International banking giant Wells Fargo has refused to do business with Hogue, the popular knife, stock, grip and accessory manufacturer, because it is in the “weapons” business, the company disclosed this week.
“We were just informed that Wells Fargo Bank would not do business with us, refusing to provide their services based on the fact that we manufacture ‘weapons’ (aka knives),” Hogue said in a post on Facebook last week.
“Incredibly, this refusal came after THEY initially pursued us to gain our business,” it continued. “Once we had decided to go with Wells Fargo, they then pulled the plug saying they could not provide their services since we manufacture weapons.”
“Needless to say, we are shocked and confused – considering their logo is a stagecoach and driver with a shotgun too! We felt we needed to inform the firearm and knife community of this discriminatory stance Wells Fargo has taken. Please share,” it concluded.
So far there has been no comment from Wells Fargo on its refusal to do business with Hogue. The lack of clarification has led some to speculate as to who or what is behind the decision.
For example, some have raised Operation Choke-Point, a program spearheaded by the DOJ in 2013 to counteract fraud, money laundering and terrorism financing by encouraging banks and money lenders to cut ties with companies that may be engaged in nefarious activities.
Ostensibly, the point of the operation is to make it more difficult for bad guys to do business in the marketplace.
But critics of Operation Choke-Point wonder if it’s not just targeting bad guys, but lawful businesses that the Obama administration has a beef with, mainly, firearms and ammunition manufacturers.
SEE ALSO: Replacing Your Revolver Grips with Hogue Exotic Hardwood!
Could that be what’s going on here? Maybe, maybe not. Meanwhile, Hogue has been very appreciative of the response its received from the firearms and blade communities. Hogue’s initial Facebook post was 4,282 times.
“We’d like to thank everyone for all of the supportive comments. Overwhelmingly it seems that most people condemn Wells Fargo’s policy to not process credit card sales of ‘weapons’ (knives) on the internet,” Hogue said on Wednesday.
“It is our belief that if we were not firmly involved in the firearms industry, selling knives would have been a non-issue…for example, if we were strictly a cooking utensil company selling butcher knives. Despite this situation which we feel is unjust and unreasonable, we have been very supported by the knife and firearm communities, and for that we are thankful.”
We’ll keep you posted as this story develops.
And to think, Wells Fargo just gave a loan of $40M to Ruger while banks like BOA and Citibank are in full PC mode.
Not to mention the billion dollar fine imposed on wf for opening thousands of fake accounts for profit. I’m on my way to withdraw thousands of dollars from wf and close my account and I’m surely going to let the branch manager know why. I wonder what the real reason these lib companys are doing this are they secretly getting a kick back from the dems. These company aren’t doing this just because they feel there supporting a stupid cause. There getting something in return. In closing is there a list of company’s posted somewhere that support this at movement. This info Can be made available to 2ND amendment supporters, to boycott them. Very upset about what’s going.
I guess I need to change credit card companies. I know very well about the attempts to do business with certain card companies. I receive multiple requests a week. Very anoining.
Well I suppose it’s only fair; I discriminate against Wells Fargo because they’re a San Francisco-based Libtard bank.
I have done my banking with Wells Fargo for several years now. I also have a business account with them. After reading this I am furious! I am a “FREE AMERICAN” therefore I am a Republican and love to hunt, fish, and just get out with the family and shoot our guns “Lord knows we all need the practice” I will be taking my business elsewhere ASAP! Thanks for posting this! I will encourage all my friends to read this also! This may not seem like a big deal to some people, but this is how we wound up in the shape we are in!!! It is time for us to stand up and quit bending over!!!
I do not do any business with Wells Fargo and it will be a cold day in hell before I do any business with them. Wells Fargo must have a damn fool idiot Democrat running the business. I would like to see everyone avoid doing business with the idiots. Don’t let Wells Fargo help the idiot Democrats take away your Second Amendment gun rights for self defense.
To Wells Fargo, Banking, Credit Card, etc., We (my company) were just looking at moving our $2 million dollar annual business,
with Wells in the running. No longer. As a Molon Labe member there is no way I can support a bank with a board made up of chickens afraid of their own shadow.
No business from me
I won’t be doing any more business with them
Too bad I was considering taking their credit card offer but not now.
Yeah we left them along time ago because we felt they were operated by the mob. They are the WORST bank we ever had to deal with. Found later out they had already shut many businesses having anything to do with firearms. Then they bought one of our rental mortgages. We’re working on that issue. Most of the folks we dealt with were very nice but this is the company we’re talking about. Even with excellent credit, try being a couple days late with a payment. You’d think they were going to fit you with cement shoes! Mess with my gun companies? Like Target and many others that are pulling this crap on great businesses…..we’re done. And we damn sure let them know why.
We say it’s unjust to force a bakery to bake a cake for a gay wedding party. But now complain because some one don’t want to do business with some one else. I hate to say it, but we can’t have it both ways. However it seems odd that they would Court a business they don’t want. Seems like a message was being sent
I got sick of them 15 yrs. ago when they were arrogant bunch of shisters run by banksters..
I left WF years ago because of their crappy way of doing business. I support my local Credit Union and have my retirement check direct deposit there and keep all my accounts there. They loan money at a very good rate and their money stays in the community, unlike big banks. I would encourage everyone to check out your Credit Union.
No business with or near suck up business.
If WF is discriminating against Hogue for manufacturing Knives – are they discriminating against All Knife Manufacturers? I think Hogue has a case against the banks and gov’t if the banks are still doing business with any knife manufacturers.
Wells Fargo is a horrible group. They bought out my mortgage contract without our knowledge. Then notified us by letter saying…. we bought out your mortgage but it doesn’t mean you have a good credit rating.
Then I had breast cancer and my husband had to take time from work to care for me. As a courtesy to WF, I notified them that my payment might be 2 to 3 weeks late because of this.
When my payment was Only 3 days late for the Very first time ever.
We were awakened at 7 am on a Friday morning by a woman banging on our door.
My husband answered the door because I was suffering from side effects of my first chemo session.
The woman told my husband she was sent by Wells Fargo to make sure we were still living in the house and properly caring for their investment.
Then I got a letter in mail saying Wells Fargo was going to charge us for an inspection fee!
This was in 2005.
I pray someone else buys out my mortgage.
There is a lawsuit ongoing iN the form of a class action case. I have yet to see any reimbursement of any kind.
It’s not just Wells Fargo. I ordered a part from lantac usa a few weeks ago, they told me they couldn’t process my order at that time because their bank (chase) found out they were a gun parts manufacturing company and stoped their credit card processing. Yesterday. I received the part in the mail with a email that said to get in touch with them for payment.Lantac is awsome! We cannot let these companies discriminate against us gun owners who in my opinion are the true Americans. We must stand together and not do business with those anti American companies. Going from WF to B of A is like running from a angry grizzly into a hive of killer bee’s.
Wells Fargo is a trash-@ss bunch of pond scum.
I hate banks but WELLS FARGO is one of the WORST banks in this country. Americans that care about 2A should close their accounts with Wells immediately…that is the only way for these idiots to catch a clue. It is just disgusting.
“F” Wells period!
I wonder if WF lets their armed security guards bank at WF. Perhaps they will be happier when only the criminals have guns.
Wells Fargo told me that they would not furnish a business credit card because I was in the firearms business. Wouldn’t put it in writing, said I my credit was poor (fica rating 840). I had been personal banking customer for over 30 + years.
Time to switch banks, my friends. And let them know the reason why.
I just had a vision if a Wells Fargo stage coach racing accross a desert, it is 1878 … horses bellowing breath from their noses .. scruffy team drivers frantic to outrun a dozen or so desperados ( unknown to the drivers .. their Winchesters were replaced with Air Soft lookalikes! Whiskey .. Tango ..
I wrote to Wells Fargo and reminded them that they started out by: stealing mining claims in Montana! I also told them that I would move my Mortgage, chaecking and other accounts to another banks if they persisted in this behavior. I then asked them if they believed that the little “Cupcakes” living in the Bay area, could support their business and profits at the level which they have come to expect?
After hearing this we dropped WF from our business account. Will not do business with companies like this.
We abandoned the TBTF banks long ago in favor of a local bank. We do have a car loan with WF only because it was offered through the dealer at a rate we couldn’t refuse. But after it’s paid off, bye bye WF. Further, it seems dumb for WF to reject any customer after reporting a 98% drop in earnings in the last quarter.
I’m not sure where the good samaritan with a gun was but here in Tx you are not allowed to carry into a bank. Maybe it’s different where you live.
That is NOT true. You can open or concealed carry into a bank unless they have the proper 30.06 and/or 30.07 signage posted. Mina has 30.07 (open carry) prohibition posted but have no problem with concealed carry. Your LTC instructor should have covered this, if you have a LTC.
My wife and I carry in our bank open and concealed. We live in Arkansas.
Our society has become a really mentally ill one, collectively. People have become so conditioned to accept loss of freedoms and blatant injustices, all of which make no sense at all. We need to come out against all the restrictive and nefarious policies put forth by banks , businesses and our infamous uncle.
16 years ago I dumped these jerks after being their customer for better than 25 due to their lack of account security and their refusal to correct it. B of A**holes is if anything, worse. I wouldn’t trust either to take care of a wooden nickel. Find yourself an honest bank and stick with them.
This is a company that discriminates against minorities (proven in a court of law) and launders money for terrorists (proven in a court of law).
Anyone who is still doing business with this company is actively supporting people who harm Americans. Has been the case for years and years…I hope this Hogue issue helps bring the facts to light.
These people are evil.
I learned over 25 years ago that Wells Fargo took customer disservice lessons from BofA, so I will deal with neither.
From the Wells Fargo website: “Our “living logo.” A symbol of service and reliability [I guess just not security?]; of being there for you, now and over time.” I’m sure they have scrubbed all firearms from their 11 so called, “history museums,” so as to be politically correct, as if they had no one riding shotgun on them stage coaches. “…and that’s the way it was children. If we were ever attacked, we just climbed down from the stage and gave ’em a group hug and sang, ‘We Are the World,’ and then went along on our merry way.”
I thought congress had addressed this issue, but apparently not. Wells Fargo, even as big as they are, does not want to loose business. So I suggest that everyone, even private accounts, move their business to another bank. If they see that their idiotic policy is going to cost them customers (and money) they “may” change their policy. We had a local bank put up a “NO GUNS ALLOWED” sign in their window to comply with the liberal, anti gun crowd. We, not only, removed all of our investments, we also told them that we were not going to invest the money that we came in with. They said that they did not care, because of the amount of interest they were offering, there would be someone to replace us. We found another bank that was offering a slightly better interest rate. We told all my friends what happened and the ones who (supporters of the 2nd amendment) had money in that bank went and withdrew their money and moved it to this new bank. I than contacted the shopping center and told the owners about the sign. Come to find out, one of them, like me, was a retired army shooter ( and concealed weapons permit holder) and, not to long after that, the sign was removed. We still haven’t gone back to that bank and never will.
In God I trust, the government not so much.
John The Warsaw Wizard
Good move. That’s how you change a business’s policy- Hit them in the pocket book.
I will boycott Wells Fargo as of tomorrow. Who are they to even begin to infringe on our second amendment rights, businesses like this are anti american and I demand they remove the stagecoach rider from their logo. People of the United States need to stand up for their constitutional rights and not let anyone take away what our forefathers fought for…Look at Australia where they confisicated all semi auto and slide action guns from law abiding citizens,,and now who has guns? The honest citizen doesn’t.
Operation Choke Point is rife with abuse of gov power. Gov uses FDIC threats if increased audits closer scrutiny/delay of total banking business to target firearm related businesses and gov has been caught at it several times.
Many followers of the antigun nanny state continue to divest of firearm company assets/stocks. This could be another similar backlash.
Should be no problem to find a worthy financial institution that wants to earn money. Hogue should add to their bank contract that the new bank will send a letter to the Wells fargo Board of Directors a thank you note every year on the Anniversary of the account.