We're reader-supported and only partner with brands we trust. When you buy through links on our site we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Learn More. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date and time indicated and are subject to change.

The fourth-largest bank in the country, Wells Fargo, has reached a settlement in an ongoing lawsuit filed by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The bank will pay $3.7 billion โ€” $1.7 billion will be paid in government fees, and more than $2 billion will go directly to customers โ€” due to multiple alleged customer abuses.

Government regulators say Wells Fargo charge billions in โ€œillegally assessed fees and interest charges,โ€ which led to some pretty awful circumstances โ€” misapplied payments, surprise overdrafts, and even unnecessary car repossessions.

Are you owed some of this money? How and when will you receive it? Details are still emerging, but weโ€™ll share everything we know about this massive Wells Fargo settlement.

ย 

Eleven million Wells Fargo auto loan customers will receive $118 on average.

Wells Fargo customers will be getting $2 billion in settlement funds

The CFPB says Wells Fargo had โ€œsystematic failuresโ€ with their auto loans, resulting in $1.3 billion of โ€œharmโ€ that affected 11 million accounts. The way Wells Fargo-handled auto loans and loan payments created widespread problems with charging interest, giving promised refunds, and even erroneously repossessing cars.

So $1.3 billion out of the $2 billion going to customers will be given to the customers with those 11 million accounts. While these payouts will be given on a case-by-case basis, on average, these accounts would receive $118.

ย 

Deposit account holders will be paid more than $500 million for surprise overdraft fees and other errors.

More than half a billion dollars will be paid out to deposit account holders โ€” including $205 million for โ€œillegal surprise overdraft feesโ€ that had been charged for years, according to the CFPB. The bank reportedly authorized transactions, only to charge overdraft fees later.

Customers also saw their accounts frozen for an average of two weeks due to a โ€œfaulty automated filterโ€™s determination that there may have been a fraudulent deposit.โ€ These funds help pay for that damage.

Wells Fargo mortgage customers will receive nearly $200 million in the settlement.

The government says Wells Fargo โ€œimproperly denied thousands of mortgage loan modifications,โ€ even years after they knew it was a problem. This led to some customers losing their homes due to unnecessary foreclosures.

Nearly $200 million of the settlement funds will go to customers who experienced these loan errors, denials, and foreclosures.

ย 

ย 

If past settlements are any indication, affected customers will receive settlement money in mid-2023.

Regions Bank branch location

Thereโ€™s no official deadline given for when these funds will be sent to customers, but we have clues based on similar settlements.

When Regions Bank reached a settlement with the government, the bank credited refunds directly to the affected accounts, or if their accounts were closed, they mailed checks to the address on file. Chances are, the same payout methods will happen this time around, too.

Customers who were part of another Wells Fargo class action settlement got their payouts via check mailed to them in mid-2020. The lawsuit concluded in November 2019, so if this settlement follows the same time frame, customers will expect payouts sometime in mid-2023.

For now, thereโ€™s nothing you have to do โ€” but if you have questions about the settlement, call the CFPB at (855) 411-2372.

ย 

Wells Fargo has been called a โ€˜repeat offenderโ€™ by the government.

According to the official statement by the CFPB, โ€œWells Fargo โ€ฆ has been the subject of multiple enforcement actions by the CFPB and other regulators for violations across its lines of business, including faulty student loan servicing, mortgage kickbacks, fake accounts, and harmful auto loan practices.โ€

The CFPB invites anyone who is experiencing โ€œongoing problemsโ€ with Wells Fargo โ€” or any other bank, for that matter โ€” to submit complaints via the CFPB website, or by calling (855) 411-2372.

ย 

This settlement comes as Wells Fargo finishes paying out their last class action lawsuit.

Wells Fargo is finishing up paying out a $32.5 million lawsuit to their employees over allegedly mismanaging the companyโ€™s 401(k) plan. The deadline for receiving compensation from that lawsuit has passed, and Wells Fargo didnโ€™t admit to any wrongdoing.

The settlement also comes on the heels of two other high-profile bank settlements: Regions Bankโ€™s $141 million settlement with their customers for illegal overdraft fees and fall 2022โ€™s massive Capital One data breach settlement.

ย 

Wells Fargo Settlement: Bank Customers Getting $2 Billion