Great LA Times exposé is here.
Open a checking account at Wells Fargo Bank and you'll have to sign an agreement that says you can't sue the company — that any disputes have to go to a private arbitrator, not to court.
But what if a Wells Fargo employee then creates a separate, bogus account in your name?
It turns out that arbitration still rules the day.
As the San Francisco banking giant faces allegations that its employees regularly create fake accounts to boost sales figures, courts have repeatedly turned away consumers trying to sue over the issue.
Judges in California and federal courts have ruled arbitration clauses signed by customers when they opened legitimate accounts prevent them from suing even over allegedly fraudulent accounts created without their knowledge.
Those rulings have flabbergasted attorneys bringing lawsuits against Wells Fargo, the subject of a 2013 Times investigation that found a high-pressure environment prompted employees to open unwanted accounts. . . .
(Read the whole thing at LA Times)
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