If you’ve been reported to Chexsystems, contrary to what you might have been told, you do have options. This is especially true if you have been unfairly reported. What a lot of people don’t know is that Chexsystems is ruled by the Fair Credit Reporting Act and that opens up some options to you.

The first thing you can do is request a copy of your Chexsystems report. Since they’re bound by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you’re entitled to a free copy of your report every year. This is obviously excellent for monitoring purposes.

You can land on Chexsystems’ list for a number of reasons: if a bank believes you’ve written a check with insufficient funds, closed an overdrawn bank account, or if you’ve done anything that the bank doesn’t approve of, they will report you. Once your name is on that list, you’re led to believe that it’s supposed to stay there for five years, and that you will only be able to open accounts through second chance checking. But that’s only if you don’t do anything about it.

When you receive your report after requesting it, check it carefully. Make sure that all the information that’s included there is accurate. If, for example, you had an overdraft account that was then closed, and in the meantime you paid it off, the bank is required to mark that it was paid in full. Check whether or not that was reported correctly. Anything that you spot that is incorrect, make a note of it for your next course of action.

Said course of action involves writing a certified letter to Chexsystems, where you dispute whatever is wrong in your report. You should address the letter to

ChexSystems, Inc.

7805 Hudson Road, Suite 100

Woodbury MN 55125

Your Chexsystems report includes a “consumer ID number”. Use that to identify yourself, along with your name, just to make things easier. List the incorrect information, and then the correct information as it should have appeared. Include a short explanation of why the information is wrong, and specify that you’re enclosing documentation. Include whatever proof you have, such as a cancelled check to show payment, a bank statement, or whatever.

Chexsystems must contact whatever bank reported the information, request an investigation, and get back to you in 30 days. If the report is wrong or can’t be verified, it will be removed.

If it’s not removed, you can add a statement to the item explaining your side of the story. Write or fax Chexsystems at the same address above, saying you want to include a consumer statement, and say what you want to appear. It must be less than 100 words, can’t mention the name of another person or business, and should be a clear summary of why the report shouldn’t be counted against you. When you apply for a bank account and the bank pulls your Chexsystems report, they’ll be able to read your statement, so think what you’d like to tell a busy banker about the situation.

If you can’t get off Chexsystems even by disputing and you’re still having trouble opening a bank account, there are non Chexsystems banks that  don’t care whether you’re on it or not. Using one of them may be the simplest solution in that case, until five years pass and Chexsystems finally removes you.

Related: Bank Of America’s Policy Regarding ChexSystems

Get Off Chexsystems

If you’ve never had trouble opening a checking account, then odds are you have no idea what ChexSystems is. On the other hand, if you’ve been trying to open a bank account and find yourself unable to do so, it’s likely that it’s because of Chexsystems. ChexSystems was initially developed to detect fraudulent activity and assist financial institutions with risk management analysis, particularly for individual customers. Banks that do not use Chexsystems are not impossible to find, although the company is pretty aggressive marketing-wise and its goal is to have 100% of the banks using its services.

Much like your credit score monitors the way you manage your credit and documents your credit history, Chexsystems monitors your banking activities and documents your banking history. Besides being a credit reporting agency, it’s also a licensed debt collector. From the reporting agency standpoint, though, just like you can request one credit report per year from each of the major credit reporting companies, you’re also entitles to a ChexSystems report, once a year, at no cost.

Related: Disputing mistakes on your ChexSystems report

Here’s what a sample ChexSystems Consumer Report looks like.

September 29, 2003

JOHN C CONSUMER

123 MAIN ST

ANY TOWN MN 12345

ChexSystems will reinvestigate any item listed in your consumer report that you believe may be inaccurate or incomplete. In order for a reinvestigation to be initiated, please complete the enclosed form and mail it to the address listed above in our letterhead or by fax to 602-659-2197.

This report was prepared for JOHN C CONSUMER

Consumer ID:12345678 for JOHN C CONSUMER

Please provide your Consumer ID number, along with your Social Security number in any future contact with ChexSystems.

Reported Information Reported Information refers to reports of accounts that have been mishandled, reported for cause, and/or outstanding debts. Reported Information is submitted directly to ChexSystems by members of our service, which consists mainly of financial institutions. Our current practice is to retain this information for a period of five years. SSN/ID indicates a Social Security number, Individual Taxpayer Identification number, Tax ID number, or Employer ID number.

Source Of Information: First National Bank Any Town, MN Reported Name: John C Consumer Reported Address: 123 Main St Any Town, MN 12345 Reported SSN/ID: 999-99-9999 Drivers License: X123456789123 State: MN Joint Name: Mary M Consumer RTN: 123456789 Account#: 987654321 Date Reported: 01/01/2003 Reported For: Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) Activity Debt Reported: ChexSystems has no debt information available. May we suggest that you contact the source of the information to determine whether or not a debt is owed. Source of Information: Any Town Credit Union Any Town, MN Reported Name: John C Consumer Reported Address: 123 Main St Any Town, MN 12345 Reported SSN/ID: 999-99-9999 Drivers License: X123456789123 State: MN RTN: 123456789 Account #: 987654321 Date Reported: 01/01/2003 Reported For: Transactions Involving Returned Items From Own Account At another Financial Institution. Debt Reported: 160.23 Source of Information: First National Bank   Any Town, TX Reported Name: John C Consumer Reported Address: 123 Main St  Any Town, TX 12345 Reported SSN/ID: 999-99-9999 Drivers License: 123456789 State: MN Joint Name: Mary M Consumer RTN: 123456789 Account #:    987654321 Date Reported: 01/01/2003 Reported For: Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) Activity Original Charge Off Amount:         $100.00 Paid In Full/Settled In Full Date:    09/14/2000

Inquiries Initiated By Consumer Action

Inquiries Initiated By Consumer Action refers to inquiries resulting from a transaction initiated by you. These include applying for a credit card or completing an application at a financial institution. Please note that the inquiries are part of your credit history and may be included in our reports to others. These inquiries can be viewed for ninety days up to three years.

Inquirer Name:	Any Town Savings
Inquirer Location:	Any Town MN
Inquiry Date:	02/28/2003
Name Provided:	John C Consumer
SSN/ID Provided:	999-99-9999

Inquiries Not Initiated By Consumer Action

Inquiries Not Initiated By Consumer Action refers to inquiries resulting from transactions you may not have initiated, so you may not recognize the source. Members of our service with a permissible purpose include current creditors, pre-approval creditors, and potential investors trying to assess risks. We report these requests only to you as a record of activities, and we do not include any of these requests on credit reports to others.

Inquirer Name:	Renaissance
Inquirer Location:	Beaverton CO
Inquiry Date:	03/24/2003
Name Provided:	John C Consumer
SSN/ID Provided:	999-99-9999

Retail Information

Retail Information refers to returned checks written on an account and certain collection accounts. Retailers and other businesses report this information to Shared Check Authorization Network (SCAN). ChexSystems receives this information directly from SCAN and is not involved in the collection of these items.

For additional information you may contact SCAN by telephone at 800-262-7771 or in writing to SCAN, Attention Research & Resolution, 7805 Hudson Road, Suite 100, Woodbury, MN 55125.

Date Of Check:	01/10/2002
Check Number:	6011
Amount Of Check:	$106.50
Date Check Paid:	Not Paid Yet
RTN/Account #:	12345678/98765543454
Drivers License:	X123456789123	State:	MN
Payee:	ABC Merchant
Date Of Check:	02/11/2003
Check Number:	7025
Amount Of Check:	$513.00
Date Check Paid:	08/23/2003
RTN/Account #:	12345678/98765543454
Drivers License:	X123456789123	State:	MN
Payee:	XYZ Stores

History Of Checks Ordered

History of Checks Ordered refers to a record of check orders placed within the past three years.

RTN/Account Number:	12345678 / 98765543454
Quantity Ordered:	400
Check Start Number:	6060
Date Order Shipped:	03/03/2002

Social Security Number Validation

Social Security Number Validation indicates the year and state that a particular sequence of digits first became available for issuance. This information does not include the name of the individual to whom the number was issued.

999-99-9999 Became available for issuance in 1951 or before inthe state of MN.

Drivers License Number Validation indicates whether or not the format of the drivers license number provided matches the requirements set by the state of issuance.

Drivers License X 123456789123 is a valid format for the stateof Minnesota.

Drivers License Number Verification is information provided to ChexSystems by the state that issued the drivers license number. This information, which is limited to certain states, identifies the name and date of birth of the individual to whom the drivers license was issued.

Drivers License: X123456789123	State: MN
Issued To: John C Consumer
Date of Birth: 01/31/1978

ChexSystems Contact Information

If you have any questions, please contact us at the address or telephone number listed
above in our letterhead or by fax at 602-659-2197.

As you can see, this is a very thorough report. It has drawn criticism because of that. One of the major points is that unlike other credit reports that contain both positive and negative information, a Chexsystems report contains only negative information. This is certainly true, and in response to that, some changes were brought to the way the information was reported and the weight assigned to some entries.

Yet this doesn’t change the fact that being reported to ChexSystems is decidedly not a good thing to happen to you; actually it’s something you should look to avoid at all costs. Otherwise a ChexSystems Consumer Report much like the one on this sample will be there to remind all banks that they shouldn’t be opening checking accounts for you.

© Sample ChexSystems Consumer Report