WTF? State of California taking money out of my checking acct?

Tsing Tao

Tsing Tao

What the fuck is this? I found out today the State of California took about $3000 from my Bank of America checking account for some supposed back taxes owed, when I never lived or worked in California before. Has anyone heard of this insanity? The BoA rep stated that they have the law on their side and the bank has to honor the State of California claim??

Again, I never even worked in California before! How does California even know I have a Bank of America account anyway? Is this Bank of America sharing data incorrectly?

The bank says "here is the State of California tax franchise board's phone number. You have to talk with them."

???

Has anyone experienced this insanity before?
 
I've had the state of NY take over an entire saving account due to lack of activity for a few years. No notice or nothing.

One day a statement came in the mail saying the account was withdrawn and closed 3 months ago

Very disturbing especially since it takes years to get the money back
 
They may have gotten your SS# mixed up, or worse, someone else was using the same number in CA. You should be able to easily clear it up, if you can get the info from FTB about what tax year(s) they think you owe.

Then just give them copies of your W2s from those years. It may take a while to get your money back. Still don't know how they could take your money without a lien or judgement. They or the bank should have notified you with a certified letter or something.

F*cking Kaliforna is a bulldog when it comes to money. They got me for a tax form messup from 5 years before and I had to pay fines and interest. They were correct in my case, but they still suck...
 
I cannot believe someone can reach into your bank account and take money from you without notification. The whole fucking point of a bank is to protect your money. If you cannot trust the bank to look out for you, then why use a fucking bank?

I am closing my BoA account after 18 years on Friday when I get back from my business trip.
 
Quote from Tsing Tao:

What the fuck is this? I found out today the State of California took about $3000 from my Bank of America checking account for some supposed back taxes owed, when I never lived or worked in California before. Has anyone heard of this insanity? The BoA rep stated that they have the law on their side and the bank has to honor the State of California claim??

Again, I never even worked in California before! How does California even know I have a Bank of America account anyway? Is this Bank of America sharing data incorrectly?

The bank says "here is the State of California tax franchise board's phone number. You have to talk with them."

???

Has anyone experienced this insanity before?
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Most likely California's Franchise Tax Board broadcasted the levy to all the national banks using your SSN and got a hit with BofA, which was all too eager to comply because it gets to charge you a processing fee of around $100. Even if the levy is made in error, which YOU have to prove, and you get your money back from the FTB, good luck getting the fee refunded from BofA.

If you have never had nexus with California the levy could be in error. Recall if you have ever owned property there or received any income sourced in California. If your BofA account is a joint account, the joint account holder should do the same. Also recall if you made any payments to a California institution that may have sent transmittals to the FTB, such as a mortgage holder.

Quote from Tsing Tao:

I cannot believe someone can reach into your bank account and take money from you without notification. The whole fucking point of a bank is to protect your money. If you cannot trust the bank to look out for you, then why use a fucking bank?

I am closing my BoA account after 18 years on Friday when I get back from my business trip.
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Not just someone, the Franchise Tax Board, which is very aggressive. The reason you are not alerted before your account is levied is because you would just withdraw your money to avoid it being taken if you knew a levy was possibly coming. There is no due process required for the tax collector to take your money. No court order is needed. By merely making a claim, even a mistaken claim, the tax collector has the legal power to take your money and it is up to you to prove that it was in error.

Pretty much the same thing happens if you walk through an airport with a bundle of cash in your possession that is within the $10,000 allowable and you are unlucky enough to be searched. It can be deemed drug money and confiscated without any evidence and without you being arrested and it is up to you to prove it isn't tainted cash in order to get it back.

Regarding your comments about the bank looking out for you, you are very naive to think your bank is in the business of protecting your money. If it costs you only $3,000 to break free of this delusion, consider it cheap tuition for a valuable lesson.

Personally I have gone through much worse with the FTB than a mere bank levy. California is broke and has been squeezing people for additional tax revenue. Until it happens to you, you are not aware of the extent of the government's reach into your personal finances. When a field agent comes knocking on your door without notice, you will know you have financially arrived.
 
As I said, I have never lived, worked, gone to school, or associated with the State of California in any way shape or form. I went to the website and found some more information - this is some income tax claim from 1994. I was living in New Jersey (with my parents) as I had just graduated college that year. I have no idea what I can show to prove any of that apart from a college diploma.

Shouldn't THEY have to show me some documentation they have from some company claiming I worked there??

As far as the bank goes, I am done with BoA. I will also close my investment account with Merryl Lynch and my credit card with them (BoA). I know the Credit Union I have here in Florida would never have done that.

As soon as it hits 7:30AM on the West Coast, I'll begin lambasting them, though I don't know what effect I'm going to have.
 
Update.

I called the number listed for the California Franchise Tax Board. It said the next rep would be with me in 1.5 hours, or it could call me back. So I did the call back. Calls me back in an hour and a half. I wait for another 20 min. Finally some dope picks up the phone and gets my info. Says "That's not the address I have on this account" and hangs right up! WTF

So I googled around and found another number randomly. Called and the lady asked how I got this number. I told her the story and how I got hung up on. She tells me this number is for legislators who have tax issues they need resolution on. I told her I wasn't a legislator but explained my issue and she said she'd help me this once. Dug into the file, found that the name wasn't even my name. It was close, but also had a note that read something like "match with IRS SSN by name" and said that someone must have did a typo and got my SSN.

She stated she would resolve the issue and gave me her phone number directly for future reference, and said she'd fax over to the bank to put a delay on the hold note until she could resolve it internally.

She was wonderful.

I am still stunned how a simple error like that can cause someone to reach into your private bank account and just take money!
 
Quote from Tsing Tao:

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I know the Credit Union I have here in Florida would never have done that.

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If the credit union receives a levy order, it would not act any differently than BofA.

Quote from Tsing Tao:

Update.

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I am still stunned how a simple error like that can cause someone to reach into your private bank account and just take money!
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It's not just "someone," it's the tax collector. For obvious reasons the FTB is very aggressive, but all state tax agencies and the IRS have the legal authority to levy your account without due process. Most people are oblivious like you were before this happened.

Congratulations! You got your cherry popped. You are lucky it was just a small dick that got barely inserted by mistake.
 
Quote from icarus618:

If the credit union receives a levy order, it would not act any differently than BofA.



It's not just "someone," it's the tax collector. For obvious reasons the FTB is very aggressive, but all state tax agencies and the IRS have the legal authority to levy your account without due process. Most people are oblivious like you were before this happened.

Congratulations! You got your cherry popped. You are lucky it was just a small dick that got barely inserted by mistake.
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The credit union account would never have been found. The BoA account was used in my federal returns several times. This is how they explained they got it.
 
Quote from Tsing Tao:

The credit union account would never have been found. The BoA account was used in my federal returns several times. This is how they explained they got it.
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I agree with you that the CU in Florida would probably not have been found by the FTB in California. But that's a bit different than what you seemed to mean in your earlier post when you said, "I know the Credit Union I have here in Florida would never have done that."

I read that to mean you think your credit union would have acted differently if it was in BofA's shoes and presented with the levy order. Now, as a former customer of BofA, I dislike it a great deal, but I don't think it did anything other than what it was compelled to do by law. But I do agree with you that without a levy order sent to the CU it would not have done what BofA did and would not have even known about the FTB claim against you.

In any case, I'm glad for you that their error has been cleared up.
 
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