Bank restricts 100-year-old Durham woman's checking account for months: 'It hurt me'

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- A 100-year-old Durham woman was fed up after she says she had no access to thousands of dollars in her checking account.

It was no small chunk of change for Marie Green, as the total in her checking account was more than $7,700.

"It hurt me because I couldn't pay my bills," Green said.

The sad saga started at the end of January, when Green's son, Steve Riggsbee, said he helped his mom open a new checking account with Capital One, depositing a $3,600 check in the new account.

"We deposited it by mobile, and then the next thing we know, we get back on, we look, and it says your account is restricted," Riggsbee said.

He said he helps his mom with daily tasks because of her age, so he called Capitol One right away.

"The check has been red-flagged or something," he said the bank told him. "So, I said, 'What for?"

Weeks turned into more than a month, and Green said she still had no access to her account. She filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and Capital One sent a letter in March stating her account is restricted because of fraud concerns.

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Riggsbee said each time he called Capital One to help his mom, the conversation went nowhere.

"I'm trying to help her, but they thought I wasn't supposed to be helping her. I said, 'My mother's 100 years old. Come on, she can't hear too good. That's the only reason I'm trying to help her." Rigsbee said.

Meanwhile, Green's Social Security checks were directly deposited into that Capital One account, and she now had more than $7,700 in the account, and she had no access to the money.

"Because of all of that, it's run her MasterCard up because we had no other way to pay her bills," Rigsbee said. "So, she has about $3,000-something on MasterCard for her bills now from January to now."

Rigsbee said Capital One wanted him to get power of attorney so that they could speak to him on behalf of his hearing-impaired mother.

"I said, 'My mother is competent. She don't need a power of attorney. She can talk to you right now,'" Riggsbee said he told the Capital One representative. Green confirmed to Troubleshooter Diane Wilson that she didn't need her son to be her power of attorney.

"He wasn't trying to take my money away, and he was just helping me," Green said.

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Mother and son, who both said they were loyal viewers of ABC11 Eyewitness News, reached out to the Troubleshooter for help.

"We thought you could help us," Green said. "Nobody else has. The bank didn't, they didn't tell us anything, so that's why we thought maybe you could."

The Troubleshooter reached out to Capital One, which then provided this statement:

"While we cannot go into specifics on customer cases, we can confirm that this matter has been resolved directly with the individual. The security of our customers' accounts is a top priority for Capital One. If we detect unusual activity on a customer's account, we may reach out to the customer to verify their identity and that the activity is authorized in order to keep customer funds secure. We also understand customers may sometimes need support from their loved ones in managing their finances. We provide several options to allow for that support while also maintaining the security of those accounts."

After months of frustration at her account being restricted, Green finally got good news that her account with Capital One was closed, and the bank sent her a check for the amount she had in her account.

"I appreciate you helping, I really do," Green told the Troubleshooter. "We weren't able to get help anywhere else."

Green also said she opened a new account with a local bank. She deposited the $7,700 check and got access to the money, so she says she can now pay her bills.