Location: Seattle, WA
Back in July, I opened a new account with KeyBank. In August I deposited a cashier's check I had received from craigslist sale. Unfortunately, at the time of deposit, I was not aware that the check was fraudulent. I deposited the check inside the branch with a teller. The teller did not inform me there was anything suspicious with the check and continued with the transaction. He did have to step away to speak with his manager (and took the check with him) but he did not mention anything being wrong with the check. When the deposit was finished he informed me that $100 was made available and the rest would deposit the following day.
It wasn't until the following week that I noticed something was wrong. I tried to make a deposit at the ATM but it kept rejecting my deposit, so I went into the branch where I found out that a) a block was placed on my account b) the rest of the funds never deposited and c) the initial $100 deposit was reversed.
I spoke with a branch manager who spoke with the bank's fraud department and confirmed a hold was placed on my account due to suspicious activity. According to him, the cashier's check came back NFA. I explained I wasn't aware that cashier's checks could bounce (supposedly, according to him, cashier's check aren't guaranteed funds?) and discovered I was the victim of a craigslist check fraud scam.
He said there was a hold while the bank investigated. He said that I should receive a letter in the mail with a copy of the returned check but that he was going to personally look into it to get it cleared up that he would call me back with the results.
I never heard back from the branch manager but I did receive a letter informing me that KeyBank had decided to longer continue doing business with me, was closing my account due to fraudulent activity and that I would be receiving a check in the mail for the remaining balance of my account.
Since I wasn't sure if I would be keeping the account (I ended up going with Wells Fargo) I just let it go. It wasn't until October when I was being added to a business account with a credit union, that I discovered that KeyBank has submitted a negative report to ChexSystems, resulting in me getting denied.
Fast forward to mid-October where I'm joining a credit union so I can be added to a business account as an authorized agent, and I was denied due to a black mark on my ChexSystems Report. The Credit Union explains to me that a negative report had been submitted from KeyBank.
What are my options for fighting this? I had called and spoken with a branch specialist who informed me that this apparently standard procedure to report all returned/fraudulent checks and there was nothing they could do to remove it. However, I don't understand why I have to be penalized when I wasn't the one who wrote the check. Is there any recourse available for those who are a victim of check fraud?
Submitted December 30, 2017 at 08:12AM by dhalpin57 http://ift.tt/2CesJgI
