(WSVN) - His family’s home caught fire. Even worse, after the insurance company sent a check for repairs, the bank refused to release it. Can a bank refuse to give you your money? It’s why the call went out to Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
You never want to see what Talib saw.
Talib Nashid: “Yeah, I was sitting on the couch, and then all of a sudden, I seen the smoke coming from the vent.”
Talib started trying to find the fire and saw his son’s computer on his bed.
Talib Nashid: “I came in here looking for the smoke was at. The mattress just engulfed, caught on fire.”
His first thought: put it out.
Talib Nashid: “And you could see the wall was like breathing, so I grabbed the water hose.”
It was too late. Talib hollered to his sons.
Talib Nashid: “‘Come on, get out, get out, get out the house!’ Everybody ran.”
Ran outside.
Talib Nashid: “Everything else was destroyed. Everything is destroyed.”
And Talib was helpless to stop it.
Talib Nashid: “Oh, my God. I wouldn’t want that agony on anyone. You know, I was beating on my car, and my neighbor came and put my shoulder on, and he’s telling me, ‘It’s going to be alright, it’s going to be alright.'”
But it wasn’t.
The insurance company agreed to pay $200,000 to rebuild the house and sent the first installment: a $63,000 check made out to Talib and the general contractor.
Talib Nashid: “You know, we was like, ‘Thank God. Now we’re moving forward.'”
The contractor started tearing out the burnt wood.
A week later, Talib got burned by his bank.
Talib Nashid: “They told us the checking account had been closed because of suspicion of fraud.”
The reconstruction stopped, as Talib battled with the bank to find out why they suspected the insurance company’s check was fraudulent.
Talib Nashid: “Then I got about five different stories. The first story was that they sent the check back to the insurer, the person that issued the check.”
The insurance company said they didn’t get the check.
The bank then said there was no fraud, but after a few more excuses, the fifth one made it clear: Talib wasn’t getting his insurance money from the bank.
Talib Nashid: “Carla, she gave me another message telling me it’s nothing she could do. ‘But you got my check.'”
Imagine being in Talib’s spot. No repairs have been made on the house for three months because the bank won’t release Talib’s insurance money.
And when his kids ask when they can move home, Talib has no idea what to tell them.
Talib Nashid: “‘What’s going on with the house, Dad?’ What could I tell him?”
Well, Howard, what can you tell them? Is this legal for a bank to do?
Howard Finkelstein, 7News legal expert: “It is legal to hold the money while they investigate the check to make sure it is legit, but it is outrageous to hold it for three months. This should have taken the bank days to resolve, and they should release that money now.”
We contacted Chase. They would not disclose why they refused to release the money but wrote, “Glad we were able to work with the issuer of the check to send a new check and resolve this issue for our customer.”
Talib Nashid: “In two hours, they called me and they told me, they said, ‘Listen, we was able to locate the money.’ I was like, ‘Wow.”
Two hours after we contacted Chase, the problem was solved, and Talib finally learned what happened.
Talib Nashid: “The last excuse was that I wasn’t supposed to deposit the check in my personal account. It was supposed to go into the contractor’s account.”
Now it’s in the right account, at a different bank, deposited there after Talib’s call to Help Me Howard.
Talib Nashid: “I really appreciate what Help Me Howard has done for me and my family. Thank you so much. Thank you.”
You are welcome, sir, and now the reconstruction can begin.
By the way, the family had insurance on the house, but not on the contents, and they lost everything. If you would like to help them try to buy some furniture and clothes, the link to their GoFundMe page is at the end of this Help Me Howard story.
Burned by a problem? Ready to fire back? Contact us and let us blaze a trail for you.
With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.
CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:
Email: helpmehoward@wsvn.com
Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
Miami-Dade: 305-953-WSVN
Broward: 954-761-WSVN
More Information:
GoFundMe page to help Talib and his family
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