Wells Fargo & Company operates many banks in the Dallas area including some in retail locations such as local supermarkets. Recently the Department of Justice settled a discrimination suit against Wells Fargo and Company for what the Justice Department considered discrimination against individuals who are deaf or hearing impaired.
The Justice Department initiated its investigation of Wells Fargo & Company after receiving several complaints made by and on behalf of individuals who are deaf, are hard of hearing, or have speech disabilities.
Wells Fargo & Company was alleged to have violated Title III of the ADA when it refused to accept some calls made using relay services and instead referred such callers to telephone numbers with dedicated teletypewriter / telecommunications device for the deaf ("TTY / TDD") service.
There were also complaints that the dedicated TTY / TDD telephone numbers did not result in effective communication or equal access to services because the calls were not answered with a TTY / TDD and/or callers were required to leave messages which never resulted in a return call or access to services available to individuals without disabilities via telephone.
Wells Fargo & Company agreed to make banking more convenient and more compliant with accessibility laws and agreed to pay up to $16 million dollars in settlement funds to individuals with disabilities. The settlement was to be published in several major newspapers including the Dallas Morning News.
For information on filing a claim, see the information page here.
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