Wells Fargo admits computer glitch involved in foreclosures – Info PR

A crucial part of an effective PR apology is a change in behavior.

Words won’t suffice if an organization’s actions continue to do harm, and
apologies lose their effectiveness over time.

Now Wells Fargo faces another scandal, and communicators for the besieged
brand must dig deeper to provide a satisfactory mea culpa.

The latest round of bad news for the bank involves software that mistakenly
denied customers loan adjustments on their mortgages, a computer glitch
that may have cost people their homes.

CNN reported:

The

embattled bank

revealed the issue in a regulatory filing this week and said it has set
aside $8 million to compensate customers affected by the glitch.

The same

filing
also disclosed that Wells Fargo (WFC) is facing “formal or informal inquiries or investigations” from unnamed
government agencies over how the company purchased federal low-income
housing tax credits. The document states the probes are linked to “the
financing of low income housing developments,” but does not offer further
details.

The error affected 650 loan applicants, 400 of whom lost their homes.

Wells Fargo addressed the mistake in a statement. CNN continued:

Wells Fargo said in a statement that it was “very sorry that this error
occurred” and said it was “providing remediation” to the affected
customers.

A spokesperson for the bank [said] “there’s not a clear, direct cause and
effect relationship between the modification” denials and foreclosures, but
confirmed customers who were denied modifications lost their homes.

The scandal is just the latest in a string of PR crises for the bank, which
has been ordered to pay 2.1 billion in fines for issuing mortgage loans it
knew contained faulty information. It’s also facing other SEC probes. In
addition, the company paid penalties for creating
millions of extra credit accounts
without customers’ permission.

[FREE GUIDE: 3 things you (probably) didn’t know about crisis communications]

In this case, Wells Fargo has set aside 8 million dollars for affected
customers.

On Twitter, users noted the frequency of Wells Fargo’s PR disasters:

Wells Fargo yet again https://t.co/NRvHHEHXtx

— Brent Staples (@BrentNYT) August 6, 2018

Others found the word “glitch” too benign for the damage done to customers:

Glitch? THEY LOST THEIR HOUSES!!! If I were still practicing law I would make sure these families were FAIRLY compensated for this-NOTE TO Wells Fargo EXECS IN THEIR HOMES: do you have any idea how horrible it is to lose your home? And you call it a ‘glitch’…what a world.. pic.twitter.com/EZt6UQpfqm

— Greta Van Susteren (@greta) August 6, 2018

Others didn’t accept Wells Fargo’s story:

The customers lost their homes because Wells Fargo wanted to take them. Now they’re blaming a computer glitch. Not buying it.

— ???????????????????????????????????????????? (@liveoakgirl) August 5, 2018

Still others called for the entire business to be shuttered:

Can someone just close this bank. A total bunch of greedy thieves. Wells Fargo blames computer glitch for customers losing homes | TheHill #SmartNews https://t.co/bt96JE1leo

— Bob Kemins (@Pulver58) August 5, 2018

Many tweets charged that the series of scandals has done serious damage to the bank’s reputation, with many calling Wells Fargo “corrupt”:

Oh it’s just a software glitch… no biggie… @WellsFargo is one of the most corrupt banks in history. If you have an account with them, keep an eye on your funds. They have closed accounts on people before or cost people money. You could be next. #WellsFargo #scambank #corrupt pic.twitter.com/qnClo49eqf

— El Crypto Cubano (@ElCryptoCubano) August 6, 2018

What do you think of Wells Fargo’s latest crisis, PR Daily readers? How would you advise the bank to start rebuilding its reputation?

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