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> "I'm sorry, you're here in Chex Systems for account abuse at BigCorp Bank three years ago, we can't open an account for you." > eventually I got into trouble

• thaumaturgy 13y ago
  Sure. I had two bank accounts: one with USBank, one with Bank of America. I had set them up as a savings account at one and a regular checking account at the other, back when I had money. My funds eventually ran out, and they both were overdrawn. Not by very much -- $20 to $50 each as I recall -- but with fees & etc., it grew to more than I could resolve. One of them grew to over $500 of debt. (I stopped using either account as soon as they were overdrawn; I didn't write $500 of bad checks.) I simply wasn't making enough money to do anything about it, and had no friends or family to turn to. (Well, that, and I was too proud to ask for help.) So, I walked away from it. I didn't know about Chex Systems at the time, and didn't realize that doing so would mean I wouldn't be able to open accounts elsewhere for about five years. I think some banks do now offer options for people listed in Chex Systems, but at the time that wasn't the case. I'm not sure what the range of abuses are that Chex Systems tracks. I was told more than once that mine was especially egregious, probably because it involved accounts at two banks, and because one of them racked up a pretty big sum.