A granddaughter expressed concerns that counterfeit checks could leave customers, particularly elderly ones, without refunds once the bank’s reporting window closed.
DALLAS — Billy Young wrote a check to settle his car loan.
“$14,952.52. I still remember it clearly,” Young recalled, taking a moment to collect himself.
The check was cashed, but not by the finance company.
The 83-year-old resident of Dallas was later informed by her bank that the 30-day billing period had expired.
“They see her as just another customer, but to me, she’s my grandmother,” her granddaughter Keshia Byers noted.
Byers decided to draft a letter to Wells Fargo, advocating for her grandmother to retrieve the lost funds.
“It’s heartbreaking, but what’s worse is that she gets so anxious during bank visits that she often feels sick,” Byers added.
Over the past three years, Young has been caring for her husband, a Navy veteran battling prostate cancer.
“Back in 2024, everything fell on me. I had to handle everything for my husband,” she explained.
In August 2024, Young wrote checks for both her electricity and car payment.
After receiving a disconnection notice from her utility provider, she called Wells Fargo on September 6, 2024, noting the date in her checkbook.
“It’s been 30 days,” she pointed out during the call.
Young was informed by a customer service representative that her electricity check hadn’t cleared.
“I mentioned, ‘Then let’s stop the payment,'” she recounted.
She indicated where the other check should be directed, but later found out from her banker that it had been cashed. However, the recipient wasn’t informed that it was handled by someone other than them.
The following month, when a bill arrived from her auto lender, it dawned on her that something was amiss.
“Now I’m frustrated with the car dealership because the money has already been taken from my account,” she expressed.
Young didn’t realize until she received a copy of the cleared check that the payee’s name had been changed to someone unknown to her.
This individual, identified in records as a local credit analyst, might or might not have been the one who cashed the check.
Young realized weeks later that a fraudulent cashing had occurred. She filed a report of the fraud by mid-October 2024, but the bank denied her claim. Her granddaughter then appealed on her behalf.
The family also submitted a police report to the Dallas Police Department.
Young shared her account statement with WFAA, which only showed the check number and amount without revealing who cashed it.
She noted that the signature on the check appeared altered for unknown reasons.
Byers later found out that the individual trying to cash the check initially approached one bank, but they refused, suspecting it was fraudulent. Eventually, it was cashed at another bank.
A letter from Wells Fargo in May 2025 indicated that “Customers must review their monthly statements and report errors or unauthorized transactions within 30 days. Claims will remain denied, and we won’t refund disputed transactions.”
Byers argued that Wells Fargo should reconsider its policies, particularly for vulnerable elderly clients.
Wells Fargo stated on Monday they are examining the lawsuit.
Although Young had been with Wells Fargo since 1996, she ultimately decided to close her account.
