[wa State] Bank Involuntarily Closed Our Account And Is Holding All Of Our Money. What Can We Do?

location: Washington State

About three months ago, my husband and I discovered that approximately $3,000 had been fraudulently taken from our bank account. At the same time, we noticed two new accounts had been opened under the same bank, and the money in them added up to the amount that was missing.

My husband immediately called the bank. It was determined that the fraud occurred under his mobile app login. His access was removed and the account was frozen due to the activity. We moved the remaining money out of it to Venmo as we had no other bank accounts, changed our passwords for everything, and adjusted our direct deposits to different accounts.

This bank account was one we had in Washington. We were at the time on the east coast and had been for about 1 year, but were planning to go back to Washington (I was working a travel nursing job).

Over the next 7 days, 4-5 more transactions came out of the account from various businesses and transactions across the country. We were assured these would be returned and marked as part of the fraud case. We were also advised to keep the account on a hold status until we could get to a local branch and open a new account unrelated to the previous one (no local branches within 100 miles of where we were on the east coast). We left for Washington on July 6th. Throughout the trip, charges continued to appear and made the bank account go negative. We called and had a case opened for each one. The money was put back in for each one.

When we arrived in Washington, we went to a local branch and attempted to open a new account. The teller advised us we would need an appointment, which we promptly made. Due to very limited appointment availability from the bank, us being shift workers, and having 2 small children, it would take weeks. We went to the appointment in late July and provided all the information we needed for the new account.

The banker began setting up the account and we provided our address from the east coast, which matched our driver’s license at the time (both of our temp jobs required us to be licensed drivers in the state). Instead of simply adding our still-legal east coast address, she decided to use the address we were using in Washington. This put a flag on the account. At exactly 5PM, she told us the appointment was over, the bank was closed, and our new account was not opened that day. She said she would call the next day to set up a new appointment and figure out how to open it despite the issue.

About one week later, my husband was able to go in and open the account in his name with the promise that I could be added to it at a later date.

By mid-August, he had been using the new account regularly without issue. However, in the meantime, the old account still appeared on my mobile banking app. We also received replacement debit cards twice for the old account without requesting them. The company assured us this was just a glitch and told us to cut them up and dispose of them.

On September 5, we finally had a chance to go to the bank together again. We made an appointment through the online calendar and went in at that time. When we arrived, the branch was unexpectedly closed due to an emergency. We immediately contacted the next-closest branch, which was approximately 60 miles away, and were told they couldn’t help us because we needed an appointment.

On September 8, we made another appointment and went in. During that appointment, I provided my information, including my temporary Washington driver’s license, and deposited a birthday check from a family member. It took approximately 10 minutes to complete.

Toward the end, the banker said, “I’m surprised you even still want an account here.” I was surprised by the comment but explained that we’d been customers for several years and liked having a branch nearby. I brushed the comment off.

We left with a new temporary debit card for me, and I was notified that the check had been deposited into the account. We then used both my debit card and my husband’s debit card without issue.

The next morning, neither of us could use our debit cards. When my husband went into the branch, the manager told him they couldn’t provide any money out of the account and our debit cards were not working. Our account had been closed involuntarily.

We contacted the bank several times, went back into the branch, and still nobody could tell us what was going on. Finally, the branch manager advised that the account had been closed by the fraud department.

My husband requested to take all of our money out of the account so we could open one elsewhere and was told no because it was still under investigation. We were told it was a forced closure of the account. I’m unsure of what all these terms mean but we’ve received so many different half-answers like this from the branch in person, the “back end” banker phone number, corporate, the fraud department.

Our money, ALL of our money, is in the bank account. Frozen. Unable to be touched. And the bank has basically just shrugged it off.

My husband’s most recent paycheck was direct deposited today, and we cannot access that or any of the money that was already in the account.

When asked about a timeline, we were advised it would take 15 days from the day that their ongoing investigation is complete to receive a cashier’s check if they determine we are owed the money.

This is money that is ours and was put into the account through employer direct deposits.

We have already attempted to reroute future direct deposits so that additional paychecks don’t go into the account. My husband’s employer put a stop payment on the check, but is unable to issue a paper check until the bank sends it back (??). In the meantime, we have kids who need to eat and diapers that need purchased and so many bills that need paid. We don’t use credit cards but may have to just to pay our rent and utilities that all became due today.

Things that we’ve done so far:

Filed two separate complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the comptroller of currency.
Contacted the bank repeatedly and spent hours trying to reach someone who can explain what is happening.
Gone into the branch multiple times.
Requested access to our money and been denied.
Attempted to reroute our direct deposits.

What can we do to get access to our money?? I don’t care about the account being open, I just want the money that we’ve worked for.

Is the bank legally allowed to hold the entire balance indefinitely while conducting an investigation? Is the “15 days after the investigation is complete” timeline legit? Is there anyone else we should be contacting besides the CFPB or OCC?