Wells Fargo glitch causes widespread outage, leaves customers fuming

By Will Hernandez February 07, 2019, 1:09 p.m. EST 1 Min Read

Wells Fargo customers got a rude awakening on Thursday as a system outage caused problems with the bank’s online and mobile banking services.

Some Wells customers reported on Twitter that the outage extended to credit and debit as those cards were declined at various merchants.

The outage even extends to the bank’s call center. American Banker called the bank’s customer service number and received an automated message saying bankers are unable to access account information at this time.

The bank said in a Twitter statement, "We’re experiencing system issues due to a power shutdown at one of our facilities, initiated after smoke was detected following routine maintenance. We’re working to restore services as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience."

Wells posted its first update about the outage at 9 a.m. Eastern Standard Time and said it was aware of an issue impacting online and mobile banking. An hour later the bank said on Twitter that it was “experiencing a systems issue that is causing intermittent outages, and we’re working to restore services as soon as possible.”

Wells_Fargo_building_morning_light_Bloomberg_News — Wells Fargo & Co signage is displayed on the Wells Fargo Center skyscraper in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Tuesday, July 7, 2015. Wells Fargo & Co. is scheduled to report quarterly earnings on July 14. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg

Meantime, Wells customers assaulted the company on Twitter and questioned the timing of the outage. One customer claimed the outage started in the middle of the night and that it was unacceptable for Wells to wait so long to provide an update. Other customers also claimed that the problem was going on for some time before Wells recognized the issue.

Customers began using a hashtag on Twitter, #WellsFargoDown, to voice their displeasure with the bank’s response and highlight the issues they were having as a result. One Wells customer said he couldn't get to work because he couldn't pay for gas. Another Wells customer claimed this was the second such outage in the past week.

Later in the day, a Wells spokesperson reiterated the bank's apology for the ongoing issues and said "we want our customers to know that any Wells Fargo fees incurred as a result of these issues will be reversed."

The bank has experienced a series of glitches leading to service outages in recent memory.

Will Hernandez

This article originally appeared in American Banker.