I am coming here because it was recommended to me as a place to ask my questions, so I hope maybe someone here knows how this works. My daughter is 18, and she had her first checking account at Washington Mutual. She'd only had the account since October of 2007, and in January she had someone who bounced two checks to her. This overdrew her account, and after some debit card charges ran through that each cost her an overdraft fee (I'm sure you all know how this goes), she was in a deep hole. About $300, which of course is a lot for a teen. Well, as soon as she found out about the overdraft, I told her to get on the phone with the bank. She did that, and she told them she couldn't afford to cover this amount immediately, but she did not want her account to be in trouble or get closed. The rep on the phone told her not to worry, that as long as she paid it off a little at a time, she would be fine and they would not close her account. I told her I didn't quite find that believable, as I'd heard terrible horror stories of people being reported to Chexsystems for leaving their accounts overdrawn and getting them closed. So, she called back again, and was told the same thing by another rep. Well, she has direct deposit, and she just left it that way and allowed her paycheck to be deposited every week. Thus, there was a deposit made each week without fail. It was not a lot, since she is a student and only works part time, but there was no week without a deposit. I also deposited $40 cash into her account to help out. I'm a single mom and don't have a lot of money, but I wanted to do what I could. When I went into the branch to make the deposit, I asked the manager how long they would give her to get this account paid up (I was still personally nervous about what she'd been told and how accurate it was). The manager told me that usually they'd give someone about a month, but that as long as she was regularly making deposits and they could see that she was working on it, they would not close her account. So, that is the third person that told us this. Well, her March 14th paycheck would have been the last one that had to go into this hole. It should have brought her back into the positive by a few dollars. On that morning, she logged onto the Wamu web site to check that the direct deposit had come in and for exactly how much. When she got into her accounts, it showed that her checking account had been charged off on the 12th, two days before, and therefore her account was closed and the direct deposit did not post. She was in tears, and she called Wamu right away. They put her through to risk and recovery department, and the lady there told her that no matter whether she'd covered the overdraft or not, they would have closed her account. So, they'd all lied! The lady just told her to go into the branch and pay off the balance, and maybe after five or six months of keeping her savings account in good order (which it always has been, but only had a small amount in it), that maybe they'd open her up a new checking account. She then told the lady that she had heard that people who got their accounts closed by the bank could not open another checking account anywhere for years (she didn't refer to Chexsystems because we couldn't recall the name of it at that moment). She was very upset at the prospect of being in that position when she's only 18 and starting out. Anyway, the lady said to her, "No, your account is not that bad yet". She told me when she got off the phone that the lady had said that. "Your account is not that bad yet." We have no idea what that means. Is it that they don't make reports to Chexsystems unless it goes unpaid for a while, i.e. gets "that bad"? But I'd heard of people who had reports over a mere $10 or so. So that doesn't make sense. Does it mean that Wamu doesn't report to Chexsystems right away? We have no idea. Do any of you know what this means, or how this usually work, or how bad her situation possibly is right now? She has not yet gone to another bank because she is terribly humiliated at the idea of being on Chexsystems, and I don't think she'd walk in anywhere unless she was sure it was cleared up. Any advice or input?
If she orders the Chexsystems report and there's nothing there, then does that mean she's clear? Or does it mean Wamu reports, say, once a month and it's going to show up any day now (which would mean get to another bank right away, before it does)? Or does it mean that Wamu only reports when it's over a certain amount, in which case there's no rush? Just wish we understood what's happening.
If she gets the report back, and it's clear, then a new bank won't see anything either. I don't know how long , or if and when Wamu would report in the future. If the report is clear when she gets it, I would just go and open a new account somewhere. I have read that some banks look at ChexSystems periodically, and close accounts if they find something negative.
If it were me, I'd rip some bank manager apart at that branch! If three employees/reps told you everything was fine, then they have a liability to correct this situation. I would sit down w/ a bank supervisor, and ask them to pull up the ChexSystem report, they can do it in seconds. You'll have the evidence right away. Believe me, the bank can correct the account closing, and amend a ChexSystem report. Push them! Also, go after the people who bounced the checks to your daughter for the fees, go to small claims if you must.
This ChexSystem, how much does it cost to view and do you get a freebie at all? Also what would the ChexSystem have on a report that would be positive or negative? Am I to understand that every time you open up an account they check this ChexSystem? Woofer
It's been a while, but I believe a ChexSystem report is about $10, it may be less. I believe you can get a "freebie" if you've been turned down for an account. It is very similiar to a credit report, it lists bank accounts you have/had, and any negative notations. Yes, although accounts like a savings account (where you cannot overdraw it) they often do not pull a report. For the normal checking accounts, yes they almost always pull a report.
I had something similar happen to me when I was in college. I was overdrawn by $7 and after all the fees it ended up being over $300. I kept depositing money, but every time I did they seemed to tack on another fee. Talking to them didn't do any good, either. The branch manager lied to my face and said he had tried to get a hold of me to work something out -- of course he never did. Anyway, I was able to open up an account at Regions Bank almost immediately. I also have one with a local credit union and Washington Mutual. The last time I wrote a check was in 2004 when the store wouldn't accept it. Don't really care -- I use my debit card for everything. As far as collections... knock on wood, but I've been lucky. Occasionally I'll get something from RJM wanting me to pay $100 for the debt. It's never been on my credit report.
I am not 100% certain, but generally it is only a hard pull, as the report is only pulled upon opening an account. As for banks that do not pull a ChexSystem report, I do not know. Almost all banks do pull the report now. The laws have become tighter (or rather adherence to them) with some Homeland Security laws. Your best try is to call the institution and inquire if they pull a report as a requisite to opening an account.
Living with ChexSystems Here is a link I found to WikiHow. Some good information on finding a bank that does not use ChexSystems and some links that might be helpful too. I'm not allowed to post links because I have less than 25 posts but just go to wikihow.com and click on Finance and Business/Managing Your Money/Banking/Getting a checking account if you're listed in ChexSystems. Hope this helps
I think on the e-mail you said you were at the tail end of the paying the $300 if the amount is minimal some banks don't report it to Chex Systems. I think at my bank it is anything above something like $150. You can also go talk to your local branch and explain the situation and ask them to take your young daughter off chex systems and they may comply I have a friend who requested this and his branch pulled him out. If she is placed in chex systems one alternative could brokerage houses, some one can correct if I am wrong but I donâ??t think they use chex systems. Also if the news is bad it might help her to get an account before she goes in chex systems so getting over her embarrassment might help if she can open an account before she gets in chex systems, because let me tell you opening up an account will be a challenge if they place her in chexs.
