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How Bank of America Gave Away My Money

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Re: How Bank of America Gave Away My Money

#121

Post by late2part »

scrummytim wrote: post #89
CPLX wrote: post #25

If you know a little bit about legal procedure dealing with something like this shouldn't be too hard. You'd file against your local bank based on the address of the branch you go to for an order to show cause hearing where they are tasked to show up and show cause as to why the transfer of money should go forward. You'd state the basic grounds of mistaken identity, propose a temporary restraining order barring any f…

> If you know a little bit about legal procedure dealing with something like this shouldn't be too hard. Well, responses on here vary from "sue the bank, it's their fault," to "contact/sue the LASD, it's their fault" to "contact the plaintiff's lawyers, they'll fix it" to "contact the defendant's lawyers, they'll pay for it or else." So clearly, this is likely to cost more than a couple afternoons. One day, a sheriff…

I'm sorry that happened to you. You shouldn't lose our 2nd amendment rights based on unsubstantiated claims that you can't defend against. Very unfair and not right.

Unfortunately, this is the law in California. But it should be changed, because it's unconstitutional and it's not right.

Re: How Bank of America Gave Away My Money

#122

Post by CPLX »

wilsynet wrote: post #113
CPLX wrote: post #25

If you know a little bit about legal procedure dealing with something like this shouldn't be too hard. You'd file against your local bank based on the address of the branch you go to for an order to show cause hearing where they are tasked to show up and show cause as to why the transfer of money should go forward. You'd state the basic grounds of mistaken identity, propose a temporary restraining order barring any f…

> You'd file [...] an order to show cause hearing where > they are tasked to show up and show cause as to why > the transfer of money should go forward. The article very plainly describes how he was not notified until after the transfer of money already occurred.

Then you'd file an OSC with a draft order to restore the money to the account. The only catch would be convincing a judge to sign it, which if you stated the basic facts reasonably clearly and had a little help making sure formatting was correct would likely not be a problem.

The overall point is that courts are just another system with a ton of formal rules and procedures, but for the average programmer/hacker type it's really not that hard to learn the basics of how things work and make some headway.

People have a slightly irrational fear of the court system (only slightly irrational, it is terrifying) that tends to be paralyzing. Walking in the front door of the court and asking for help, plus a little online research, can help quite a bit. There's quite a few options available to your average smart citizen who wants to navigate it alone.

Re: How Bank of America Gave Away My Money

#123

Post by late2part »

phkahler wrote: post #86

The error was committed by the LASD, their response here is wrong: A few minutes later, she came back with the bad news. “Why didn’t you call earlier? It’s too late for us to withdraw the request. The money was already sent to the court! You need to go down to the courthouse and ask them to show you the court documents.” It is not his problem what they did with the money, they took it from him plain and simple. The e…

Your anecdote about inter-carrier billing is a good one.

It reminds me of a position one of my best friends takes on "identity theft." He asserts it simply doesn't exist.

What bank's call identity theft most of the world calls "Bank Fraud." The banks don't want to eat it - so they lobby congress to pass laws making it your fault if a bad person tricks the bank.

tl;dr: Similar to how banks try to make identity theft your problem when it's really bank fraud.

Re: How Bank of America Gave Away My Money

#124

Post by uiri »

joshuaheard wrote: post #120
tstegart wrote: post #73

He should be calling up the plaintiff's lawyers, not BOA. Lawyers don't want to collect only to have to give it back. Find out who they are and call them. Any other attorneys involved as well. Once they have proof the money should not be given out, any ethical attorney would be very wary of handing out money. It's also likely the money will be sitting in the trust account of an attorney before it actually gets disper…

This would be my advice as well; talk to the Plaintiff's attorney. I have all my business accounts at B of A. I shopped around, and they have the best online banking services. Part of the problem is arcane banking laws. Since I opened the accounts at B of A in Texas and now live in Seattle. Even though I walk into the B of A office here in Seattle, my accounts are "out of state" and require all sorts of extra paperwo…

Is there no way for you to change the home branch of your account? I can imagine it being a giant hassle if the routing number would change. At least neither WA nor TX have state income tax.

In Canada, the branch number is part of it so that would definitely have to change but the federal government has sole jurisdiction over banks so out-of-province isn't an issue.

Re: How Bank of America Gave Away My Money

#125

Post by anonymousiam »

louhike wrote: post #3

I had the same problem with one of the biggest french bank. I saw an important withdrawal on my account in a city where I wasn't. I called my bank and I explained the situation. They told me I'll get the money back in one day. I asked if I should change my credit card in case it was hacked, they told me calmy it was just an error on their part because another client had the same last name. I just couldn't believe it.

About 20 years ago on a Saturday I was shopping for a new washer and dryer for a new house. I gave the cashier my Visa card (from my credit union) and was subsequently told that I was over my credit limit. (At the time that card had a $20k limit and no balance.) I used a different card and waited until Monday to contact my CU. They told me I had requested a balance transfer, but when I pressed them they realized that it was a different customer with a similar name (who was overdrawn on all accounts). Somehow the CU clerk decided to use my account because it had enough credit available to complete the request.

I closed all of my accounts at that CU shortly thereafter. (It was actually after a second fiasco where they failed to pay my property tax, but still withdrew the money from my account.)

Somehow cash under the mattress seems safer...

Re: How Bank of America Gave Away My Money

#126

Post by wyldfire »

instaheat wrote: post #115

I know how to handle these dumb fucks. (I had a Mortgage with them, that makes me an expert) I had a problem with them coughing up an escrow refund check, although there is much more to the story that would have most of you boiling. I filed complaints with a total of 3 agencies and received my check via FedEx Priority overnight not long after. Suck it, BofA. * Filed complaint with CFPB * Filed with Texas State Attorn…

CFPB was just called out [1, 2] by Rep. Jeb Hensarling as unaccountable and a "rogue agency". The head of CFPB responded in an interview this morning [3].

Mr. Jiang, you'd better get your complaint in now before they're disbanded!

[1] http://www.npr.org/2017/04/05/522756745/head-of-consumer-fin...

[2] http://www.npr.org/2017/02/24/516983751/rep-jeb-hensarling-c...

[3] http://www.npr.org/2017/04/06/522826544/consumer-financial-p...

Re: How Bank of America Gave Away My Money

#128

Post by Bartweiss »

Neliquat wrote: post #83
mikeash wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had something like that happen with a closed credit card. I don't know what the mistake was, but I suddenly had a $6,000 statement credit due to a misapplied payment. When I called to tell them, they offered to send me a check! After I declined the misbegotten windfall, they put in a little effort and figured out where it was supposed to go.

In many contries, if they send you a check, even in error, you are allowed to cash it if you choose. I recommend consulting a lawyer, and keeping it in a seperate account for a while before spending. Local laws vary widely, some jurisdicitions will disagree. Consider local and national laws as they may appy. Ianal.

I've actually never heard a story end that way. Pretty much all of them involve the bank convincing a court that a reasonable person would have recognized the error, and therefore you need to pay up.

Re: How Bank of America Gave Away My Money

#129

Post by Eric_WVGG »

uptown wrote: post #50

Reminds me a bit of this article -- similar names crossed up in beurocratic negligence. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/03/identity-the...

I read that yesterday too, good article.

Left me thinking that people who give their children names like River Phoenix or Seven Costanza might be on to something.

Re: How Bank of America Gave Away My Money

#130

Post by RUG3Y »

mikeash wrote: post #98
brianwawok wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/moneybuilder/2012/05/24/bank-er... Every story I have ever heard, ended with the bank basically saying "You owe us money. Pay us it back in 3 days or we are going to the police" Seems not a good plan.

Regardless, it wouldn't have been right to keep the money. Especially since doing so probably would have caused problems for the person who made the misrouted payment.

The bank generated that "money" out of thin air. The big scam is that it's all just ones and zeroes.
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