BEAVERTON, Ore. - A single mom from Scappoose blames Wells Fargo for the fact that she's still unemployed - because the bank will charge a fee everytime someone tries to get a reference on her.
Kelli DeWolfe cherishes every second she gets to spend with her little boy, Ryder, but even she admits it is time to get back to work.
Lucky for her, she thinks she has found the perfect gig. "It's a great job, something I would love to do," said DeWolfe. "Working with people, making a difference in somebody's life, and that's what everybody wants to do," she added.
Kelli's resume is not too shabby either. Her last job was at Wells Fargo. She worked as a collection specialist for about a year. "I did inbound and outbound calls for collections on home equity and car loans," she said.
But now it is Kelli who is looking for a $20 loan. That is the amount Kelli's prospective employer is being charged by Wells Fargo to verify her past employment. "We have 281,000 employees," said Wells Fargo spokesperson Tom Unger. "You can imagine how long it would take to go through employee verification calls each week," he added.
Unger said the company's policy has been in place for about ten years, but it is not sitting well with DeWolfe. "I would say hogwash," she said.
Unger said DeWolfe could pay the $20 fee herself since her prospective employer will not. In turn, Wells Fargo would reimburse her, but that is not an option for DeWolfe. "I have a son to provide for," she said. "If they ask me to pay that out of my pocket it's difficult," she added.
For now, DeWolfe hopes there is a way around Wells Fargo's policy. "I've been looking for that job, I want to go to everyday," said DeWolfe. "I think I've found it, it's just out of my grasp."
