Bank Holds Back Money From 'Retired Widower': Lawsuit

A "retired widower" was cut off from his checking and savings accounts when he complained about his bank's service, according to a lawsuit filed in Will County court.

Chase Bank froze the accounts of Gregory Watson in May, the lawsuit said.

Watson had moved his individual retirement account from Chase to Mass Mutual Bank May 2 and was "unhappy with the service provided by (Chase) in that said transfer took an inordinate amount of time," the suit said. Once the transfer was complete, Watson expressed his displeasure to a Chase agent and asked "how he would go about filing a complaint against the bank," according to the lawsuit.

On May 26, Watson received a letter dated the day after his May 20 conversation with the agent, the suit said. The letter allegedly informed him "his checking account and savings account was being closed and that his accounts were immediately frozen."

The letter said the action was taken due to either "unusual activity on the account" or a "failure to provide information," according to the lawsuit.

Watson called the bank and was told by a Chase agent, "we don't have to tell you anything" and "we can close your account for any reason," the lawsuit said.

While Chase cut off Watson from his accounts and "refused to honor outstanding checks" he had written before receiving the letter, the bank "continued to accept and deposit (his) social security check," the lawsuit said.

Ten days later, Watson stopped by the bank "in the hopes of getting access to his funds," the suit said, but that reportedly did not go well.

"After speaking to a representative of Chase Bank, the defendant called the police and had (Watson) ejected from the premises," the suit said.

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