Lawsuit: Wells Fargo Charges Excessive Fees for Payment Processing Services

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Wells Fargo Merchant Services, LLC is on the receiving end of a proposed class action lawsuit filed by two businesses that claim it charges illegal fees for its payment processing services. The plaintiffs say they entered into contracts with the defendant per a Merchant Processing Application that detailed the fees they would be charged and the service they would receive. After signing what the plaintiffs were never told was a three-year contract, the defendant began charging them “unauthorized and excessive” fees that contradicted the terms in the agreement, the suit says. Wells Fargo allegedly stands behind its “Program Guide,” a 63-page document listing the terms of its contracts, which the plaintiffs say “could never be read in its entirety – and certainly not understood – by a busy merchant.” From the complaint:

“Through the Program Guide, Defendant seeks to backtrack from the agreed-upon fees and rates that have actually been reviewed and approved by the merchant and immunize itself from liability.”

The lawsuit claims Wells Fargo hides the allegedly illegal charges behind “deceptive language” and confusing billing statements that itemize fees only after they have been debited from customers’ bank accounts. On top of that, even if customers discover the questionable charges, Wells Fargo protects itself by threatening to charge them a hefty “early termination” fee of $500, the complaint alleges.

Even worse, the lawsuit claims Wells Fargo’s deceptive practices have already been noticed and chastised by federal regulators, the press, and the legal system. One of the plaintiffs, after fruitlessly complaining to the defendant itself, sought help from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which convinced Wells Fargo to “refund a few fees” and waive the early termination fee, the plaintiff says.

The suit seeks to cover a proposed class of Wells Fargo Merchant Services customers in the U.S. who “paid a fee not authorized in their Merchant Processing Application.”