Taking away a person's control of her own life - meaning her bank account - is one of the greatest infringements a democracy can impose, especially when it applies to young people. It is an infringement even if the intent may be perceived as benign and socially valid.- Steig Larsson
It's a back-breaking scenario that so happened to me recently.
Without any previous advice or notification, my bank decided to block my account. From one second to another I had no more access to my money. The official reason: the bank's control department had detected some irregular movements in my bank account. In other words: I had started to earn more money than previously which they considered to be a serious threat for their security.
I'm not kidding, not at all. Now they didn't even give me a deadline to explain these irregular movements; they blocked my account right away and send me a list of documents I needed to provide in order to unblock the account again.
The worst part of all that: their action was absolutely illegal, but it was on me to prove it.
Needing to fight for my own property really scares me!
Picture kindly provided by pixabay.com
The fear of losing control
First it paralyzes you and makes you speechless, then you start feeling angry and activate your defense mechanism.
When my bank informed me recently that they had blocked my account for reasons they were not allowed to explain in detail to me, I felt pretty overpowered. I had to read their email a couple of times, and the more I tried to understand it the more troubled I felt. They were asking me details about my business and financial activities they were definitely not allowed to ask on a legal basis.
Now I was in-between the need to reaccess my money and not wanting to reveal my complete business activities. I told them I had some questions regarding our inquiry and asked them to call me.
I called you today's morning in order to inform you about the required information, but you didn't pick up the phone. So we blocked your bank account.
These were the first and incredible words of the bank's key account manager on the phone.
I couldn't believe my ears. They had called me, I was in a meeting, and due to the fact that I didn't pick up the phone right away, they decided to block my bank account? He furthermore informed me that:
There are some irregular movements in your bank account you need to justify.
You won't believe it, but in the end the fact that I started to earn more money during the past months turned out to be the real 'problem'.
Since when do have banks the same authority as the IRS?
To date I had no idea that banks have the right to demand information that is usually reserved to the finance office.
My bank seriously asked me to provide them detailed information about my total revenue, including details about my business partners, otherwise they wouldn't unblock my account. I wonder where in the world a bank is accredited to act like that?
I've never done anything illegal in my life, am paying my taxes timely since fifteen years of occupation, so why should my bank - the ones who are supposed to simply administrate my property - be allowed to challenge all that?!?
Since two years I'm a client of their bank now, I've never had any outstanding dept or other obligations, I've always been the perfect client that earns more money than she spends. Well at least I believed I was the perfect client, but now it seems that I'm not.
Banks were not designed to take care of our money, they were designed to take away our money.
If I look back to my childhood I don't remember my parents being in such trouble with their banks ever.
A recent conversation with my dad proved that: they simply didn't have these issues.
Over time the establishment has become quite greedy. Banks have started to speculate with our money, being backed by the governments who legislate their abuse. The power is in hands of those who don't want the best for the world, but who want the best for themselves.
Coming back to my own story, as a matter of course I have now contacted my lawyer since I'm neither willing to reveal secret information nor accepting the illegal doings of my bank.
The more I get involved with new decentralized solutions and the more negative experiences I make by myself in the established world, the more I understand why we need this change so urgently and the more I understand Dan Larimer's mission in life:
To find free market solutions to secure life, liberty, and property for all. - @dan
I've never done anything illegal in my life, but still a bank has the power to override me at a moment's notice just because they can. That really threatens me.
But I'll fight back and demand my rights. You bet!
Much love, Marly -
Thanks for your valuable time!
This blog was launched at the end of July 2016
aiming to provide stories for open-minded
people who enjoy living on the edge of their lives,
stepping out of comfort zones, going on adventure,
doing extreme sports and embracing the new.
Welcome to the too-much-energy-blog!
PS: Be your own hero, this world needs them.
