Tester to Wells Fargo: Reverse Course and Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
Senator Calls on Wells Fargo to Drop Motion to Force Fraud Victims into Arbitration
(U.S. Senate)- Moments after securing a major assurance from Wells Fargo, U.S. Senator Jon Tester is calling on the bank to put its money where its mouth is.
Tester today received assurance from Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan during a Senate Banking Committee hearing that the bank will not force victims into arbitration when seeking justice for opening fraudulent accounts in their name.
After Sloan's testimony, Tester is now calling on the CEO to follow through with his commitment and drop a motion in a federal class action lawsuit that requires victims of Wells Fargo's fraudulent actions to waive their right to sue and seek justice.
"Wells Fargo must be held fully accountable for their actions," Tester said. "I take Mr. Sloan at his word and Wells Fargo must reverse its course, stop denying folks the ability to seek justice, and drop their forced arbitration clauses in all class action lawsuits going forward in cases of fraudulent accounts."
Forced arbitration clauses block consumers from suing a company over fraudulent actions and require them to seek recourse through a third-party arbitrator fault.
Tester is specifically referring to a federal court case in Utah where Wells Fargo is requesting the court force victims of fraud to enter into forced arbitration.
Despite Sloan telling Tester that Wells Fargo was not and had not engaged in forced arbitration, Wells Fargo's attorney filed this forced arbitration motion two weeks ago.
The federal court case in Utah is one of several pending lawsuits regarding Wells Fargo fraudulent actions.
Tester last year sponsored legislation to eliminate the ability of any bank to force customers into arbitration on any issue associated with fraudulent accounts.
