In October of the same month my 19-month-old daughter was born, I was solicited by Bank of America to open a small business line of credit. I was trying to realize one of the American dreams and start a small 50/50 partnership with my wife. It seemed like a good idea at the time... It wasn't.
I have been with Bank of America personal banking for almost 15 years with no complaints, though as of late their overall customer service ratings have fallen drastically. This is a financial institution that has simply become too big for the good of its clients and, ultimately, itself.
I was harrassed by Bank of America Small Business Services for almost a year.in February of my wife and I were involved in a serious automobile accident with injuries, and we were both in physical therapy, out of commission, and trying to raise a child for virtually all of calendar year 2006.
We filed suit against the at-fault driver's insurance company as well as our own insurance company, but the net settlement monies were barely enough to pay off the medical bills we had incurred. Having gone almost a year without income, we were forced to begin paying living expenses with lines of credit.
We are finally back on our feet, literally and financially. We are doing quite well, actually, and every creditor has considered our hardship and worked with us through the repayment process... With one glaring exception.
Bank of America Small Business Services has gone from harrassing us to terrorizing us. Three days ago, they depleted the funds in my checking account to $0.00 leaving me unable to pay even the most basic of living expenses, and they have made it clear that they will continue to deplete any Bank of America account with my name or my wife's name on it.
Apparently, they can do this without a court order because Bank of America is all one entity. Even the Internal Revenue Service, which is often considered to be quite notorious, cannot deplete all of your funds without a court order, and they are willing to work with people in the event of hardship.
We are currently seeking another bank through which to conduct our business and we have placed what money we have left in my daughter's custodial savings account, which we hope they can't pillage at will. I have been forced to contact my attorney, and he is currently conducting research to see if we can successfully file an injunction and prevail in a civil suit against one of the world's largest financial institutions.
I am too disgusted to even include some of the comments made by the "account specialists" I have spoken to, but one includes, "Well, you should have thought about this before you got into a car accident." What has happened to our country?
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