Feeling Fleeced? That's the only way to describe the hollow feeling when you open asafe deposit box at your so-called"friendly" neighborhood bank and find the box empty. Nada. Has that happened to you? It appears that more people are comingforward every day to share their unfortunate experiences. And it isnot confined to one bank in one state: this is a Florida-to-Californiafleecing. Big Time.in our case, it took place at a Bank of Americabranch on State Road 7 in Hollywood, Fla. Sometimebetween August and October. I wish I could say it was anisolated example. A woman at another Bank of America branch in Tequesta, Fla.innearby Palm
Beach County wasvictimized by a rogue locksmith during the same period (this episode wasreported in the Palm Beach Post). At the moment, we don't know how the Hollywood theftoccurred. What we do know is that jewelry, cash and important papers weremissing when the box was opened during a routine visit to the bank lastOctober. Since no one had signed out the box during the preceding 14months, the mystery deepens. TheBank of America branchclaims no responsibility because of signed contracts that supposedly exemptthem. The fact that there were no video cameras in the safe deposit areafurther compounds the problem (at the Tequesta branch, video cameras caught therogue locksmith in action). Branchofficers in Hollywood insist this is the first breach oftheir safe-deposit security system and disavow any knowledge of the Tequestaincursion. Yet a friend at still another Bank of America branch inBoca Raton pulled her belongings out of a safe-deposit box there when sheinexplicably saw two unidentified names in connection with her box (thebank said the unidentified names may have been the result of a computerglitch, again during the same time frame as the missing goods in Hollywood). We contacteddetectives in the Hollywood Police Department andfiled a report on the missing property. The detective interviewed variousparties, filed a report and told us he could not find any questionablepractices that suggested an "inside job" or criminal activity. We alsocontacted lawyers in South Florida. And here's the kicker: if you filesuit, the lawyers cautioned, the bank will try to paint you as the villain, notthe victim. So if youare 91 years old, live alone, and have entrusted a sizable amount of yourfinancial security to a financial institutionthat is supposedly insured by the FDIC, what do you do? How manyother senior citizens who go to a bank to check on their futures are sufferingin silence through the same pit?
This is morethan a cry for help. If you have had a similar problem with Bank of America, please let us know.
0 comments