I have been banking with Bank of America for years. I've had several checking accounts with them as well as a couple of credit cards (one personal and one business). I'm in California and am a home loan officer by trade. Needless to say, the real estate market here has been in the dumps for the last few years and I haven't made very much money in the last 3 years. When all my income dried up, I managed to keep paying all my bills and maintaining excellent credit for 2 years. Finally in July of last year, I just couldn't keep it up. I had to stop paying my credit cards. This resulted in Bank of America charging off the account back around April of this year. I have been squeaking by right now on about $700-1100/month. I'm even collecting food stamps and my daughter and I are currently on Medi-Cal. So my checking account rarely had more than a few hundred dollars in it at any one time. I managed to put together a deal that netted me about $2,900 and I deposited it into my checking account and immediately used it to start paying some bills, including my rent for July (I'm behind right now). I deposited the check on Friday and on Monday there was an $1,144 debit in my account! They took everything except the checks that has already cleared and they left me with a measly $100 in my account! This has caused me an extreme financial hardship. My rent check was also written against this account for $860. Now my rent check won't clear and my daughter and I potentially could be living on the streets! I know in England, where our law of setoff descends from, they are not allowed to take the money to satisfy a "non-priority" unsecured debt if it causes hardship to the consumer in paying their "priority" bills such as utilities, mortgage, rent, etc. - basic necessities to live kind of stuff. Here in the United States though, the BIG Banks can do whatever they want even if it means putting families with children out on the streets!!!
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