 Negative
ChexSystems report nixes account
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 Dear
Dr. Don,
I am in ChexSystems and I am not able to get a checking account.
How can I get out of ChexSystems and get a checking account?
-- Diane Debit
 Dear
Diane,
ChexSystems provides consumer reports on banking relationships to
the financial services industry. Unlike credit reports where negative
information stays on your credit report for seven to 10 years, negative
information stays on your ChexSystems report for five years.
You have the same right to dispute information on
your ChexSystems report that you do with a credit report. That means
that the firm has to follow the dispute provisions of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act, or FCRA. If you are turned down for a checking account,
ChexSystems will provide you with a free copy of your consumer report
within 60 days of that action if the financial institution pulled
your ChexSystems report as part of its decision-making process.
You are also eligible to get a free copy once a year under the provisions
of the Fair and Accurate Credit Reporting Act of 2003. The Consumer
Debit Resource site's
FAQ page explains all of this in greater detail.
In some states you can go to the financial equivalent
of traffic school with a program called "Get Checking"
and, after completing the six-hour course, qualify to get a checking
account with a financial institution that participates in the Get
Checking program.
The Bankrate feature, "Bouncing
back from a checking ban," explains the program in greater
depth and provides a link to the Get Checking Web site. It's a bit
ironic that the corporate national sponsor of Get Checking is eFunds,
the parent corporation of ChexSystems.
Not all financial institutions use ChexSystems reports
in making the business decision to offer you a checking account.
The irreverent and somewhat rabid Web site ChexSystems Bites! maintains
a directory
of banks that don't let a negative ChexSystems report necessarily
stop you from opening an account.
To ask a question of Dr. Don, go
to the "Ask the Experts"
page, and select one of these topics: "financing a home,"
"saving & investing" or "money."
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