WFLA

80-year-old woman tries to withdraw money, ends up with locked account

LAND O’ LAKES, Fla. (WFLA) – A Land O’ Lakes woman tired to withdraw money from her bank account last week, but ended up with her account locked.

Evelyn Voorhes, 80, said she was stunned when the teller at the drive-through at SunTrust told her she would be getting no money that day.

“I said, ‘Why not?’” Voorhes said. “She said, ‘Because we suspect some kind of fraud on your account.”

Voorhes said no explanation was given and she was told she would have to make an appointment to go to another branch on another day. When she returned home, her son helped her log on to her account on the computer, and they discovered that her account was locked leaving her unable to pay bills or make purchases.

Voorhes turned to Better Call Behnken for help getting answers from SunTrust. Investigative Reporter Shannon Behnken reached out to representatives at SunTrust and was promised answers.

Within hours, Voorhes says a bank vice president called her to offer an apology and ask how she wanted to fix the situation. No explanation was provided about the potential fraud on her account.

Voorhes says the bank agreed to close her account and send her every penny of her balance.

“My heart just went to my feet,” Voorhes said. “I can’t thank you enough. It was unbelievable.”

We will follow up to make sure the money makes it to Voorhes.

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