tillman7777
New member
This is long, for that, I do apologize.
And, I am unsure as to whether or not this is the correct place for this. You may be as well, as I try to elucidate the situation.
To attempt to sum up; I am considered ‘totally disabled’ due to mobility issues, and have been for nearly 8 years. Based on this, I am in receipt of CPP-D as well as employer disability benefits. Both are up to the age of 65. I am 52. Stats show that someone entering this financial position will either ‘lose their home’ or ‘claim bankruptcy’. So far, I’ve managed to stave off both, by a thread…..a teeny, tiny, thread.
In January of this year, I decided to access some equity in my home, just to get ahead of some debt and bills.
This wasn’t of concern, as I had over $100k of equity. But, really, NO ONE wants to do that. It’s the last choice. At least it was for me. I was asking for $20k.
A week before the papers were to be signed (of note, I qualified for much more than the $20k I had requested, so decided to ‘borrow’ a bit more of my equity for some low cost home renovations) I received a phone call from my branch. They just wanted to ask a question before they went ahead and did the approval.
The question?
‘We were just wondering why you have so much money in your tax account’.
My response:
‘I have a tax account?’
When my mortgage payment comes out of my account, my monthly property tax payment does as well. Then, at June 30 each year, the bank pays my tax bill. So, this monthly amount goes into a ‘tax account’.
Ok, so going back FIVE YEARS, when CPP-D was approved and my disability benefits became monthly as opposed to bi-weekly, I had to change my mortgage payment to monthly. Adding years to the amortization
BUT, the bank didn’t change the tax payment. Yes indeed, they were taking out about 2.5x what they should have, along with my mortgage payment.
Should I have noticed?
Yes. And I did, but the math seemed to math. My tax bill arrived and was paid in full every year.
Should the bank have noticed?
I don’t know.
Does anyone here know?
This tax account that I did not know I had, contained nearly $15,000.00. I was absolutely stunned.
So, they held back a year’s worth of taxes (2024) and deposited an even lump sum of $11,000.00 to my account. I asked at the time of signing new mortgage documents for a statement of this account. I was told I would receive it.
It is now a month later and I have followed up three times.
I feel I am at the least, entitled to a statement from this account. Please correct me if I am wrong.
That’s A LOT of (my) money to be sitting in an account that isn’t earning interest for five years…..that I knew nothing about.
I asked about this. The response was ‘well, tax accounts don’t really accrue much interest’
My response was ‘of course, for 12 months, they wouldn’t….but for five years?!’ No response.
I’d not have had to access my equity, if they’d not been ‘taking’ this extra money. I’d not have gone mad every month trying to figure out; how to pay bills, what I was doing wrong, how many other corners to cut. I’d not have wondered if bankruptcy maybe was an option. I’d not have considered selling my home as an option. Basically, I was out of options which is why I accessed some equity.
I am aware that I could have called off the refinance and just accessed/used this found money instead. My issue is, I could have MUCH BETTER used this income on a monthly basis for the last five years, which would have then negated the thought of having to access my equity.
And yes, had I been close to bankruptcy or forced to sell my home, this money would have been unearthed at some point, possibly saving the day.
It’s the sheer emotional and mental toll taken, while managing seriously difficult and extremely painful physical pain. I know, there is no price tag on this kind of pain and suffering, but to say this situation just about threw me over the edge…….would be entirely accurate.
Please understand I am not against banks, I don’t loathe them for their huge profits etc. I came from a high income earning background, I’ve never had issues with my bank. I’ve never had to walk in and sign anything, a phone call was all that was needed. Obviously, I am now the antithesis of that client and I get it.
Thank you for reading. Any professional suggestions are welcome. And again, I can’t figure out where this story would be most appropriately posted. If it isn’t here, I am glad to delete and post elsewhere.
I am asking for advice as to what to do about this situation and whether I escalate and request interest on the amount ‘found’.
Is it a bank thing? A legal thing? An ombudsman thing?
This is long. I appreciate your patience.
And, I am unsure as to whether or not this is the correct place for this. You may be as well, as I try to elucidate the situation.
To attempt to sum up; I am considered ‘totally disabled’ due to mobility issues, and have been for nearly 8 years. Based on this, I am in receipt of CPP-D as well as employer disability benefits. Both are up to the age of 65. I am 52. Stats show that someone entering this financial position will either ‘lose their home’ or ‘claim bankruptcy’. So far, I’ve managed to stave off both, by a thread…..a teeny, tiny, thread.
In January of this year, I decided to access some equity in my home, just to get ahead of some debt and bills.
This wasn’t of concern, as I had over $100k of equity. But, really, NO ONE wants to do that. It’s the last choice. At least it was for me. I was asking for $20k.
A week before the papers were to be signed (of note, I qualified for much more than the $20k I had requested, so decided to ‘borrow’ a bit more of my equity for some low cost home renovations) I received a phone call from my branch. They just wanted to ask a question before they went ahead and did the approval.
The question?
‘We were just wondering why you have so much money in your tax account’.
My response:
‘I have a tax account?’
When my mortgage payment comes out of my account, my monthly property tax payment does as well. Then, at June 30 each year, the bank pays my tax bill. So, this monthly amount goes into a ‘tax account’.
Ok, so going back FIVE YEARS, when CPP-D was approved and my disability benefits became monthly as opposed to bi-weekly, I had to change my mortgage payment to monthly. Adding years to the amortization
BUT, the bank didn’t change the tax payment. Yes indeed, they were taking out about 2.5x what they should have, along with my mortgage payment.
Should I have noticed?
Yes. And I did, but the math seemed to math. My tax bill arrived and was paid in full every year.
Should the bank have noticed?
I don’t know.
Does anyone here know?
This tax account that I did not know I had, contained nearly $15,000.00. I was absolutely stunned.
So, they held back a year’s worth of taxes (2024) and deposited an even lump sum of $11,000.00 to my account. I asked at the time of signing new mortgage documents for a statement of this account. I was told I would receive it.
It is now a month later and I have followed up three times.
I feel I am at the least, entitled to a statement from this account. Please correct me if I am wrong.
That’s A LOT of (my) money to be sitting in an account that isn’t earning interest for five years…..that I knew nothing about.
I asked about this. The response was ‘well, tax accounts don’t really accrue much interest’
My response was ‘of course, for 12 months, they wouldn’t….but for five years?!’ No response.
I’d not have had to access my equity, if they’d not been ‘taking’ this extra money. I’d not have gone mad every month trying to figure out; how to pay bills, what I was doing wrong, how many other corners to cut. I’d not have wondered if bankruptcy maybe was an option. I’d not have considered selling my home as an option. Basically, I was out of options which is why I accessed some equity.
I am aware that I could have called off the refinance and just accessed/used this found money instead. My issue is, I could have MUCH BETTER used this income on a monthly basis for the last five years, which would have then negated the thought of having to access my equity.
And yes, had I been close to bankruptcy or forced to sell my home, this money would have been unearthed at some point, possibly saving the day.
It’s the sheer emotional and mental toll taken, while managing seriously difficult and extremely painful physical pain. I know, there is no price tag on this kind of pain and suffering, but to say this situation just about threw me over the edge…….would be entirely accurate.
Please understand I am not against banks, I don’t loathe them for their huge profits etc. I came from a high income earning background, I’ve never had issues with my bank. I’ve never had to walk in and sign anything, a phone call was all that was needed. Obviously, I am now the antithesis of that client and I get it.
Thank you for reading. Any professional suggestions are welcome. And again, I can’t figure out where this story would be most appropriately posted. If it isn’t here, I am glad to delete and post elsewhere.
I am asking for advice as to what to do about this situation and whether I escalate and request interest on the amount ‘found’.
Is it a bank thing? A legal thing? An ombudsman thing?
This is long. I appreciate your patience.
