Would a bank be able to withdraw money from a checking or savings account if the customer also has a mortgage with them? The customer is having financial problems and has contacted the bank to try to get some help. The bank has refused and since the mortgage is past due, they stripped the checking and savings account to get the payment. By doing this, the bank is creating even a bigger hardship. Is this against the law?
What the bank has done is to exercise a "right of offset", which in most states, allow it to offset the debt it owes to a depositor (the account balances) against a delinquent debt owed by the same person to the bank. Unless your state has laws preventing or restricting the bank's use of offset, it probably acted within the law.
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What the bank has done is to exercise a "right of offset", which in most states, allow it to offset the debt it owes to a depositor (the account balances) against a delinquent debt owed by the same person to the bank. Unless your state has laws preventing or restricting the bank's use of offset, it probably acted within the law.
