Dear ABC News Fixer: Wire Transfer Woes at Wells Fargo
May 2, 2013 — -- Dear ABC News Fixer: My wife went into my local Wells Fargo branch to wire $9,500 to a friend in Australia.
She had all the information required to successfully wire the money, including the "BSB number," which is a code they use in Australia to identify a particular bank branch.
The clerk said he didn't need the BSB number. He tried to wire the money but was unsuccessful.
He eventually placed the U.S. funds back in my account, but subtracted a $550 currency conversion fee.
After countless hours and after escalating it several ranks, I finally found a branch manager who knew how to wire the money using the same information I presented on the first day. He even admitted that his colleagues did not know what they were doing.
We did finally send the $9,500 successfully, but I was charged $35 twice for two wire transfers, as well as $550 for the currency conversion on the first transfer that never took place. I have vast amounts of documentation. Please help!
- Erich Ziegler, Centennial, Colo.
Dear Erich: You told the ABC News Fixer you were just trying to help a neighbor who'd moved to Australia and needed to reorganize his bank accounts, when you got sucked into this silly problem.
Your Aussie friend provided you with the BSB (bank state branch) code to make sure the money transfer would go through smoothly. But that didn't help, because it apparently was not used. Crikey!
We passed along your frustration to a sympathetic soul at Wells Fargo and they promised to look into it.
And now the good news. Wells Fargo has refunded the $550 conversion fee and the $35 wire transfer fee. They also refunded the second $35 wire transfer fee, so now you're ahead of the game.
- The ABC News Fixer
Got a consumer problem? The ABC News Fixer may be able to help. Click here to submit your problem online. Letters are edited for length and clarity.
