Bank liable for eviction?
Ok, so here is the situation... (sorry so long)
My roommate was going to be late on rent this month so we were going to hold off on paying until the 17th (when my roommate got his next check). Our rent was due on the 1st. We received our 3 day pay or quit on the 15th, which gave us until the 18th (as we expected). I was going to give him my half of the rent and he was going to get a money order and pay (like we always do).
I had opened a new bank account at Wells Fargo (where my roommate also banks) one week prior. I deposited $100 to open the account. On Thursday, I wrote my roommate a check for $478. The same day, I deposited another $400 check into my new account. This was also a Well Fargo check so I knew it would clear in time. My roommate deposited my check through the ATM and withdrew $100. He would just cover the balance for rent from his paycheck the following day.
I should note that the check that I had written him was a temporary check that I received when opening the account.
I should also note that when I opened the new account, I was in a rush. So I basically just signed a piece of paper and let the bank do the rest while I left. I gave them the $100 and they gave me a receipt. I did not know that they put that $100 into the savings account, instead of the checking. So when I wrote the check for $478, I assumed it was covered. Luckily, the accounts came with overdraft protection so even if the check DID get processed, it would still clear. This was later verified by the bank.
Thursday night, the ATM company (not the bank) processed the ATM deposits for the day. They saw my check and, instead of processing the check, they just looked at the balance in my account. They only saw the $400. They also saw that it was registered to an account at the same address as the person who had deposited. They assumed the person who deposited the check (my roommate) was "kiting" (a term I just learned about). This is when someone opens an account with an alias, writes themselves a check, deposits it, and takes the advance cash against it.
The immediately froze my roommates account.
After some time at the bank yesterday, we got this all squared away and figured out. It was deemed that it was their fault. They called the Fraud Dept to have the freeze on the account lifted. This was good because we now only had 1 day to pay the rent or be evicted.
While on the phone, the banker was told that it wouldn't be able to be lifted until the following Tuesday (3 days after the deadline). He asked if he could get a BM (Branch Manager?) Override and was told yes, he can.
The banker spent the rest of the day trying to reach his boss to get the override but apparently wasn't able to. We last spoke to him 6:30pm that night and he said he would try to reach him on his cell.
It is now Saturday (doomsday). He told us that he was working this morning and would continue to try and get the override to unfreeze the account today. Obviously, I don't know yet if that will happen.
My question is that if the lift is not able to happen today and we get evicted, what are our options? Can we hold the bank liable for this?
I understand that if the account is not unfrozen today, I will try to get an exception with the apartment association but there is no guarantee.
Any input would be great :)
