Bank Seizes House, Parrot of Wrong Borrower

A Pittsburgh woman is suing Bank of America, saying it padlocked her home, cut her water and electrical lines, and confiscated her pet parrot Luke while she was away—even though she wasn’t in default. The bank has apologized, but the woman, 46-year-old Angela Iannelli, says they didn’t help her at all when she called to protest, at first denying that they knew where the bird was.

At one point, they told her they were “tired” of hearing from her, told her to call the police, and hung up. After more than a week of wrangling, she finally drove two hours to the contractor’s office to retrieve the bird. Now she’s seeking $50,000 in damages, saying that in addition to the property damage, the incident caused her so much “emotional distress” that she had to go on prescription anxiety meds. (More parrot stories.)