Richard Hassen sent a message to John Stumpf that said:
It is unusual for me to take the time and effort to contact you regarding a personal matter; however, extreme frustration has driven me to express my dissatisfaction with the policies and procedures of Wells Fargo Bank, and in particular, their approach and handling of the PPP program.
Last April, shortly after the PPP program began, I applied to Wells Fargo for a small PPP loan. The application was submitted. and given an account number, 00135324. On a regular basis, I received a form notice stating they were "working on it" or some form of that message. However, I received no indication there was any problem or concern with the application. Shortly before the program ran out, I received a notice that my "application had been received and did I wish to keep it in processing, to which I responded "yes". There was no further communication from Wells Fargo.
When the new program resumed, I obtained a telephone number (866) 895-6425 and was finally able to obtain some information regarding the application. The information received was that my application has or was being denied because I did not have a "business account" with Wells Fargo. Now, in reading the government regulations regarding this loan, I did not see any requirement that I have a business account with Wells Fargo.
Some time ago, I spoke to the business account manager at the local branch (Riverside, California) who was apprised that my accounts were listed as "personal accounts", yet were used for the business which I had conducted over 40 years. The fact that they were listed as "personal accounts" actually saved money and operated the same and his advice at the time was to leave them alone, which I did. I now have four accounts and an open line of credit with Wells Fargo. One of them is listed as a "business account", but is in the "name" of the State Bar as an IOLTA account. The rest are labeled "personal accounts", but two are used for business purposes. At the moment there is an overall balance of nearly $500,000. As you may have surmised, the reason for my frustration is the dogged insistence on having my account labeled as a "business account" even though it is in the business name, is used for the business (and has been for the last 40 years, beginning with your predecessor). This act of denying a loan based on a label is unreasonably restrictive and I am seeking an exception with regard to my loan application. Obviously, my discussion with the lower level processors has been fruitless, since they have their "orders". Thus my appeal to your good sense in this matter. Is it reasonable to restrict an excellent, long term customer with a reasonably high balance from a loan based on the label on an account?
