Customers sought refunds, vendors pressed for overdue balances, and the storage facility began charging additional fees.

Whether the disputed conduct would result in criminal charges depended on the evidence, but the civil debts were already very real.

One afternoon Celia explained that the bank had provisionally credited part of Iris’s disputed transactions while continuing its review.

Iris thanked her, then asked what would happen if the credit were reversed.

“We’ll read their explanation and decide whether to challenge it,” Celia said.

“Do not build your budget around money that isn’t final.”