But then it seems like people would never have get checks returned with a stamp saying “account is closed.” This has happened to me several times.
People all over the USA have moved from state to state and closing down old bank accounts to tie up loose ends. It sounds like those loose ends are never tied up. Therefore all those people living in different states are unknowingly racking up NSF charges on the “closed” accounts?
Again, that sort of thing would never mean the reopening of an account, in Spain (and afaik in any of the other countries where I’ve had bank accounts except for maybe the USA).
If someone tries to withdraw funds from a closed account, they are informed that the account is closed. It doesn’t matter if it’s the owner, his widow(er) or some sort of company. A closed account is, well, closed.
What do they do in the US, not just reopen the account but put you instantly in the red and charge you for being in the red? It doesn’t make any sense at all, even for the US banking system. After all, if that person isn’t even a customer of the bank any more (which could easily be the case), why would they put themselves through the pain of trying to collect those fees, rather than say “account closed”?
I would hope the bank could tell the difference between a check, which has my signature on it and the date, and other information that could show when I authorized the withdrawal, and an automatic withdrawal, requested by someone with no more to show for it than the form that I have already repudiated.
And when I did, in the case of the unauthorized automatic withdrawal specified in the OP, I would ask to see the signed and dated instrument that authorized the withdrawal. If the bank then showed me the original authorization of the automatic withdrawal, I would then produce the copies of the forms I signed closing the account and cancelling my authorization of further withdrawals. I would also show them the cancelled check showing that all my money had been withdrawn.
Ergo, the money the bank disbursed could not have been mine. Accordingly, the bank is SOL.
Nobody opens bank accounts and starts handing my money out without my permission. I would snap my fingers under the nose of the bank official and walk out. They can whistle for their money, or go after the person they gave it to and get it back from them.
My credit score can stand the ding, so they have no power over me.
Regards,
Shodan