Comments on: The Dangers Of Leaving A Bank Account Open http://www.pfadvice.com/2007/03/20/the-dangers-of-leaving-a-bank-account-open/ Bridging the gap between saving money and investing Tue, 07 Oct 2008 07:08:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Michael http://www.pfadvice.com/2007/03/20/the-dangers-of-leaving-a-bank-account-open/#comment-255454 Michael Wed, 27 Feb 2008 21:52:15 +0000 http://www.pfadvice.com/2007/03/20/the-dangers-of-leaving-a-bank-account-open/#comment-255454 Bank of America nearly wiped out my savings account. I had been working abroad for a couple of years, leaving the account idle (interest payments covered services fees) so I thought I was safe. Then I received a letter through the post "This is to notify you that your account will be closed and the any funds will be transferred to the state of California unless a transaction is made within the next two weeks". Well it had taken about a week to get here, and now I had less than a week to make a transaction. I tried our local cash machines which are linked to all the international networks - they didn't work. I tried transferring money online - international transfers weren't possible. I had to get my parents to go to a bank and make a international money transfer. And guess what? Not only were my parents charged a service fee for making the transfer, but Bank of America also "double dipped" by charging my account a fee!!! Bank of America nearly wiped out my savings account. I had been working abroad for a couple of years, leaving the account idle (interest payments covered services fees) so I thought I was safe. Then I received a letter through the post “This is to notify you that your account will be closed and the any funds will be transferred to the state of California unless a transaction is made within the next two weeks”. Well it had taken about a week to get here, and now I had less than a week to make a transaction. I tried our local cash machines which are linked to all the international networks - they didn’t work. I tried transferring money online - international transfers weren’t possible. I had to get my parents to go to a bank and make a international money transfer. And guess what? Not only were my parents charged a service fee for making the transfer, but Bank of America also “double dipped” by charging my account a fee!!!

]]> By: The carnivals of the day - Blunt Money http://www.pfadvice.com/2007/03/20/the-dangers-of-leaving-a-bank-account-open/#comment-30706 The carnivals of the day - Blunt Money Tue, 27 Mar 2007 00:00:44 +0000 http://www.pfadvice.com/2007/03/20/the-dangers-of-leaving-a-bank-account-open/#comment-30706 [...] The Dangers of Leaving a Bank Account Open (who knew there could be a problem with that?) - Early Payoff: The Great Mortgage Debate (seeings [...] [...] The Dangers of Leaving a Bank Account Open (who knew there could be a problem with that?) - Early Payoff: The Great Mortgage Debate (seeings [...]

]]> By: 80th Carnival of Debt Reduction - Millionster.com - Personal Finance, Business, Investing and Life http://www.pfadvice.com/2007/03/20/the-dangers-of-leaving-a-bank-account-open/#comment-30647 80th Carnival of Debt Reduction - Millionster.com - Personal Finance, Business, Investing and Life Mon, 26 Mar 2007 19:43:05 +0000 http://www.pfadvice.com/2007/03/20/the-dangers-of-leaving-a-bank-account-open/#comment-30647 [...] Strain presents The Dangers Of Leaving A Bank Account Open posted at Personal Finance [...] [...] Strain presents The Dangers Of Leaving A Bank Account Open posted at Personal Finance [...]

]]> By: Cindy http://www.pfadvice.com/2007/03/20/the-dangers-of-leaving-a-bank-account-open/#comment-29557 Cindy Thu, 22 Mar 2007 00:07:06 +0000 http://www.pfadvice.com/2007/03/20/the-dangers-of-leaving-a-bank-account-open/#comment-29557 There's one exception to this (keeping an old unused bank account open).... In Britain (where my husband is from and where we lived for 3+ years) your credit rating is directly attached to your banking accounts. Basically to get a cell phone, rental agreement, credit cards, etc., you need a letter from your bank saying you are a member in good standing. Most banks won't give you this letter unless you've been a member for 1-3 years. When we first moved to the UK, I couldn't get a cell phone (only pay-as-you-go), I couldn't rent through most rental agencies, and forget a credit card, even though my credit rating was above 720 here in the US. Thank goodness my husband had kept his accounts open while he was living in the US. So, if you are living in Britain and are moving overseas AND you think you might move back, it's well worth figuring out how to keep an account open in the UK. We just transfer money online between our accounts every month so the account stays active. There’s one exception to this (keeping an old unused bank account open)…. In Britain (where my husband is from and where we lived for 3+ years) your credit rating is directly attached to your banking accounts. Basically to get a cell phone, rental agreement, credit cards, etc., you need a letter from your bank saying you are a member in good standing. Most banks won’t give you this letter unless you’ve been a member for 1-3 years.

When we first moved to the UK, I couldn’t get a cell phone (only pay-as-you-go), I couldn’t rent through most rental agencies, and forget a credit card, even though my credit rating was above 720 here in the US. Thank goodness my husband had kept his accounts open while he was living in the US.

So, if you are living in Britain and are moving overseas AND you think you might move back, it’s well worth figuring out how to keep an account open in the UK. We just transfer money online between our accounts every month so the account stays active.

]]> By: Bob http://www.pfadvice.com/2007/03/20/the-dangers-of-leaving-a-bank-account-open/#comment-29251 Bob Tue, 20 Mar 2007 22:02:43 +0000 http://www.pfadvice.com/2007/03/20/the-dangers-of-leaving-a-bank-account-open/#comment-29251 I've seen this before too. My sister had an account a few years ago that the bank started charging a fee due to inactivity. This makes very little sense to me (as does the California law) you mentioned Amy. I’ve seen this before too. My sister had an account a few years ago that the bank started charging a fee due to inactivity. This makes very little sense to me (as does the California law) you mentioned Amy.

]]> By: Amy L. Fontinelle http://www.pfadvice.com/2007/03/20/the-dangers-of-leaving-a-bank-account-open/#comment-29164 Amy L. Fontinelle Tue, 20 Mar 2007 16:10:17 +0000 http://www.pfadvice.com/2007/03/20/the-dangers-of-leaving-a-bank-account-open/#comment-29164 You should write letters to their corporate headquarters until they refund your money. That's just flat out robbery. Also, in California there is apparently a state law that requires banks to close any accounts that have not had any customer-generated or written activity during a three year period. Any funds in such an account can be handed over to the state (escheated) and then you have to file a claim with the state to try and get your money back. It seems that banks will send out inactive account letters than you sign and return to them in order to maintain activity on your account and prevent the funds from being escheated, but it would be all-too-easy to miss that letter and have your money disappear. I imagine that losing money this way could be a real problem for some elderly clients whose minds aren't as sharp as they used to be. You should write letters to their corporate headquarters until they refund your money. That’s just flat out robbery.

Also, in California there is apparently a state law that requires banks to close any accounts that have not had any customer-generated or written activity during a three year period. Any funds in such an account can be handed over to the state (escheated) and then you have to file a claim with the state to try and get your money back. It seems that banks will send out inactive account letters than you sign and return to them in order to maintain activity on your account and prevent the funds from being escheated, but it would be all-too-easy to miss that letter and have your money disappear. I imagine that losing money this way could be a real problem for some elderly clients whose minds aren’t as sharp as they used to be.

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