Lowbar

Fuck California and Bank of America

At the risk of opening up myself to scorn and ridicule (what else is new) I've decided to chronicle my dealings with the California Franchise Tax Board and Bank of America because it is an interesting story and might come in handy to some poor soul who will have to deal with them in the future. This will be an ongoing report. I'll start in the middle, flashback to the past and reveal the latest developments as they occur.

Last Wednesday I went to use my Bank of America debit card to buy food for my family's dinner. The card was declined. I knew I had over $2,000 in my account so something was up. I went home, asked my wife if she'd run up any large bills lately, she hadn't and then, because I've been recently dealing with the California Tax Board I thought they might be the culprit. I scoured my house for any unopened letters from Bank of America or the Tax Board, nothing. I then looked at my online statement and saw that both of my accounts had been depleted of funds of around $2,000 plus a $100 fee that the Bank had tacked on for their inconvenience (can you believe those fuckers?).

I then called the bank to try and get some information. The guy on the line told me it was the FTB (Franchise Tax Board) that took it and that I owed them money (I don't... long story, I'll get there) and it was a "court order". I decided to close both of those accounts, no use keeping them open if they are just going to steal from me out of them also I didn't want to accrue any overdraft fees at $35 a pop for any miscellaneous charges that would continue to hit my account.

The next day I called the number of the Franchise Tax Board and I got "Eric" on the line. I have talked with this guy before, he's a complete tool. I asked him what was going on with my account. He said the Tax Board issued a letter to my bank to resolve my outstanding balance. I asked if that was a court order. He said no. I then asked who issued it. He said he did. I asked if he was an officer with any kind of enforcement authority (called a pocket commission with enforcement). He said no. I then proceeded to call him every name in the book and demanded that I get my money back. He hung up on me. Why would I call him names? Because he had no authority to take my money. He just issued a letter with no court backing it. That is unlawful. Tax collectors must follow procedures for seizing funds including getting what is called a Warrant of Distraint, a court order. A mere "notice" of a levy is not an actual levy and is not a legal document but it is an administrative one only.

"Taxpayers cannot be compelled to convey property to tax collectors absent a court order."
-US Court of Appeals Jan 25, 2005

"Notice of levy is insufficient."
United States vs. O'Dell

"Any person who mistakenly surrenders to the United States property or rights to property not properly subject to levy is not relieved from liability to a third party who owns the property."
26 CFR part 301.63332-1 (c)

So now my beef is with the bank and getting information out of these guys has been like pulling teeth so far. They swear up and down that they got a court order although I can't get anyone on the phone who has actually seen it. They all agree that if there is no court order then I should get my money back. Banks have a fiduciary responsibility to guard my property. If they give it over to someone without a court order they, the bank, can be held responsible and liable for damages. I have requested that the actual letter that the Tax Board sent to the bank be sent to me. So far the only thing I have gotten from the bank is a letter that reads: "On November 17th we received a State of California Franchise Tax Board in the amount of $2000..." Notice anything wrong with that sentence? It's incomplete. You received a what? They don't say because they can't. They just received a god dammed letter from a god dam pencil pusher from the state and that's it.

I know they don't have a court order. Eric would not have admitted it if he did, that used tampon would love to wipe my nose in it. "Well maybe he didn't know of this other court order" the helpful lady at Bank of America guessed. "Or how about all of your "Notices' of Levy are not actually court orders" I said. "You never know." she admitted.

In our next episode: The bank sends me the letter (maybe they'll get around to it, maybe they'll stall) that the Tax Board sent them and lo and behold there is no court order. I then contact the bank to get my money back. The bank stalls some more, can't get anyone on the line, have to fill out a form, etc.). My money is sent to the Tax Board and the bank claims they can't do anything about it. I prepare to sue the bank and get the idiot who attests to receiving a court order when there was none brought up on charges of perjury. And later in my tale I'll tell you how I got myself into this here briar patch.

posted by Howie Hardcore @ 11/25/2008 07:57:00 AM