"HOUSTON V. HOUSTON ET AL." CONTINUED
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ROYAL BANK AND CRA STRIKE BACK
Someone said attack and the government gang fell into position. Very strange government we have
here in Canada. While Taylor's crew was doing big money deals behind my back with the BC
government, the federal government assaulted me with an out-of-the-blue mugging at my bank,
Royal Bank of Canada. Ol' Roy and the fed confiscated my personal chequing account without any
legal justification. I can't have a bank account? How do I eat? How do I pay all those taxes CRA
claims I owe?
I abandoned my Mazda. It was requiring more maintenance than I was prepared to pay for. I
looked into a new mode of transportation. I'd decided upon a highway-capable scooter, a Honda
Silverwing, which I could purchase from a dealer in Courtenay. I told my mother about my
upcoming purchase and she said she'd contribute $5,000.00 to the price as a Christmas gift. A
great, unexpected gift. This was one of the best, if not the best, Christmas presents I've ever
received. It was certainly the most generous I've ever gotten. On December 12, 2007 I deposited
the five thousand dollar cheque from my mom into my personal chequing account at the Powell
River, BC branch of Royal Bank. The account is a lifeline. For the twenty years-plus I've had the
account, whenever there's a paycheque to deposit that was where it went. Two monthly direct
deposit pension payments I currently receive are paid into the account. All of my living expenses
are paid out of the account. It's my only source of cash. You take this account away from me and
I'm penniless, I'm on the street. When I need money to buy food to eat I go to the Royal Bank
account. When I pay the electric bill it's paid out of the Royal Bank account. When I need to buy
medication the pills get paid for from the account.
The five thousand dollar deposit was an anomaly. In the two years I've been a client with the
Powell River Royal Bank branch, this was the single largest amount I've ever deposited at the
branch. I think it might have even been one of the largest amounts I've ever deposited at Royal
Bank period. The money was taken by the Powell River branch without any restrictions or
limitations on my access to the account. The money slid into the account like greased water into a
glass. I now had roughly $7,000.00, the very amount I required to buy the bike. It was reassuring
to know I'd sorted out my transportation situation and could buy the new bike any time I wanted. I
had money in my pocket. Life was good.
I didn't access the account at all the next day. Then on December 14 I picked up $11.67 worth of
food from Safeway, bread, butter, a few oranges. I asked the checkout girl for $100 back in cash
bringing the total to $111.67. I swiped my Royal Bank debit card through the reader like always.
The transaction came back rejected. A message appeared on the reader that said my account was
restricted. Restricted? I tried again, this time for just the eleven dollar food purchase. The same
message came up. Account restricted. I couldn't even get eleven bucks out of the account to buy
food. Here we go again. I used my TD Visa card to buy the food.
The lone Powell River Royal Bank branch is directly across Barnet Street from Safeway, a block
away from the police station. I walked across the road and went in to the branch. Royal Bank is
the snob bank that thinks it's better than everyone else. The office stank of government arrogance,
like a government outpost. There was a rigid bitterness in the room. I walked up to a teller and told
her about the problem. Did you just make a large deposit into the account? the teller asked me. I
told her that yes I'd deposited a cheque a couple of days previous. The teller scrolled down the
on-screen account information and told me a message was attached to the account. A hold had
been placed on the account pursuant to a court order obtained by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
I had guessed CRA was probably responsible. They'd used this same tactic - unsuccessfully - with
an account I held at TD Waterhouse. Hold is bank vernacular for ripping off the funds in a client's
account. The on-screen message provided no details of the court order. The message told the teller
I have a tax liability of around eighty thousand dollars. By attaching this message to the account my
private tax information can now be accessed worldwide by employees of Royal Bank. All they have
to do is dial up my bank account and there's this note that says how much tax I owed to the
government. That's a fairly extensive breach of my privacy.
The branch manager appeared behind the counter as though she was waiting for me to show. She
asked me if maybe an identity mistake had been made. Does eighty thousand dollars sound right to
you? Do you actually owe that amount? I shrugged and told her the figure seemed consistent with
what CRA has claimed I owe. That was enough for Royal Bank. Let's discuss this in my office,
the manager said stoutly, marching across the small lobby. She said, The bank has a duty as an
agent of the government of Canada to collect your debt on behalf of Canada Revenue Agency. We
entered a tiny office. She closed the door behind her and I sat down. The manager sat and looked
at me blankly, waiting for me to speak. It didn't feel right being alone in the room with her, the door
shut, no witnesses. She was inviting a confrontation. She just told me her bank burned me for all
my cash and then she invites me into her office, door closed, to talk about it? Dumb. Need a shop
steward in here, I thought. I could tell she was floundering and didn't know what to do. Here we
go again, I thought. More bank bullshit. RBC = Royal Bull Crap.
Royal Bank's excuse for seizing my account didn't ring true. I've been victimized by this particular
type of crime in the past. I've seen this con before. This is the C.O.C., the Court Order Con. It's a
sucker's play. Here's how it happens: The bank tells the client a court order instructs the bank to
pay the funds in your account(s) to a third party. However, in actual fact the bank is lying and is
willingly participating in criminal activity. There isn't any court order, it's just criminal fraud. I've
seen two million dollars slide out of bank and brokerage accounts supposedly pursuant to court
orders and not once has there been lawful compliance with a court order. It's always, in every
circumstance, illegal activity. One hundred percent of the time it's fraud. Moreover, it's very
unlikely a hearing to confiscate every last dime of my income would have taken place without me
receiving word of it. And it's impossible to imagine a court judgment would order Royal Bank to
seize every nickel of my living expenses on behalf of Canada Revenue Agency. CRA already
garnishees my pension income at the source. Royal Bank's claim was completely void of credibility.
I told the manager I was skeptical about there being a court judgment instructing Royal Bank to
interfere with my bank account. I don't buy it. The bank manager maintained that if Royal Bank
says there's a court order then there is a court order. That is what the information said. Yeah sure,
Royal Bank does no wrong, RBC walks on water. I asked to see the order. Her chilly attitude
turned defensive. It'll take at least until Monday to get a copy of the order faxed to the branch. She
was playing for time. Wrong place to be, stuck in a small room with a shady bank manager. I rose,
opened the door and told her I'd call her on Monday and stop by the branch to get a copy of the
court order. I took a business card and left.
Later that day I left a voice-mail message for the Royal Bank manager with my Rogers Wireless
cellphone. (An aside: I'm a loyal fan of Rogers Communications. Rogers is more than just
Canada's premier media/technology company. With the Canadian government not morally worthy
of righteous support, patriotic Canadians can express their nationalism by enjoying Rogers products,
a morally correct corporation. By simply watching a Blue Jays game for instance, a Rogers owned
team, you're expressing your devotion to Canada. Being the biggest and best has great benefits for
the consumer. You can experience the tangible magic of Rogers by using a Rogers phone or
Internet connection.) I explained that I've encountered the court order con before and I asked that
if there really is a court order Royal Bank comply with the instructions of the order to the letter. If
Royal Bank can't comply with the instructions then do nothing. The manager didn't wait for me to
contact her after the weekend as agreed. Instead of remitting a copy of the order as promised, as
soon as I left her office she sent me a curt e-mail. I hadn't given her my e-mail address, I'd made it
clear I would contact her, not the other way around. I don't know where she got my e-mail address
from. In the e-mail she referred me to a Canada Revenue Agency employee. Please contact this
CRA employee for details, she wrote. I knew the name. I'd encountered this collections officer
before. Earlier in 2007 the CRA employee obtained two federal court certificates, supposedly
registering my income tax liability. The amounts registered were inconsistent with the debt I owed
and when added together amounted to considerably more than the actual debt I owed. After
obtaining the false federal court certificates the CRA agent illegally misused the false certificates to
place an unlawful lien on property co-owned by myself and two other people. The CRA employee
did this knowing full well that the federal court certificate amounts were falsely inflated.
I suspected Royal Bank would have difficulty proving it's court order claim. The reason is simple:
Royal Bank had lied and was now attempting to obstruct me. There was no court judgment that
orders Royal Bank to seize my personal chequing account on behalf of the government. This
chilled me to the bone. The government was saying a living expenses bank account was not exempt
from confiscation. A legal seizure by the government? Nope. It was completely wrong.
Completely unlawful. But the reality was palpable to the tune of the missing $7,000.00 and the hold
on the account. While not legal, the substance of my predicament was setting in. What did my
personal chequing account have to do with a tax liability? I didn't know I was supposed to turn my
paycheques over to the government. Owing money to the government means the rules are
suspended and it's war? I was being driven underground by the government for the sole reason of
owing them money. And if a federal government employee could take possession of my personal
bank account without due process then anything could be taken from me. What could I expect
from CRA next? A dark cloud hung over me this Christmas.