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Wells Fargo auto-pay error leaves some customers in the red

Posted at 6:16 PM, Jan 18, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-18 21:16:31-05

Wells Fargo is in some hot water once again after an issue with automatic bill payments.

Some customers in Las Vegas had money withdrawn from their accounts twice, leaving them in the red.

"They had double paid every single bill that I sent out at the beginning of the week and it put my account at negative $376 and counting," said Carolyn Johnson, who relies on Wells Fargo auto-pay for ten of her bills, including credit cards and student loans.

Johnson unexpectedly received an email Wednesday that said her balance had dropped below zero.

What followed was a frantic journey through the labyrinth of customer service.

"When I finally got through to somebody, they just said, 'This has affected thousands of people and we're working on it,'" Johnson said.

In a statement, a Wells Fargo spokesperson said,

"The issue we experienced with online Bill Pay has been resolved. On January 17 an internal processing error caused temporary double posting of some items, impacting some customers. The issue was corrected overnight, and customers should now see their correct balances. Any fees or charges that may have been incurred as a result of this error will be taken care of. We apologize for any inconvenience."

Financial experts we spoke to said online banking is overall a safe endeavor, but it helps to do some self-monitoring.

Near-daily checks of your banking app will help catch any issues.