Today my wife and I went to a major bank to open an account. Bank pulls checkex, no problem, but what the rep did not tell us was that she also pulled a CR from Trans Union. Bank declined to open an account based on the information in the Trans Union report. The last time I checked my Trans Union score was 525 and I am working on several derogs. Now, the rep. did not tell us she was pulling a CR, did not get our permission in writing or verbally or in any other fashion. After telling us she could not open an account she gave us a print out of the standard denial disclosure letter. She took a phone call, I grab the letters and all our ID that we had to produce and just left, before she could make copies of them. My questions are, since she did not tell us she was pulling a CR nor have our permission do so, I have the bank on 604 (a)(2) â?? not in writing. But I worry about 604 (a)(3)(F)(i) â?? â??otherwise has a legitimate business need for the informationâ? (i) in connection with a business transaction that is initiated by the consumer, orâ?¦. Nowhere is 604 (a)(3)(F)(i) does it state that they need my permission in writing or am I reading the section wrong??? Both my wife were made to fell like we were lower class citizens once the rep. found out she could not open an account for us. It is not as if we bounced checks, never have, would have kept minimum balances to avoid fees, direct deposit, etc. I am tempted to write to bank to find out what permissible purpose they had to pull CR since they do not have it in writing and making them pay the $1000 x2. What are your thoughts, should I drop it or pursue it to see what happens.
I am guessing here, but did you apply for overdraft protection? I know in that instance they pull credit. checkex: Do you mean chexsystems? I wasn't correcting your spelling, I just wondered was there something else out there I didn't know about.
It's my bad spelling. It's been a long day. It is chexsystems. The bank rep said they pull that. I knew that would not be a problem. Did not apply for overdraft protection. I still have a checking account at a credit union but since they moved it has become a hassle. Now my wife is giving me grief over this too.
some banks pull your CR just for the debit card that has the visa/mastercard logo on it. can you believe that? a card that has absolutely nothing to do with credit because it pulls from your bank account and they check your credit report to get it? i hate that logic. chase did this to me for a long time. finally one day they gave me one without me even asking. EDIT: btw i had to specifically tell them I didnt want the ATM/debit card just so they'd add me to my wifes account originally.
"I DID NOT APPLY FOR A CREDIT CARD OR LOAN WITH THIS BANK...PLEASE REMOVE THE INQUIRY" If it is NOT removed then FILE for the $1-2,000
Geez, I really don't know what you should do. I see 604, so I know they will say they have permissible purpose. I bet they check credit to offer you other products. They will probably use this to answer any dispute you offer. (I know that doesn't make it right). I would dispute the inquiry though. Even though I couldn't help, I wish you luck in getting this cleared up.
Thanks to all for the quick responses. I may wait until I get the offical denial letter from the bank. Write them asking if they can open an account since I am not applying for an extension of credit. If they still say no, then go after them.
When you open an account with Wells Fargo, we do pull a Chexsystem inquiry PLUS a SOFT inquiry to all 3 credit bureaus. This will NOT affect your credit scores or reports. This is to see how financially responsible our new customer is. Now, if declined for the account, you are entitled to a free credit report from that agency. And, yes, you are right. You are not applying for credit, but for a bank account. It would be a HARD inquiry if you decided to apply for a loan or line of credit.
Well this is scary...have you checked your TU to see if anything fishy or plain "wrong" was added recently? I know banks pull Chex. I know that I see an inquiry on my reports, which I always assumed was for the check card (since it carries the visa/mc logo) -which most banks just "package" together, (more points for cross selling etc.- you don't even ask and you get it in most cases.) But I didn't have any problems opening checking accounts at two major banks after my bk discharge which you would think is about as bad as it can get isn't it?? I guess I'm staying put from now on. Please let us know if they can tell you WHY you were denied, score? derog? what???? Newstdt
dunno every single bank in georgia there's a clearly placed sign that says "We check equifax when we open new accounts" AND "We check CHEXSYSTEMS when we open new accounts". If such signs were placed in a non-conspicuous place, it would be assumed that you read them. In this case its on the desk of every person at the bank i went to..
I agre with Sam. This is posted in every bank I have ever been in and it is standard procedure, even for just a plain checking or savings account.
To start with a bank can pull your credit report for opening an account *ANY* account. If it is being used as part of a legit business transaction. Which according to their view it is. Second..If you have a debit card with the Visa or MC logo on it they ARE in fact extending you credit. If you go to a restaurant and pay with a debitcard they may get preapproval for 50 bucks, say you have 51 in your checking account. When you sign the slip you have added a tip of 10 bucks, the sixty dollar transaction WILL go through, the bank just extended you credit. Also, if there is an authorization for the same restaurant the bank will old the money for a few days, not long enough if the restaurant still submits paper to a credit card processor. It can then take two weeks to show up at your bank, during that time they released your money and you cashed a check against it. When the charge comes in the bank accepts it and then they extended you credit. I don't know if this is good or not, I myself cancelled my debit card since it doesn't have the same protections as a regular credit card.
I'm confused. I was to the understanding that a soft inquiry did not give financial information. Only name and address. What reason would the bank have for pulling a hard inquiry as opposed to a soft inquiry if the information obtained is the same?
An A/R will give complete history just as a hard would, a PROMO will only give name and address that meets specific criteria. Thats why your own inquiries which are soft are reported in the A/R section on TU, as they give the same info as other A/Rs.
No signs saying they pull a CR. I have not gotten the "offical" denial letter yet, just what I took from the bank rep. I'll see what happens when I get the "offical" letter. All I applied for was a "standard" checking account and an ATM not CHECKCARD, so that I could use an ATM machine. I knew my TU sucks right now, but if the rep had told me she was pulling a CR I would have refused. I even refused to give her my SSN but she said she would not open an account without one. BTW - I was telling my tale of woe at work today, my employeer over heard it, called the bank that my office deals with, with 30 min I have an account, no questions asked except of the chexsystems report. No CR, and even got the CheckCard. Go figure.
Enigma That's a cool way to get an account opened. Congratulations. When you get the denial letter, I would use it to get your credit report or reports depending on whether the bank checked one or more reports. Then see if the inquiry or inquires are hard or soft. If the inquiry or inquires turns out to be hard, you could write the bank a letter asking that the inquiry be removed. The credit union account is worth keeping open even if you don't plan to use them for regular checking. With damaged credit, you may be able to get a good secured credit card and down the line a good auto loan from them.
this is actually a great way to get your credit reports cleaned... if... you had TU disputes running at the time the bank pulled the report. TU doesn't note the accounts in dispute as being "in dispute" which is an fcra violation every time on every disputed trade line. did you have any disputes on TU at the time the bank looked? if so... have the bank keep their copy (or repull another) so they can testify there's no indication of any disputes... you can then use the set of violations in a lawsuit demand letter and TU is very responsive to deletion only settlements (but no monetary compensation) prior to filing a lawsuit... this could be a very lucky month for you :_)))
Erik, That's a good idea about getting the bank to remove the inq., I never thought of that. I am keeping the credit union account, I have been a member for forever. I am going to be doing some car shopping after the 1st of the year and they already said they well work with me. The just moved about 20 miles from my home. Not caught up to the 21st century yet. They allow ATM deposits but it takes 5 days to clear. But they say they are going to open branch offices within the next year.
