Hey All, first off let me say thank you for being such a good resource. Because of the information on this sub, I have a solid emergency fund and I'm on track for retirement.
I'm in a very unique situation, and I'm at a loss as to what to do next.
I recently started a business, but before I started making any sales, I intended to get a dedicated checking account for my business-related expenses and transactions. I'm already a customer at Ally Bank, with a checking account and a savings account, and Ally encourages their customers to open up as many checking accounts as they need to as budgeting tools (http://ift.tt/2wAMiIO).
Although Ally checking accounts don't currently offer business-specific tools, I don't really need them at this time. All I need is a way to separate my business finances from my personal finances.
Here's where it gets weird. I applied for an additional Ally checking account and it was denied. They sent me a letter explaining that the decision was reached based on the information in my report with ChexSystems, which is purportedly a credit bureau for banks. Apparently, I have what are called "reported bank account closures" on my record, which basically means that I have accounts that have been closed and reported to ChexSystems, potentially due to failure to fulfill my debt obligations, or even fraudulent activity.
This is uncharted waters for me. I've never engaged in fraud, and I'm very responsible in managing my debts; I haven't missed a single credit card payment.. ever. Fortunately, because of the FCRA, I'm entitled to a free copy of my ChexSystems credit report whenever I'm denied an account based on a decision that was reached due to information in that report. I figured there must be an error, or possibly an account that I was closed that I simply wasn't aware of from back in my wild college years.
Here's where it gets even weirder: I received a copy of the report, and it was spotless. No reported bank account closures, no fraudulent activity, no nothing. Okay, so maybe the checking account denial was a fluke? A representative at Ally heard me out and encouraged me to apply again, so I did. Again, it was denied. Same reason given, even after working very closely with Ally representatives.
I figured the problem might have been with Ally, so I applied for an account with Capital One. Denied: reported bank account closures on my record.
Nobody at the banks will talk to me, since they think that I'm guilty based on the report from ChexSystems. At ChexSystems, it's not even possible to get a live person on the phone.
Online resources all say all you have to do is clear up the reported bank account closures with the bank that reported the closed account, but there are none! There's nobody to clear it up with!
What the heck do I do?
Submitted August 07, 2017 at 08:22AM by Ghostpants1987 http://ift.tt/2vHBpbM
