Can you sue a bank for a breach of confidentiality?

[quincy]

OK thank you I wasn't sure how to handle this situation now I can hopefully get it taken care of thanks again!!

You're welcome, Katrina. Thanks for the thanks.

Good luck.

 

[not2cleverRed]

I think because one got in trouble for letting my sister deposit an cash check without my consent then wanted me to pay the 1700.00 that was still owed after they took the 600 I had in bank already I refuse to pay any for the fact I wasn't even in town nor gave permission thats the only thing I can think of

And whatever you do, don't let your sister have access to ANY of your personal information.

While I understand your (legitimate) gripe with the gossiping employees, you should be equally disturbed by your sister's actions.

The bank has every right to get their money back, as your sister essentially robbed you and them. Many banks don't request ID for a deposit, so they did nothing wrong in accepting a check deposited into your account. As for checks written from your account - those could have been cashed anywhere. How is the bank to know she forged your signature on one of your checks?

Why did your sister have access to your checks? Have you filed a police report? You need to change ALL account numbers that she might have knowledge of.

 

[quincy]

Here for Katrina's benefit is a link to Alabama's defamation laws:

https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/2017/title-6/chapter-5/article-11/

 

[Taxing Matters]

As for checks written from your account - those could have been cashed anywhere. How is the bank to know she forged your signature on one of your checks?

Well, that gets into the somewhat detailed rules in Article 4 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) regarding bank deposits and collections. Most states (with the notable exception of Louisiana) have adopted most of the articles of the UCC. But what it boils down to is that UCC § 4-401 provides that a bank may charge the customer's account for any check that is "otherwise properly payable from the account". A check is not properly payable if it was not signed by the customer (or the customer's authorized agent). So the obligation is on the bank to check the signature on the check against the signature card to determine if the check is good and if the signatures do not match, the bank should not pay the check because it cannot, under the UCC, charge the account for that check.

In general, unless the check is unusually large, banks don't verify the signature on the check prior to paying the person that presented it for payment. Most checks are simply processed by automated means and no signature verification is done. That means the bank takes the risk in paying those items that the check is no good and the bank will end up eating the cost for that. Banks accept that as a cost of doing business.

But under UCC § 4-406(c) the customer can lose the ability to defend against the bank's charge to the account if the customer fails to notify the bank with "reasonable promptness" that the check was not authorized and improperly paid. This means that the customer needs to review statements from the bank when they come in to identify any problems and pretty quickly notify the bank of those problems. But if the customer does that, then the bank cannot charge the customer's account for that check. The bank can go after the forger for its loss, though, if the bank can identify who that was.

Of course, the bank can reverse any credits given for deposits to the account that turn out not to be good.

 

[quincy]

It appears that Katrina has a legitimate complaint with the bank employees. It would be nice if she could come back to let us know what actions she decided to take and how it has worked out for her.

 

[KatrinaS]

And whatever you do, don't let your sister have access to ANY of your personal information.

While I understand your (legitimate) gripe with the gossiping employees, you should be equally disturbed by your sister's actions.

The bank has every right to get their money back, as your sister essentially robbed you and them. Many banks don't request ID for a deposit, so they did nothing wrong in accepting a check deposited into your account. As for checks written from your account - those could have been cashed anywhere. How is the bank to know she forged your signature on one of your checks?

Why did your sister have access to your checks? Have you filed a police report? You need to change ALL account numbers that she might have knowledge of.

No she did not forge my signature she deposited a check into my account that was to her the bank id her an made the deposit to my account couple days later my sister returns back to the bank an withdrew the money while I was 15 hrs away according to the bank an email the bank sent 7 days later was that the check that was deposited by my sister was fraudulent an I was responsible

 

[KatrinaS]

It appears that Katrina has a legitimate complaint with the bank employees. It would be nice if she could come back to let us know what actions she decided to take and how it has worked out for her.

I will keep you posted

 

[not2cleverRed]

No she did not forge my signature she deposited a check into my account that was to her the bank id her an made the deposit to my account couple days later my sister returns back to the bank an withdrew the money while I was 15 hrs away according to the bank an email the bank sent 7 days later was that the check that was deposited by my sister was fraudulent an I was responsible

Every bank I've dealt with requires a signature on withdrawal slips and ID of the account holder. Unless she used an ATM card - and why would you give her that and the PIN #?

Again, your bigger problem is that you have a criminally dishonest sister. File a police report against her, sue in small claims for the money owed, and change ALL your accounts and never allow her to have any access to your personal information again.

The bank's employees have noticed that you seem at least tolerant of your sister's criminal acts. They may even believe, by your actions, that you are complicit in "check kiting". Check fraud of $500 or more is punishable by prison time. Get your sister to pay the money you owe the bank - including and fines. And have nothing more to do with her unless or until she stops her criminal ways.

The gossiping bank employees should be exercising discretion, but maybe it's not defamatory if you are okay with your sister stealing. Because you seem to be fine with her check kiting.

 

[quincy]

I will keep you posted

I agree with not2cleverRed that you need to address the problem with your sister. If you have not already taken some or all of the steps suggested above, you should start doing that now.

Please let us know what happens.

Good luck.