Can my bank seize my accounts if I file a proposal
I`m thinking about going the consumer proposal route on some debts that include a line of credit with my bank. Can the bank freeze or seize my bank account or a joint savings account I have with my spouse? None of the debts that will be in the proposal are joint debts.
Posted from: Ontario
Technically speakng they are not supposed to freeze any of these accounts due the the stay of proceedings that is in place. However, in our large an impersonal banking world the banks take a long time to comunicate internally, so there is always a risk that if you have money in a bank account with an institution you owe money to, they may incorrectly take action against that accout. This is true both individual accounts and accounts you are listed on jointly.
As a result, I strongly recommend to everyone that prior to filing a consumer proposal they open a new account with an instituion they don’t owe money to and use this as their primary account.