SAN ANTONIO — Anthony Knowles and his wife had been waiting several weeks for his wife’s social security backpay to show up in their bank account.
Knowles would call Chase Bank and check the account frequently.
In the middle of March, Knowles called one day to find out more than $9,000 had been deposited into the account. The couple then drove to the bank to make sure it was correct.
“We wanted to know where this money came from," Knowles told KENS 5. "My wife asked her (the teller), ‘Is this my back pay?’ She said, ‘Yes, it is your back pay.'"
The money was available right away, and the couple withdrew some of that money to pay for medical expenses and clothing for their grandchildren.
But then there was a problem.
The money actually wasn’t their back pay. It was a mistake. Three days later, their debit card was suddenly declined.
Knowles called the bank and learned the bank had transferred the entire amount of more than $9,000 out of their account, which left it several thousand dollars in the negative.
At the end of the month, the couple still owed the bank more than $2,000. When Knowles's regular social security check came in, he said the bank simply kept it to pay toward the negative balance. The couple had no money to pay for anything.
Finally, they called KENS 5.
The couple was eventually able to show KENS 5 a letter from the bank which said the deposit had been “posted in error” and that the bank “apologized for the inconvenience.”
At that point, they were just a few days away from needing to pay rent for April.
“I’m in trouble,” Knowles told KENS 5. “My rent is due on the fifth of this month. How am I going to do this?”
KENS 5 reached out to Chase Bank immediately and got a call back the next day. Chase wasn't obligated to address the problem, but the bank still started evaluating what solutions they had available.
The bank ended up contacting Knowles the same day his rent was due, but they still found a solution in time.
“They told me I needed to go down to the bank,” Knowles said. “My social security money was returned to my account and I could use that money as well. I was able to pay my rent, and my light bill, and my water bill. I was just thanking God that things worked out for the best.”
Knowles said the bank cleared the negative amount in his account and made his regular social security payment available once again so he could use it to pay rent.
A spokesman for Chase Bank later told KENS 5 via email, “We apologize for the error and any confusion it caused. Our staff worked with Mr. Knowles and were able to resolve the issue.”
Knowles said the bank did take care of the problem in the end. Still, he was glad he called KENS 5.
“Chase Bank did a good job as far as getting this problem situated and solved,” Knowles said. “I was thanking God and I thank KENS for all their help and I appreciate what you did for us.”
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