ChexSystems Knows What You Did Last Summer (At Your Bank)
by SAB on Oct.10, 2009, under Opinion
If you’re planning on opening a new bank account, you better know what ChexSystems is. If you have never heard of it you are either fortunate or in for a shock…
“ChexSystems is a check verification service and consumer credit reporting agency like Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. While most credit reporting agencies broker data about how a consumer handles credit relationships, ChexSystems provides data related to how a consumer has handled deposit accounts at banking institutions.”
It’s disturbingly easy to end up on one of their reports and not know about it for years. When someone comes in to open a new account at the bank I work at I sit them down and start the small talk while our computer system boots up. Then I get a copy of their ID and start entering their information into the system. From sit-down to ChexSystems inquiry usually takes several minutes -by that time you usually know enough about the person to be on a friendly, first-name acquintance level.
It’s at this point when the bomb drops. “Unfortunately we won’t be able to open an account for you today…” I’ll explain what ChexSystems is and people usually have one of two responses. Either they are suprised and/or outraged that they are “blacklisted,” or they give a resigned nod, usually accompianed by “yep, I figured as much.”
Talk about a conversation killer. ChexSystems does, in fact, protect banks from people who regularly abuse accounts… but the problem comes when you and your bank have a dispute over some money you might owe them, they close your account and blacklist you. Even when you pay any amounts owed you remain on ChexSystems for years. Here are some good resources for dealing with this issue:
Order A Report From ChexSystems. This is a good first step. You need to find out what is in your ChexSystems report and who, if anyone, thinks you owe them money. You can also contact ChexSystems directly:
Mail:
Chex Systems, Inc.
Attn: Consumer Relations
7805 Hudson Road, Suite 100
Woodbury, MN 55125
Phone: 800.428.9623
Fax: 602.659.2197
October 11th, 2009 on 9:05 AM
US Bank reported me to chexsystems when they closed my account because I owed about 50 bucks. I paid them back but since I was on chexsystems I had a really hard time finding a bank that would accept me. US bank didn’t give me much of a warning at all, it was an account I forgot I even had!