by David Lazarus
Thousands of Wells Fargo customers received a rude awakening this week when they attempted to access their bank accounts via the Internet.
A box opened up on their computer screens seemingly declaring that if the customer wants to continue banking online, he or she has to agree to allow Wells Fargo to make all future communications electronically, not on paper.
Accepting this and other conditions then causes a second box to open, this time containing an 11,000-word document written in frequently thick legalese.
The document, Wells' "online access agreement," must also be accepted before a customer is once again permitted to bank via the Net. There's no summary of the voluminous contract's contents or any indication of what might be new.
Vallejo resident John Rice was among numerous Wells Fargo customers who had questions about what they were being asked to accept -- and concerns about being limited to electronic communication with their bank.
"I feel really uncomfortable with having to depend on the Internet to get important information," Rice said. "I just don't think it's as secure as some people think it is."
First off, I've read the 11,000-word contract. There's nothing in there that jumps out as being unusually customer-unfriendly. But there are a number of provisions that may be a surprise to people who've never taken the time to read one of these things.
More on that in a moment.
As for the online-only communication requirement, it's apparently not as bad as Wells has made it out to be. You wouldn't know that, though, from the wording of the bank's mandatory "E-sign consent" form.
It stipulates that "all of the disclosures, records and other information being provided to you may, at Wells Fargo's sole discretion, be in electronic form."
It adds that "information provided in electronic form will not be distributed in paper unless you contact the customer service unit responsible for the particular product or service you are obtaining and request a paper version of a particular document."
If you do this, however, "you may be subject to a fee for such request."
The document says customers can later change their preference about receiving "all information in electronic form," but "withdrawal of consent may cancel your access to this and/or all services available through online banking."
Not surprisingly, many Wells Fargo customers said they interpreted this to mean they'd have to agree to receive all statements, policy changes and other communications via the Net if they want to retain online access to their accounts.
Michele Scott, a Wells spokeswoman, said by e-mail that this isn't the case.
Customers, she said, "are not signing up for any additional online services such as online statements."
"By accepting these agreements, the way they bank with us today does not change," Scott said. "For example, if customers receive statements in the mail, they will continue to do so."
She didn't respond to follow-up questions about what precisely the bank means when it refers to all "disclosures, records and other information" being sent electronically.
Scott did, however, appear to confirm that Wells Fargo customers will indeed be shut out from accessing their accounts online unless they accept the two documents.
"If customers do not provide consent, they are making a decision to not accept the terms and conditions of using our online banking services," she said.
In fact, a Wells insider told me the main change here is that confirmations of online transactions will now arrive by e-mail.
The insider said the bank has been swamped this week with calls from people who didn't understand Wells' intentions. Call-center workers have had to be briefed on how to handle the flood of complaints, the insider said.
San Francisco resident Mark Wiker, who has been banking online with Wells for years, said he'd rather not receive any important communica- tions from the bank by e-mail.
"I get tons of e-mail, like most people," he said. "Lots of things can slip by and not get seen."
For those who do agree to the terms of the bank's E-sign consent, next comes the 11,000-word contract, which runs 21 pages if printed for off-line perusal.
Much of the document consists of boilerplate legal jargon typical to many customer-service agreements. Some of the provisions, though, may raise eyebrows among Wells customers.
For example, the contract states that the bank's online banking service may not be available "at certain times." In such circum- stances, it says, customers "may use our touch-tone service" on the phone.
What it doesn't say is that if you end up speaking with an actual human being during that call, it could cost an extra $2.
The contract also specifies that Wells, like most banks, may use third parties to process online transactions, and that if you don't use Wells' online Bill Pay service for three months, it might cancel your access to the service.
The contract says Wells can "in our sole discretion from time to time change this agreement by adding new provisions or by modifying or deleting existing provisions."
"Your continued use of the service following the effective date of any modification of this agreement or revocation of any waiver will show your consent to that modification or revocation of waiver," it says.
Moreover, the contract states that customers' personal information may be used "to determine your eligibility for products and services that may be offered by Wells Fargo affiliates."
It says that "Wells Fargo or any of its officers, directors, shareholders, parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, agents, licensors or third-party service providers" can't be held accountable for any damages that may result from use of the online service.
And after spending about 10,000 words on all that and much more, the contract finally states that "it is your responsibility to review this agreement including Wells Fargo's privacy policy from time to time in order to be aware of any such changes."
"Who has the time to sift through 11,000 words?" responded Wiker, who works for a San Francisco law firm. "Nobody does. A summary would have been nice."
For Jesse Dunn, a San Francisco Web developer, what really rankled was the way Wells just sprang the two documents on customers. There was no prior notice, no grace period in which the contracts could be considered.
"It was just waiting for people when they tried to log in," Dunn said. "You either accepted or you couldn't access your accounts."
In her e-mail, Wells' Scott indicated that the bank believes it's doing customers a good turn.
"Our intent with this updated online access agreement was to simplify our process in response to customer feedback about receiving additional agreements when enrolling in each new online service," she said.
David Lazarus' column appears Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Send tips or feedback to snipped-for-privacy@sfchronicle.com.
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