Identity Verification - Update: Wells Fargo Propel Approved

[Anonymous]

So I applied for the Wells Fargo Propel card a couple days ago and since I moved recently, my application went into pending for verification. I called them and answered some questions but when the CSR tried to use my phone number to send a text and verify me, it stated I was ineligible for whatever reason. So this means I have to go to a branch and bring 2 forms of address verification (utility bills) and a government-issued ID. Here’s the problem: I live with my parents and the address I use is my dad’s who lives with his girlfriend. Her name is on the bills, so not even the last name will match up. Along with that, my drivers license has an old address on it. I’m just wondering if they are only looking to see that the address on the bills match up or if they require the name to as well. I certainly don’t want to look like I just took the bills from someone’s mailbox and create a bigger fraud issue.

And yes I should have just waited to apply when my address was updated but I used the same address on my Freedom app and was able to verify over the phone. Also I was supposed to be gardening after that but i couldn’t help it

Mod note:  I've updated your subject to reflect your approval; feel free to change/edit if you would like.  --UB

[AverageJoesCredit]

Sounds to me like there will be issue due to the addresses not matching up. . Good luck.

[simplynoir]

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@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
Sounds to me like there will be issue due to the addresses not matching up. . Good luck.

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This pretty much. The point of identity verification is for the information to match up to your app to prevent fraud. You can go to the branch and ask them if there's anything else you can do to provide proof for your circumstances assuming there is any.

[Anonymous]

Well I was able to get everything faxed through even with the Wells Fargo outage going on so we’ll see what happens. Hopefully I don’t become a thief of my own identity and get fraud warnings on every account I have

[Anonymous]

Update: My documents weren’t accepted since my name is not on the bills. They listed different things they could accept and the only ones possible for me were a pay stub from my job and 3 months of consecutive bank statements from somewhere other than Wells Fargo. I recently opened a Discover savings and a Chase checking for the SUB, however I would need 2 more statements. Most likely I would have to apply again by then, which I’m not going to do. Really unfortunate since everyone I talked to made it sound like I was basically approved but just needed verification. Another option is to have my parents change the name on the bills to my own for one statement, however I don’t know how good of an idea that is

[UncleB]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Update: My documents weren’t accepted since my name is not on the bills. They listed different things they could accept and the only ones possible for me were a pay stub from my job and 3 months of consecutive bank statements from somewhere other than Wells Fargo. I recently opened a Discover savings and a Chase checking for the SUB, however I would need 2 more statements. Most likely I would have to apply again by then, which I’m not going to do. Really unfortunate since everyone I talked to made it sound like I was basically approved but just needed verification. Another option is to have my parents change the name on the bills to my own for one statement, however I don’t know how good of an idea that is

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Why not just get the address on your DL updated (which you're supposed to do anyway) and then provide it in-branch?

They seem to be really trying to work with you, but if you literally don't have anything with your address other than brand-new bills I can understand their hesitation, since they have to follow 'know your customer' guidelines.

If they need something other than an updated DL and you don't want to wait, you might consider vehicle registration (which you can probably update at the same time you update your DL) or a voter registration card, which often takes less than 30 days to receive. 

If none of these is an option for whatever reason I would suggest to simply reapply once your DL and other documents have your new address.

[xaximus]

I believe you can go to the DMV and update your address and get a temporary driver's license that has your correct address on it. That should be able to work if you go in-branch.

[Anonymous]

I did update my address with the DMV, but no new documentation is given. You’re just supposed to write your new address on the back of your license which obviously doesn’t help me. I don’t really want to hassle with the DMV for a temp ID either. They didn’t say anything about the address not matching on my ID, just the bills so hopefully that isn’t a problem. I’ll call them about the voter card to see if they accept that and if so, I could use that plus a pay stub. If nothing ends up working, maybe I’ll just wait until the address updates on my CR and apply again with the hope of an instant approval, as long as they don’t flag me or anything

[Anonymous]

So back in February I applied for the WF Propel and it went to pending for identity verification. I won’t explain everything because my first post did (linked below) but I will give a brief overview. Basically, I was in a peculiar situation where I couldn’t verify myself over the phone (even though I did with Chase) nor in branch because I live with my parents and have no bills or anything with my name on them.

Now, being that I had no other option, I attempted to go in branch and fax in some bills that had the same address but a different name along with my ID. A couple days later, I call them and they say that they haven’t received anything. So I go back in branch where I talk with a banker and he calls credit services and verifies himself, hands the phone to me and I verify myself. When I hand the phone back, they ask the banker something and he states, “yes, he is sitting right in front of me.” I thought maybe that would do it, but they wanted the documents which I understand. So I fax them in again.

I checked the status line many times over the next 2 days, the first day it went to “under review” and the 2nd day it went back to the same declined message because of identity verification. I was hopeful but can’t say I was surprised since it was a different name. When I called them again, they gave me all the options of documents that I could send in. The only things I could possibly have were 3 consecutive statements from another bank, and a pay stub from my job. I had opened a Chase account in January, so I couldn’t do anything until I got my 3rd statement in April.

Fast forward to this Monday, April 1st, I get my 3rd statement online and print them all out. Keep in mind, this is my 57th out of 60 days until I would have to apply again. I go to the branch again and fax everything in. Once again, I check the status line all day and it goes into “under review.” On Tuesday, I continue to check and at 5 pm it was the same message. I don’t check until 10 pm when the message has now changed back to declined for identity verification.

So today, the 59th out of 60 days, I call them again. They said they accepted the bank statements but still needed one more document. I told them I sent a pay stub as well but they said they didn’t get it, which makes no sense because I sent it with the statements. So I had to go in branch yet again and fax in the pay stub. Hopefully they receive it and are able to review it in time. If they don’t, should I even apply again?

Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise. Everyone knows what happened with Wells Fargo and many people won’t do business with them ever again. Personally, I’ve had no problems with them since 2011 but who knows what the future holds. If it was this difficult just to apply, actually owning the card might not be such a pleasant experience. I realize that this all happened because of fraud protection and they want to make sure it’s really me but it’s just so frustrating that I can’t prove that I’m me. So if I don’t end up getting the card, should I just go for a different one? Or apply again? I do love the card and will use it a lot, but I’m not sure if it’s worth the effort.

First post: https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Applications/Identity-Verification/m-p/5504857#M221966

[Anonymous]

That’s a whole lot of work for a credit card. I would have told them where they could stick their card a long time ago, I applaud your patience!

There is literally a sea of cards out there, if you don’t get it I would throw away the idea of Wells Fargo and go somewhere else.