Bank held government lien to protect already secured assets. I'm in New York City. Yesterday I went to deposit money into my corporate account for the first time in several weeks. The bank stated that they had closed both my corporate and personal accounts and locked my line of credit. There had been a judgment from the New York State Department of Labor which I thought had been satisfied on September 7, 2001. The lien happened to be for about $100 less than what was in the account that day and the funds were summarily deducted. The bank, however, held the funds as protection against my line of credit, which I have learned they are allowed to do. But the line of credit was collaterized against two interest-bearing instruments. In the meantime, the state never got their money and was gearing up to issue another lien on my corporation. The branch manager stated that the bank had already reported the activity to the various bureaus and agencies, which would make it impossible for me to open another checking account elsewhere under the same corporation. She also held on to all my deposits, claiming that all of the deposits would be applied against my loan. These actions would have bankrupted me immediately.
Before the day was over, they agreed to re-open my checking accounts and return to me the funds from my deposits in excess of the lien (which, as I said, I thought had already been excercised).
What are my rights, if any, and where can I turn for help? |