That's a point made in an op-ed in The Hill, Why Wells Fargo Got Away with It So Long by Public Citizen's Robert Weissman and AFR's Lisa Donner. The whole piece is worth reading, but here's an excerpt:
[M]ore than three years ago, a Wells Fargo customer named David Douglas sued in California, contending that the bank's employees and branch managers "routinely use the account information, date of birth, and Social Security and taxpayer identification numbers … and existing bank customers' money to open additional accounts." Douglas alleged that branch managers opened at least eight accounts in his name and created fake business accounts under his name without his knowledge.
This case should have gone to court but was blocked by a ripoff clause. Douglas's lawyers argued that an arbitration provision in a legitimate account agreement should not bar him from suing over a sham account he never agreed to open. However, citing recent 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decisions, the judge held that the ripoff clause in the original agreement blocked him from suing Wells Fargo.
In 2015, another Wells Fargo customer, Shahriar Jabbari, tried to file a class action against the bank, claiming that employees hid fees, refused to close accounts on request, and forged signatures and addresses. Wells Fargo publicly denied these allegations. Again, the judge ruled that the ripoff clause in the original account agreement forced any unresolved disagreement into arbitration, and Jabbari's class action was kicked out of court.
