BofA Gives $30K Worth Of Social Security Payments To Wrong Person

Bank errors with serious consequences continue to pile up, and not only because of the "robo-signing" that has become so closely associated with allegedly wrongful foreclosures.

Robert Weber, 88, of Riverside, California, reportedly failed to receive his monthly Social Security checks for as long as 2 years, the total amount that he failed to receive equaling roughly $30,000, according to the Los Angeles Times. (h/t The Consumerist)

This, the newspaper reports, was because BofA had given his bank account number to another customer, who had been receiving the monthly social security deposit instead.

When Weber's grandson, David Madden, confronted BofA, he was told that while they were certain the money was being deposited in the wrong account, there was nothing they could do about it, according to reports. BofA only actively corrected the problem when the District Attorney's office initiated its own investigation.

Ultimately, it was the Federal Government, not BofA, that gave Weber the money he was owed. He's only the latest victim of an unforced banking error, which now include stories of unnecessary arrests, lost jobs, wrongful foreclosure notices and even more misallocated money.

In June 2010, as King 5 Seattle reported, Chase Bank had 28-year-old Ikenna Njoku of Auburn, Washington jailed for trying to cash a check that they believed was a forgery. He, as a result, lost his job, his car as well and the roughly $8,500 he was trying to cash. The check was, in fact, not only legitimate but issued by Chase Bank itself.

In June of this year, Laguna Beach resident Stephen McDow was arrested when it was discovered that he spent $60,000 of $110,000 that was misallocated into his account by his own bank. As CBS Los Angeles reported at the time, Mr. McDow used the money to help pay down his personal debt.

Earlier this year, a Northampton resident was asked by Bank of America to pay off a balance of $0.00 or his home would go into foreclosure. BofA, when it realized the mistake, apologized and sent a $150 gift certificate.

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