Skip to content

Carrier Management

Critical Information for P/C Carrier Executives

Highlights

  • Why Reciprocal Insurance Exchanges Are Back in Fashion
  • What Progressive and GEICO Q3 Results Reveal About Auto ...
  • How One MGU Grew Fivefold When Capacity Fled Cat-Prone ...
  • Carrier Management
  • C-Suite
  • News
  • Research
  • Leadership
  • Markets
  • Regulation
  • Top 50
  • Members Only
  • Join
  • Login
  • Boardroom Agenda
  • CEO / Chief Executive
  • CFO / Financial
  • Underwriting
  • CTO / Technology
  • Risk
  • Brand Management & Sales
  • Investment Officers
  • Claims / Legal
  • Talent Management
Chocolate, String Top Things Pets Swallow Leading to Costly Vet Bills
AI Companies’ Safety Practices Fail to Meet Global Standards: Study
  • U.S.
  • International
  • Industry News
  • Government
  • Technology & Science
State Farm Sued Over Policies Backed by Distressed Insurer PHL
Florida, East Coast to See Big Insured Losses From More Cat 5 Storms, Researchers Say

See all News

  • Executive Spotlight
  • Innovation
  • Strategy
  • Leadership
  • Performance
  • Growth Initiatives
  • Social Responsibility
Executive Utterances: On Presenting
Why Reciprocal Insurance Exchanges Are Back in Fashion
  • Reinsurance
  • Emerging Markets
  • Global Economy
  • Personal Lines
  • Commercial Lines
  • Specialty
Foundation Firmed: AM Best Switches View of U.S. Homeowners Insurers to Stable
How ‘Super Roofs’ Reward Insurers, Cat Bond Investors and Homeowners
  • Insurance Regulation
  • Securities Regulation
  • Accounting & Tax
  • Rating Agencies
Dozens of State Attorneys General Urge Congress Not to Block AI Laws
U.S. E&S Outlook No Longer Positive: AM Best
Texas ID Restrictions Could Prevent Illegal Immigrants in U.S. From Buying, Registering Vehicles
AM Best Downgrades State Farm Mutual Auto
Artificial Intelligence on Trial: What Recent Lawsuits Reveal About Casualty Exposure
What Progressive and GEICO Q3 Results Reveal About Auto Insurance Profit, Growth

See all Top 50

The Future of Knowledge in Insurance: From Training to AI-Powered Productivity
6 Warning Signs for Insurers: How to Anticipate, Respond to Pipe Freezes
Why Insurance Telematics Integrations Fail
How One MGU Grew Fivefold When Capacity Fled Cat-Prone Property Markets

See all Members Only Content

Benefits

  • News for the P/C Insurance C-Suite - Focused reporting from reliable sources and experienced financial journalists.
  • Research and Analysis Not Found Elsewhere - Exclusive content from researchers think tanks, industry experts and respected analysts.
  • High-Profile Peers - Interviews with thought leaders in the global and U.S. insurance industry.

Online Access

Complete, unrestricted access to the popular CarrierManagement.com website, which provides insurance company C-suite executives with daily news, white papers, advice, instruction and editorial on how to manage insurance companies more efficiently and more effectively.

Another Wells Fargo Lawsuit, This Time Over Merchant Credit Card Fees

Print Email
August 7, 2017 by Dena Aubin

A Wells Fargo Bank joint venture that provides credit card processing services to merchants across the country has been hit with a lawsuit accusing it of using misleading sales tactics and over-billing for its services.

The proposed class action, filed on Friday in Brooklyn federal court, said Wells FargoMerchant Services promised merchants that it would give them transparent pricing but charged them unauthorized fees and disguised the fees with deceptive language in monthly statements.

Wells Fargo Merchant Services, a joint venture between Wells Fargo Bank and payment processor First Data Corp, helps process credit and debit card purchases for businesses.

“We deny the claims and plan to defend against the misrepresentations outlined in the lawsuit,” Wells Fargo spokeswoman Sara Hassell said. Pricing terms are fair, and the accusations “do not reflect how we operate our Merchant Services business,” she said.

First Data spokesman Mark Murphy declined to comment.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of tour operator Queen City Tours in Charlotte, North Carolina, defunct Pennsylvania restaurant Patti’s Pitas, and other merchants across the country who say they were charged unauthorized fees by Wells Fargo Merchant Services. Hundreds of thousands of merchants were likely affected, the lawsuit said.

“Promises were made by aggressive sales tactics and then broken,” said Adam Webb, a lawyer for the merchants. The conduct goes back about six years, he added.

Wells Fargo has been grappling with a nationwide scandal over unauthorized accounts opened by employees in its consumer banking division and numerous lawsuits over its sales practices.

The third-largest U.S. bank last year agreed to pay a $185 million fine to the U.S. government to settle claims about the unauthorized accounts. On Friday, it said it would pay the government $108 million to settle allegations that it charged military veterans hidden fees to refinance mortgages.

The lawsuit regarding cards said Wells Fargo Merchant Services hit merchants with unanticipated or unauthorized fees, such as a $35 monthly minimum charge, after they signed three-year contracts that could be terminated only by paying a $500 penalty.

Wells Fargo buried some terms in a 63-page, fine-print guide that could never be completely read or understood by a busy merchant, the lawsuit said.

Statements sent to merchants described some fees as “interchange charges,” indicating they were imposed by a credit card network, when in reality Wells Fargo Merchant Services kept part of those fees as profit, the lawsuit said.

The case is Patti’s Pitas et al v Wells Fargo Merchant Services, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No 17-cv-4583. (Reporting by Dena Aubin; editing by Frances Kerry and Dan Grebler)

Copyright 2025 Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Print Email
Boardroom AgendaCEO / Chief ExecutiveClaims / LegalCommercial LinesIndustry NewsLitigation/Liability TrendsMarketsNewsRiskThe C-SuiteU.S.Underwriting

Was this article valuable?

Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article.

Thank you! % of people found this article valuable. Please tell us what you liked about it.

Here are more articles you may enjoy.

Artificial Intelligence on Trial: What Recent Lawsuits Reveal About Casualty Exposure
AM Best Downgrades State Farm Mutual Auto
Why Reciprocal Insurance Exchanges Are Back in Fashion
Pot Addiction Is Possible — What to Know

Related Articles

New York Regulators Seek Info From National General, Others in Wells Fargo Scandals
Another Wells Fargo Snafu: It May Have Harmed Customers by Closing Real Accounts
Wells Fargo Accused of Charging Improper Mortgage Fees in Proposed Class Action Lawsuit
Wells Fargo, National General Face CA Regulatory Scrutiny in Auto Insurance Scandal
Wells Fargo Admits Discovery of 1.4M Additional Bogus Customer Accounts
Wells Fargo Will Fork Over $108M to Settle Lawsuit Over Veterans’ Loans
New Wells Fargo Disclosures May Jeopardize $142M Customer Class Action Settlement
Suit Alleges Nestle’s Poland Spring Passes Off Ground Water as High-End H20
Wells Fargo Will Refund $80M to Customers Wrongly Charged for Car Loan Insurance
Wells Fargo Customers Sue Bank, Alleging Insurance Scheme Was a Scam

Latest Magazine

Carrier Management magazine
View All

Research & Whitepapers

Free Newsletter

NewsletterSign up to receive daily news!

News

  • State Farm Sued Over Policies Backed by Distressed Insurer PHL
  • Florida, East Coast to See Big Insured Losses From More Cat 5 Storms, Researchers Say
  • Chocolate, String Top Things Pets Swallow Leading to Costly Vet Bills
  • AI Companies’ Safety Practices Fail to Meet Global Standards: Study
  • Camp Mystic Announces Enhanced Safety Plans After Deaths
  • Victims’ Families Intend to File Wrongful Death Lawsuit in UPS Cargo Jet Crash

Latest Magazine

Carrier Management magazine
View All
  • C-Suite
  • News
  • Leadership
  • Markets
  • Regulation
  • Top 50
  • Members Only
  • Videos

Headlines

  • Why Reciprocal Insurance Exchanges Are Back in Fashion
  • What Progressive and GEICO Q3 Results Reveal About Auto ...
  • How One MGU Grew Fivefold When Capacity Fled Cat-Prone ...
  • The Cayman Islands Set Sail for Reinsurance Ops

Resources

  • Videos / Podcasts
  • Contributors

Popular Topics

  • Boardroom Agenda
  • Technology
  • Financial
  • News

Brand Spotlight

  • Cotality
  • HazardHub
  • Indico Data
  • Majesco
  • Verisk
  • Vertafore

Connect with us

  • Email Newsletters
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Do Not Sell My Info

Carrier Management

  • Submit Content
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us

Wells Media Group Network

  • Carrier Management iconCarrier Management
  • Insurance Journal iconInsurance Journal
  • Claims Journal iconClaims Journal
  • IJ Academy iconInsurance Journal Academy
  • Insurance Journal TV iconInsurance Journal TV
  • MyNewMarkets.com iconMyNewMarkets.com
© 2025 by Wells Media Group, Inc. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Site Map