ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Ingrid M. Evans on NBC Bay Area Responds
Lost Bank Accounts: Don’t Always Look for Help From Your Bank
NBC Bay Area News recently investigated a San Jose widow’s struggle with Wells Fargo Bank over a $30,000 CD deposit that has simply disappeared from the bank’s records. The retired widow, Phung Aldis, says the bank refuses to find the $30,000 she deposited in a CD there back in 1996 that was to “automatically” renew according to the CD when issued. Ms. Aldis never redeemed the CA and still has the original, but the bank can’t find her money. She is not alone: 70 other customers in California have the same complaint against Wells Fargo and more than 500 similar complaints have been filed against the bank with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) across the country.
Local NBC reporters turned to Bay Area Consumer Attorney Ingrid M. Evans during their investigation. She was outraged on behalf of the senior consumer. “It’s astonishing to me that banks aren’t taking responsibility and keeping records as they should.” State lawmakers, according to Ms. Evans, need to broaden protections for bank customer deposits. “We need to push our legislatures to make a change,” she said. “We should ask them to request that banks be compelled to keep consumer records open for ten, 15, 20 years.”
In the meantime, consumers may need to sue their bank if they can’t get satisfaction. Consumers should also check https://www.sco.ca.gov/upd_msg.html for unclaimed property in their name. California’s Unclaimed Property Law requires banks, insurance companies, corporations, and certain other entities to report and submit their customers’ property to the State Controller’s Office when there has been no activity for a period of time (generally three years).
You can read and watch the entire story here: https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/It-Disappeared-Bank-Tells-San-Jose-Widow-it-Doesnt-Have-Her-30000-CD-491564781.html
Contact Us
Ingrid M. Evans and the other California and San Francisco consumer, securities, financial elder abuse and annuity and life insurance attorneys can be reached at Evans Law Firm (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Our attorneys have experience with complex financial contracts and large insurance companies. We can help guide your case through a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We also handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, qui tam and whistleblower law, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
