An Inactive Bank Account at Chase Can Send Your Money to the State

Chase Bank on Broadway in Land Park hounds its customers on the weekends.

A fine line can exist between being that crazy woman and a normal person who is simply irritated. It can happen to anybody as we all have a point at which we can be pushed too far. If somebody doesn’t know us and they encounter our wrath, it would be easy to decide we are off our rockers when we fight back, but on the other hand, that should be a guaranteed way to stop them from calling us again. Like, Chase Bank in Land Park, for example. If I were that poor employee at Chase Bank and my supervisors insisted I call a customer in Sacramento to nag her about an inactive bank account, why, I would be looking around for somebody else, anybody else, to make that call for me if I had to talk to Elizabeth Weintraub. She’s a fighter.

Yet, Chase Bank continues to call. It’s usually on a Saturday, of all days. The Chase Bank employee nags me to make a deposit or a withdrawal from my account, even if it’s just a dollar, so my account does not become an inactive bank account or dormant. My position is I put the money into her bank because I had too much money for FDIC protection in my own bank account. I want it to sit at Chase in its liquid form. The FDIC protects deposits up to $250,000 per account holder, which is probably not something to worry about if you never have that much in your account at one time, but top producer Sacramento Realtors pay high federal and state taxes, and I maintain my own tax account as well.

Further, I have been through an FDIC shutdown in 1980s Orange County at Heritage Bank, and it was excruciatingly painful. The lines were exceedingly long, wrapped around the block, and it was the only way to retrieve your money. We didn’t have online banking back then. When I asked the pretend teller from the U.S. government — this dude behind the counter sporting spectacles and a red-dotted bow tie; I kid you not, he looked like Edith Head dressed him for Hollywood — what will happen to my outstanding checks that were not yet cashed, his lips formed a tight smirk. My checks would turn to rubber, he announced, just like my bank and bounce.

That little snafu left me without access to any money whatsoever for several weeks. From that point on, I vowed never to put all of my money into only one bank. You don’t want to believe that banks can fail but they can and they do. Check out this FDIC failed bank list. Which was the reason I moved money into Chase Bank. However, did you know that the state of California can seize your bank accounts if you have an inactive bank account? That guideline is 3 years. If you don’t make a deposit or withdrawal over 3 years, your money can go to the California State Controller’s Office without your approval, and it’s a PITA to get it back. But individual banks are allowed to establish their own guidelines. Chase Bank can call an inactive account or a dormant account on any of your accounts without activity over 2 years.

I say NO to Chase Bank. Somebody has to. I don’t care what their guidelines or rules are, if Chase wants my money, then just leave it where it is and stop the harassment. If Chase bankers need to make a dollar deposit to keep the account active, then that’s the least they can do for a customer who has deposited a large sum into their institution. It’s the principle. It’s customer service. No, I am not coming into the bank for your convenience. No, I am not mailing you a deposit. Yet, almost every month Chase calls to nag. They would also like to discuss other investment options that will benefit Chase, which I have no interest in discussing.

And this is when that fine line can be drawn. Especially when Chase Bank guidelines state that as long as a customer maintains other active accounts at Chase, which we do, my money market account cannot become an inactive bank account. I fend off enough annoying telemarketing calls from real estate brokers trying to recruit, to mortgage brokers pushing in vain for my business and those idiot SEO twerps during the week, I don’t need Chase Bank disturbing me on the weekend. Besides, I have a professional investment adviser who handles my investments; Chase should not assume customers who want to maintain a rainy day account are ripe for a campaign of places to stash disposable funds.