Financial Information
If a senior is coerced into putting their IRA CD into an agressive mutual fund, is there any recourse?
Question : If a senior is coerced into putting their IRA CD into an agressive mutual fund, is there any recourse?
My 69 yr old mother went into a bank inquiring about a higher interest rate CD for her IRA and walked out (unknowingly) with an aggressive mutual fund instead. Her english is not the greatest but she expressed interest only in a CD. When I called the bank and spoke to the gentlemen who helped my mother, he said she asked for an “aggressive investment” (2 words that are not in her vocabulary and I explained that to him and he subsequently changed the subject). I explained that this was her life savings (she also told him this as well) and now it was not FDIC insured. He said that it was in fact still insured by SIPC (but found out later that doesn’t cover loss in value) so quite different than FDIC. After she complained to him, he put her mutual fund in a very conservative fund (earning less than her original CD) and charged her fees for doing so.
They said they can’t put back her CD without charging larger fees. Who can we complain to? She just wants her FDIC insured CD back.
ira cd rates
Best answer:
Answer by BoscoB
The first person to see is the bank manager. That should take care of it because the manager has the ability to remove all fees.
Should that not work take it up with your state Department of Consumer Affairs.
Don’t quit, you’ve got them nailed.
You should report this bank to the State Attorney General’s office. Let them know that you believe that the bank put your mother into a very bad investment for her situation. It does sound like some salesperson took advantage of her english skills and probably of her not understanding exactly what was going on and purposely put her in something that makes the bank money but puts her money at risk.
Next up, write a letter to the corporate office of this bank. Go online and find that address. Explain the situation but do not let anger write your words. You need to be professional in this. Let them know that a bank employee at one of their branches has taken advantage of your mother while trying to get more money for the bank. Ask whether or not this is a practice that is company policy or is this just the case of a bad employee. If it is the cast of it being a bad employee, what will the bank do to rectify the situation.
Next up, find a consumer help reporter. Lots of newspapers and TV stations have them. They go after companies that are ripping off customers and they try to get the situation taken care of. It is easy reporting for the TV station. Tons of businesses are out there doing junk like this. Your case may sound good to them because it is a big mean nasty bank against an elderly mother and endangering her life savings. Lots of companies fold when these investigative reporters hit them because it is very bad press.
Finally, you may want to consider finding an attorney. If this bank has done this once then they probably have done it quite a few times. It would not surprise me if there were lots of people out there who have been taken by this bank and its practices. A lawyer might recognize this as a really nice situation for a class action lawsuit and make some money.