Sarah Torres was based on two government checks to keep her family -owned bakery standing on his feet when her unfortunate accident turned her work upside down.
After depositing two credit checks to retain employees (ERC) from the US Treasury at a value of 212,853 dollars, Torres discovered that not only the checks were frozen, but its entire trade account was frozen.
“It was just a nightmare,” said Torres ABC7 News. “I was crying for them,” please, this is a commercial account … I have 20 employees I need to pay! “
Torres finally learned that the case was a written error that includes the identification number of the employer of its company (EIN), which was changed last year, but it was not apparently updated with the Tax Authority.
For more than a month, Torres struggled to reach her commercial money – which threatened the presence of a sweet bakery, an essential component of those who have sweet teeth in Wallet Creek, California for more than four decades.
Congress ERC program In 2020 to help us keep the employees on the salary statements during and after the Covid-19 web. For Torres, these credits represented the vital financial lifeline.
Torres said: “It is money that we were waiting for for years, and we urgently need,” Torres said.
Unlike many small companies during the epidemic, a bakery did not receive a sweet relationship Salary protection program Loans, which makes these retention credits more important to operate. But with the frozen of her commercial account, Torres was forced to take radical measures.
“We had to take money from my child’s college’s account … I borrowed money from the family,” she said. “So it was a lot of tension. I don’t really know the reason.”
When Torres called the Tax Authority about the situation, it was said that she was told that there were no flags on her account and that the agency had verified the checks that were spent with her bank.
“I was confused – just as someone steals our money? What is happening?” I asked.
Her attempts to resolve the issue with Bank of America have proven that it is equally frustrated. Torres estimates that she tried to contact the bank “hundreds of” times, with disappointing results.
Torres said: “At some point, they commented on me.” “The bank told me to stop calling. I also sent many emails, but I did not get responses. I sent the documents by mail, ordered them overnight, and I did not get a response.”
After finally arriving at a bank representative, Torres told that her money would be issued within seven to ten working days, but this never happened. Instead, she says that the bank continued to delay the date of closing its commercial account, leaving it without accessing its money and forcing it to think about closing its bakery or re -financing its house.
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After the ABC7 News 7 team intervened your team to help Torres, Bank of America finally presented an explanation.
“Because of the contradiction in tax identification figures after changing business ownership, the Treasury told us that these deposited funds may be fraudulent,” the bank said in a statement.
“Our subsequent investigation revealed additional information, and we decided that there was no fraud. We are working with the Ministry of Treasury and the customer to complete the transactions.”
According to tax experts, this position was not escalating to this point.
“Since the bakery was using the same bank, the bank must be able to define the old Ein along with the new Ein in this account and do not treat it as fraudulent.” “They must be able to honor this check.”
Yes, the American Bank can freeze business bank account if there is an error in Ein.
Banks must verify customer information to prevent fraud and compliance with regulations such as Learn about your customer and Money laundering. For companies such as LLCS, companies and partnerships, Ein is usually mandatory to prepare the account.
On a Verification message It is often part of the bank’s due care, proving the legitimacy of work and compliance with federal tax regulations. When contradictions arise, banks You may freeze accounts During the investigation.
Other common causes that lead to frozen accounts include:
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Suspicious or unusual transactions
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Not complying with knowing the deep regulations/anti -money laundering
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Court orders or legal disputes
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Requested debts or tax obligations
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Lack of activity or administrative issues
For Torres, the ordeal highlighted an unequal stadium between small companies and large financial institutions.
She said: “As a small company, we do not have the resources to employ large lawyers or fight a company like Bank of America.”
Fortunately, her money has not finally frozen, but the Torres case is a warning story for small business owners about the importance of ensuring that all business definition information is constantly updated in all agencies and financial institutions.
For small business owners, the lesson is clear: even a simple written error can have devastating financial consequences when dealing with large banking institutions. Keeping detailed records and ensuring consistency across all your business definition numbers can provide you with a similar nightmare.
This article only provides information and should not be explained as advice. It is provided without guarantee of any kind.
