I had a checking account that I asked to be closed on 6/8/07 at my credit union. I opened a new checking account at that time and requested checks for my new account on 8/15/07. I received the checks and started writing them to creditors.
The first check should have cleared on 8/31/07, but because of the holiday on 9/3/07, it had not (at least I thought that it hadn't). I called the bank to ask them if my checks were showing as pending and found out that my credit union gave me checks on the account that was closed.
I had (unknowingly) written several checks on the account that was closed and now the bank is holding the available funds from my open account until the matter is resolved. Can they do this? What should I do?
You wrote the checks, intending that they be paid from the new account. An error was made, and the credit union's actions in tying up your new account until things can be straightened out seem reasonable. They will want to know how many other checks you've written, so they can move money from the new account to the old one to make sure all the checks can be paid.
It would not be reasonable for you to expect the credit union to work with you to resolve the error quickly, but that means that you'll need to work with them, too. A refund of any overdraft fees certainly seems reasonable, since the credit union appears to have caused the problem.
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You wrote the checks, intending that they be paid from the new account. An error was made, and the credit union's actions in tying up your new account until things can be straightened out seem reasonable. They will want to know how many other checks you've written, so they can move money from the new account to the old one to make sure all the checks can be paid.