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About Check systems and checking accounts.?
About Check systems and checking accounts.?
About checking accounts and Check systems.?
Recently, I tried to open a new checking account at a different bank from the one I have now. I still have an account at my present bank which, thankfully I did not close. When I tried to open the account, I was declined. The banker printed up a sheet telling me to contact Telecheck. Which I did. I went online and read up on checksystems. I think I didn't close an account five years ago, I had already opened my present account. I contacted them as well. I'm now just wating to hear back from them. I'm now 27, and was not very responsible with my checking account about five years ago. However in the intervening years I have been. On some of the websites I read, it said sometime your current bank will cancel your account in your are in checksytems. That has never happened. I just want to make sure I'm OK. Also, if I was reported five years ago--it stated that it would be taken off. I'm not sure. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
I would love some advice, especially from a banker
Answers:
pismocrab: Ah, where to begin. First, there is very little chance your current account will be closed. If it's been in good standing for several years as you state, you have nothing to worry about. Banks use Telecheck or ChexSystems to gauge the risk of allowing a consumer to open a new checking account at their institution. They rarely use it to screen an existing customer unless there is some kind of fraud investigation going on. Among the possibilities, if you're a serial overdrafter, have defrauded a bank, or had an account closed with a negative balance you're going to be in either or both of those databases. Now, they are two separate systems. Banks generally use one or the other. So, it's possible that Telecheck has negative info on you but ChexSystems might not, and going to a bank using the latter might yield a better result - though if I had to bet I'd say you're in both.
Now, the good news is that ChexSystems is supposed to drop negative information after five years. I'm not familiar with Telecheck's policy, but would expect it to be similar. As you've experienced, if you're declined you do have the right to find out what is on your record and when it occurred, and you can (and should) request incorrect or old (5+ years) be removed from the report.
You can contact ChexSystems and dispute a report at:
Mail:
Chex Systems, Inc.
7805 Hudson Road, Suite 100
Woodbury, MN 55125
Phone:
By phone at 800-428-9623 or fax at 602-659-2197
Telecheck is owned by FirstData, and you can contact them at:
Customer Service: (800) 835-3243
2006-09-23 19:51:57