Will BOA cancel my checking account?

[Dizzy]

We have direct deposit of husbands check there and have had this account for 20 years. I opened a Visa credit card with FIA Card Services but that company was purchased by Bank of America within the last year, I believe.

[Jengo]

We have direct deposit of husbands check there and have had this account for 20 years. I opened a Visa credit card with FIA Card Services but that company was purchased by Bank of America within the last year, I believe.

To my understanding and what my BK atty said is that if I had any CCs linked to my bank which is Chase, that my checking acct, etc., runs the risk of them cleaning my accounts out upon filing. I didn't want to have to do this because I have been with them for 15 or so years but anyway I was told to get an account at a small business bank locally based that would be considered "safe" or what have you and to transfer everything over before filing. Pain in the butt so transfered my direct deposit, transferred online bill pays, etc., and the accts with Chase were dormant for about 2 weeks and everything outstanding on it had gone through and then filed my BK. three weeks later I closed out both accounts at Chase and now everything is going through the other bank that is "safe."

Oh, and also, I'm in Cali. I was told by my attorney that they or my bank wouldn't close it out. That I would have to do it myself. But if there is any money in your account, especially payroll, you'll run the risk of them taking it or freezing it. So I would get another "safe" bank account to make sure you have money to pay daily expenses, etc.

[BKDefender]

Dizzy: Bank of America has a right of set-off against your bank account for debts owed to it. When you deposit money with a bank, the bank doesn't keep the money in a box waiting for you to pick it up, it adds it to their assets and creates a debt that it owes you, i.e. you become a creditor of the bank. When you owe money to the bank for a credit card, the bank is your creditor. Creditors that owe each other money can "setoff" the debt of one by the amount owed back to them. So if you owe FIA $10k and you have $1k in your account, FIA (now BOA) can setoff your $1k account and wipe it down to $0.00 and you'd only owe FIA $9k.

SO - I ALWAYS, 100%, tell clients to clean out their bank accounts in any bank that they also have a mortgage, a car loan, or a credit card to avoid setoffs.
I'd suggest you look into it as well. They won't close the account, but they'll wipe it out.

--William