells Fargo, alleging 'unlawful and fraudulent conduct'


Wells Fargo sued by L.A. city attorney for 'unlawful, fraudulent conduct'
By E. SCOTT RECKARD contact the reporter


The city's lawsuit against Wells Fargo's 'fee-generating machine' grew from a Times investigation.
Rigid sales quotas at Wells Fargo Bank have driven employees to open unauthorized accounts for customers, sticking them with bogus fees and damaging their credit, according to a city of Los Angeles lawsuit that echoes a Times investigation.

The civil complaint, filed Monday in state court in Los Angeles by City Atty. Mike Feuer, says the largest California-based bank encouraged its employees to engage “in unfair, unlawful and fraudulent conduct” through a pervasive culture of high-pressure sales. Employees misused customers' confidential information and often failed to close unauthorized accounts even when customers complained, the suit alleges.

Some employees went so far as to raid client accounts for money to open additional accounts, the suit alleges.

Employees say intense sales demands at Wells Fargo branches create a dilemma for many: cheat or risk being fired. Bank officials say they make ethical conduct a priority. ( E. Scott Reckard )
“The result is that Wells Fargo has generated a virtual fee-generating machine, through which its customers are harmed, its employees take the blame, and Wells Fargo reaps the profit,” the lawsuit alleges.

Wells has blamed the problems on a few rogue employees who the bank has appropriately disciplined or fired. The city's investigation, however, found only token efforts by Wells to prevent customer abuses.

“On the rare occasions when Wells Fargo did take action against its employees for unethical sales conduct, Wells Fargo further victimized its customers by failing to inform them of the breaches, refund fees they were owed, or otherwise remedy the injuries that Wells Fargo and its bankers have caused,” according to the suit.

Wells Fargo has long boasted to investors of its unrivaled success in selling additional accounts and services to customers. In a statement, the bank said it would vigorously defend itself against the allegations.


Wells Fargo accuses workers of opening fake accounts to meet goals

“Wells Fargo's culture is focused on the best interests of its customers and creating a supportive, caring and ethical environment for our team members,” the bank said. “This includes training, audits and processes that work together to support our Vision & Values and our commitment to customers receiving only the products and services they need and will benefit from.”

The suit was filed under an unfair-business-practices law that permits attorneys representing large California cities to seek redress for customers throughout the state. It contends Wells Fargo employees violated state and federal laws by misusing confidential information and by failing to notify customers when their personal data were breached.

“We're very concerned that consumers be told whenever their information is used for unauthorized purposes,” Feuer said.

We're very concerned that consumers be told whenever their information is used for unauthorized purposes.- City Atty. Mike Feuer

The lawsuit seeks a court order shutting down the alleged wrongdoing, along with penalties of up to $2,500 for every violation and restitution for customers who were harmed. If it succeeds in Los Angeles County Superior Court, it would apply to all residents of the county and perhaps to people outside its boundaries, Feuer said.

Feuer said he began investigating in reaction to a December 2013 Times story on sales pressure at Wells Fargo branches across the country. The story relied on about three dozen former and current Wells staffers, along with a review of internal bank documents and lawsuits filed against the bank.
The employees described how staffers, fearing retribution from managers, begged friends and family members to open ghost accounts; opened accounts that they knew customers didn't want; forged signatures on account paperwork; and falsified phone numbers of angry customers so they couldn't be reached for customer satisfaction surveys.


“Your work was the catalyst for ours,” Feuer said in an interview.

In addition to charging fees on unwanted accounts, San Francisco-based Wells Fargo harmed customers by placing them into collections based on unauthorized withdrawals and reported damaging information on their credit reports when unwarranted fees went unpaid, the suit alleges.
After the December 2013 Times story, dozens of employees and customers reported similar problems, and those complaints continue today.

Siham El-Dahan said she has held financial services jobs for more than 20 years and joined Wells in May 2013, working as a business banker in the San Fernando Valley until she was fired two weeks ago.

The road to corporate greed is paved with nickel-and-dime bank charges. ( David Lazarus )
El-Dahan said she sought help from the bank's human-relations department beginning in September. She said her managers played favorites, denied employees' breaks that are required by law and regularly threatened employees about meeting sales quotas.

Employees responded by opening bogus accounts for customers who didn't want them on a “daily” basis, she told The Times.

When she asked to be transferred to another branch, she was referred back to her managers, she said. An emailed letter of complaint to bank directors and a signed letter to Wells Fargo's chief executive, John Stumpf, drew no response, El-Dahan said.

She believes she was fired in retaliation for speaking out. The stated reason was that a customer she signed up for a loan had defaulted, but she said she had nothing to do with the underwriting or approval of the loan.

Customers continue to report problems too. Frank Ahn, who runs a San Fernando Valley convenience store, said Wells overwhelmed him by opening one unwanted account after another — despite his repeated protests.

It started four years ago, he said, when he opened two accounts. Immediately, bank employees started pitching him on more accounts he didn't need, sometimes saying they must be opened by certain dates, which he interpreted as deadlines to meet quotas.

After repeated phone calls, Ahn said, he opened a third account he didn't need, as a favor to the banker. He was told there would be no charge, got charged anyway, then canceled the account,
“Then a couple of months later, I got three new accounts and a credit card I hadn't asked for,” Ahn said. “I called the 800 number and said I want them canceled. They would cancel them, but more would pop up later.”

Ahn then went into the branch to complain and have the accounts canceled.

“They said, ‘We'll get rid of them,' but they never did,” he said. “It got to where I had 10 accounts.”
Eventually, Ahn said, he got most but not all of the improper fees reversed. He would have switched to another bank, he said, but too many of his dozens of suppliers are connected to the account, making it impossible to untangle the payment systems.

Ahn, 33, who grew up in the Valley, said he feels sorry for people like his parents, immigrants from South Korea, who would not have the English skills to conduct what Ahn calls “a three-year battle” with Wells Fargo.

“This is making me a less productive person,” he said. “I should be spending my time improving the productivity of my business instead of this.”

Wells Fargo declined to comment on El-Dahan's and Ahn's stories.

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