$7,800 taken from man's bank account in case of mistaken identity

A Richmond, B.C., man is seeing an unexpected windfall after TD Bank says thousands of dollars were taken from him in a case of mistaken identity.

The bank apologized to Le Zhang on Thursday, saying it froze his account "in error" — almost two weeks after the 36-year-old was shocked to find about $7,800 had been withdrawn in the form of a legal demand payment on Aug. 9.

"I just can't believe how this happened," Zhang said in an interview with CBC News the day before. "I just can't sleep. I can't even eat ... I don't know how I'm going to survive through this."

After noticing the withdrawal and going back and forth with his bank, Zhang found out the money was seized as part of a garnishing order — a legal order to seize a person's funds — of about $19,000 related to a water leak in a condo building in Richmond. 

He said he was told by a bank representative that the rest of the money would come out of his account once more funds were deposited. His chequing account sat at $0 as of earlier this week.

But court and property records reviewed by CBC News show Zhang didn't own or live in the building in question — a man with a similar name did.

After CBC News looked into the matter, TD apologized, saying it had received "incorrect information" from a third-party tool that is used to identify people involved in insurance claims and legal matters.

The bank says it will reimburse Zhang for the full amount that was taken from him and has also offered him an additional $5,000 for his "frustration."

Zhang, an education assistant and father of two, says he's extremely relieved TD is giving back his money as he has an upcoming mortgage payment and bills, and few savings.

"This should have happened on day one," he said.

A notice of claim laying out the alleged water damage lists Leo Zhang and the unit's registered owner as defendants.

It states the location of the incident as happening on a street that Le did once live on, but lists a completely different building and unit number.

Le Zhang insists he does not know the defendants, the unit's occupants, nor owner.

CBC News contacted the registered owner in China. She said she was not aware of the notice of claim as she hasn't been in Canada in years and plans to look into the matter.