Hello, I asked my tenant to pay the rent online. Gave him my wells fargo bank account and routing number. then he said his chase bank has sent me two small deposits to verify my account. so I gave him the amounts of the two tiny deposits and he was able to pay me rent. This month I see a pending withdrawal instead of rent deposit in my wells fargo account. I asked my tenant to cancel the withdrawal and make a deposit instead. but he says he only sees a pending deposit to my account that cannot be cancelled. I called my bank and they said we can only place a dispute which can take up to 10 days to resolve. Now my question is, does my tenant have access to my account and can withdraw money from me, or it is a bank mistake? has he fooled me by asking for those small deposits value? maybe he has linked my account to his own and can access my money. please help what I should do.
Rental Property Investor · Northern, CA · Member since 2012 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
8y
These small deposits are called micro deposits and are normally used to verify ownership of an account. I have tenants that pay directly into my bank account and they’ve never needed anything other than the routing and account numbers to do so. I wouldn’t be surprised if your tenant now has the ability to make withdrawals from your account now that he was able to verify the amounts of the micro deposits. I’d call your bank and ask them, but you probably need to change your account number now.
Rental Property Investor · Northern, CA · Member since 2012 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
8y
These small deposits are called micro deposits and are normally used to verify ownership of an account. I have tenants that pay directly into my bank account and they’ve never needed anything other than the routing and account numbers to do so. I wouldn’t be surprised if your tenant now has the ability to make withdrawals from your account now that he was able to verify the amounts of the micro deposits. I’d call your bank and ask them, but you probably need to change your account number now.
he admitted last night that he has set up our account as his personal account in his online banking to be able to send the rent in one payment instead of 2. and that he has made a mistake this month by withdrawing money instead of depositing. I am speechless and dont know what to do with him. please advise.
Rental Property Investor · Northern, CA · Member since 2012 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
8y
Dispute the charge as fraudulent. Explain to your bank what happened. They're probably going to have to change your account number to prevent this from happening again since the tenant was essentially able to verify ownership of your account and there's nothing to stop him from doing this again. Don't verify micro deposits in the future for someone else. If rent is still due and still hasn't been received, issue whatever pay or quit type notice is appropriate for your state (your profile doesn't say where your from).
I asked the bank to change my account. the tenant will reverse the transaction today. I need to figure if reporting to police will gain me any protection from this tenant. I am so sore and frustrated by his rudeness and requests.
Investor · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 708 votes
8y
I don't understand why anyone would still use this method of payment (where you provide your tenants direct access to your bank account) when there are so many alternatives out there - many at no cost at all. Personally, I use Cozy.co for this but there are plenty of others.
I don't understand why anyone would still use this method of payment (where you provide your tenants direct access to your bank account) when there are so many alternatives out there - many at no cost at all. Personally, I use Cozy.co for this but there are plenty of others.
Thats just because I am a new landlord. How did I know. nobody told me till now :)
Real Estate Investor · Milford, NE · Member since 2011 · 201 posts · 140 votes
8y
Another good reason to use a small hometown bank........I call my loan dude, (which is one of the owners), and tell them my wishes and It gets done yesterday.
No need to go to committee or to the fraud center or whatever BS branch they want to send you too. Just get up and walk out to the counter and immediately fix whatever fraud was just perpetrated.
Stay away from big banks is my opinion on this. They don't care about you or your business well being. All they can do is add on fee' s
Naperville, IL · Member since 2018 · 330 posts · 357 votes
8y
I would absolutely talk to the police. Why you would trust one word out of this guy's mouth at this point is beyond me. Why does he have to set up your account as his in order to pay you in one installment? That is ********.
Rental Property Investor · DFW, TX · Member since 2013 · 953 posts · 910 votes
8y
Do you also give money to african princes and call back the IRS when they say they have issued a "warrant to put you under arrest"? You gave him access to your account (your mistake) and he took advantage of you (his mistake). You should evict him for non payment of rent and change your account number. If you go to the police they are going to tell you a) you gave him access so there is nothing they can do and b) it is a civil matter so you would have to file in small claims court.
@Andrew S. There is no more danger in giving your tenants your account number than anyone else. If you ever write a check you are giving that person your account number. They have no ability to take out funds unless you make them a signatory on the account or do what Nahal did and give them access to your online banking. I use Cozy and it is great if your tenants have a bank account but if they are paying cash, having them deposit it into a local branch location is a great free way to collect rent. As an extra layer of protection you can use a deposit only account and then transfer the funds to your operating account online leaving only a small balance in the deposit account in case it ever did get hacked or accessed.