Usually, you’d expect a bank to protect its members’ information, as people are already entrusting their money to the institution. However, a bank in Missouri violates one of its member’s trust by giving away his account balance and loan status — without permission. According to a complaint posted on r/legaladvice, the bank has been bizarrely giving these important details directly to their employer. “For the past 2 years, the bank has told him if I’m an hour late on my payments and my account balance,” they state.
“Even after I’ve paid the loan off they still update him on my account balance,” the Missouri employee tells Reddit. “I’ve never given anyone permission to access my information,” clearly indicating the bank is acting in violation of the member’s privacy. “That being said I don’t feel comfortable with him having access to my financial information.” The person goes on to clarify that they’ve been working for their employer for around seven years. The two are close, and the boss actually has gone above and beyond to take care of the worker.
Still, that doesn’t mean the bank is in the right to provide the employer with such sensitive information, especially when it’s not within its authorization to do so. Fortunately, members of r/legaladvice have the perfect option for resolving this issue with as little friction as possible: changing banks. “Close the account and open a new one at a different bank,” the top comment reads, garnering over half a thousand upvotes.
Another commenter suggests that the Missouri worker be open with how they feel about their account information being shared without consent. They recommend telling the boss and the bank that this isn’t something they agreed to. “What they’re doing breaks laws and would also be a fireable offense where I worked,” they state. Another user chimes in, saying, “Not only is it a fireable offense, it is one that opens them up to Federal fines and potentially an MRA.”
“You absolutely should get whoever is doing that s*** in trouble,” adds a third. Getting a lawyer involved if the bank attempts to share their balance details again was also a solid recommendation from the comment section. Fortunately, OP has replied to one of the commenters, saying that they would close their current bank account and open another elsewhere. After all, “If you can’t trust the bank to do its job, then [it’s] time to change banks,” as one puts it.
