Will Wells Fargo Freeze My Account ASAP?

[HGolightly]

I'm going to file Chapter 7 on Wednesday (12/30) and my rent is due on the first, although my landlord never cashes our checks until around the 8th of the following month.

I have checking and savings accounts at Wells Fargo, and as far as I can tell, they are not related to any of my unsecured credit accounts or my car loan.

I've read here that Wells is really bad at freezing accounts and I don't want my rent check to be held for any reason (my landlord knows nothing of my financial affairs - I've lived here for 9 years and am a great tenant). I've thought of putting my current unemployment check in my HSBC savings account and paying my rent with a money order or some such pain in the butt manner - but before I proceeded, I wonder if any of you have managed to go through Chapter 7 without problems with Wells Fargo. If they do freeze the account, will it happen immediately, or do I have a chance for this rent check to go through with no problems> Any suggestions on this issue?

As always, thank you so much for your help!

[ecsclb1724]

why don't you get a cashiers check from wells fargo for your rent?

[HHM]

Best to be proactive about it and get your money out of your account. It is becoming common knowledge that Wells Fargo is likely to freeze your bank account if your file BK.

[ForumReader]

I agree with the above poster. I would suggest getting a cashier's check from your WF account for the rent. Then perhaps move your money to a different bank account to avoid the risk of having your WF account frozen.

[HGolightly]

Cashier's Check! I had forgotten about those. That will take care of 2 birds with one stone - paying rent and getting the money out of my account (that's all I have... so sad. yet so liberating!)

Thanks!!!

[LALADY]

Are y'all saying that if the only thing you have with wells fargo is a checking and a savings account and they are not listed as creditors, that they will still freeze your accounts that you have had with them for 20 years? Thanks.

[mysticspirit25]

yes, Wells Fargo pulls weekly BK filings countrywide to match against current accountholders regardless of if they owe WF money or not. If WF finds out you filed BK, they freeze your accounts "for the benefit of the BK trustee" and will not release funds until directed to do so by the TT. There is one other bank out there that does this and it is Union Bank...see link:

http://bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/2009/03/bank-accounts-freeze/

[SleepWellNow]

There are many posts on this forum where Wells Fargo froze accounts even though they were not listed as creditors. I wouldn't take the chance. Funny side note (funny now, not then)...before I stumbled upon this forum, we thought we'd be smart and open up new accounts (business and personal) at a bank we weren't doing business with. We chose Wells Fargo and opened up 10 (yes, 10) new accounts for our businesses and personal (each checking had a savings attached to it). We felt pretty smug in our pro-activeness until we had our consultation meeting with an BK attorney. He said to move the money ASAP. Talk about a pain in the neck. Fortunately, we were able to open two accounts with an "on-line only" credit union and paid through money orders or ran around to banks cashing checks until we were discharged. Once we were discharged, we started using the WF accounts again. One of the many memories to look back upon but well worth it in the scheme of things.

[CCsAreEvil]

I might be the exception to the rule. WF did not freeze my accounts (only have chk & savings). Although, I had < $100 on file day anyways. I had just opened the accounts a few weeks before the actual file date.

Like others have suggested, you should just do the cashier's check. It just clears up the issue and eliminates "what if" scenarios.

[jribe]

I'm in NorCal, and my wells fargo accounts were never frozen.

If you're worried about it- i would just ask for a money order and you can send your rent that way.

There's a lot of people that say "wells fargo freezes accounts" - but only a few people that have had the experience themselves. Most is just "i heard".

I'm going to file Chapter 7 on Wednesday (12/30) and my rent is due on the first, although my landlord never cashes our checks until around the 8th of the following month.

I have checking and savings accounts at Wells Fargo, and as far as I can tell, they are not related to any of my unsecured credit accounts or my car loan.

I've read here that Wells is really bad at freezing accounts and I don't want my rent check to be held for any reason (my landlord knows nothing of my financial affairs - I've lived here for 9 years and am a great tenant). I've thought of putting my current unemployment check in my HSBC savings account and paying my rent with a money order or some such pain in the butt manner - but before I proceeded, I wonder if any of you have managed to go through Chapter 7 without problems with Wells Fargo. If they do freeze the account, will it happen immediately, or do I have a chance for this rent check to go through with no problems> Any suggestions on this issue?

As always, thank you so much for your help!

[SleeplessMI]

If some of you are wondering why WF didn't freeze your account, maybe it's because there wasn't enough money in it to be worth freezing. According to this site (posted above):

http://bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/2009/03/bank-accounts-freeze/

This only applies to the exact funds in the account on the date the bankruptcy case is filed. It does not apply to funds deposited subsequently, but obviously this can be a major inconvenience if there’s a large amount in the bank account that gets frozen.

[HGolightly]

SleeplessMI thanks for the link to a really informative blog. I went out today and stocked up on groceries, put my unemployment check into my Wells Fargo checking account, transferred most of my savings into that same checking account, and tomorrow and Wednesday, I will either funnel the funds into a different bank where I have a savings account - currently containing only $10.23, or I'll take out the cash and hide it under the mattress until the rent is due and then get a money order. Wells won't have my money to freeze - I'm leaving $25 in the bank, I'll have paid my rent, everything is accounted for. Whew!

Thank you all! If I hadn't found this board, I might have been completely blindsided.

[SleeplessMI]

HGo--knowledge is empowering, isn't it? Makes this process bearable, even though it still sucks.

[killinstinct]

As my atty quite clearly told us.....get the f- away from Wells. They will freeze your account until the TT gives something in writing ordering them to let it go. Any information to the contrary is the exception. Don't take the risk. You should start building a new and improved banking relationship post-bK anyway.

[music12]

HGolightly, glad you did that. personally, i would not wait for wednesday unless you know you will file late in the day. these automated systems could do things instantly. and if i were you, all my money would be under the mattress and not in any bank account. and i would pay my rent early (on tuesday or wednesday) so that on your petition you won't have to include that amount as assets.

i may have been paranoid, but i have stayed away from bank accounts until a while after my discharge. that's probably overkill, but i wanted to be safe and sleep well.