I just moved back to the East Coast from California, and unfortunately my new city doesn't have a Chase branch within 100 miles. I applied at two of the big regional banks and was declined by both for reasons they wouldn't provide. Paranoid, I checked my credit report and found that my score has vastly improved in the last few years and that I had nothing negative on the report whatsoever. Has anyone else experienced this? Is there another report I should check to see what the problem might be? It's pretty disconcerting to have multiple banks decline to take my money.
That's so strange that they wouldn't provide the reason. In one case where this occured to a friend of mine the bank manager showed him the exact reasons why.... He also had poor credit. This doesn't make sense and there should be a credit union or another institution willing to accept your excellent-credit cash!
Its interesting that they don't provide the reason. I would go look and see if you an talk to them or do something to try and figure out why they refused you as that can help you in the future or you can amend whatever caused them to refuse you.
There are two types of reporting agencies that banks use to determine if you can open an account. One is ChexSystems. If you owe any money to a bank or had your account closed for excess overdraft charges, then it's very likely that you were reported to this agency. I think any reporting stays on your record for five years. You can order your record online. The other agency is EWS, Early Warning Systems. This was created by 3 or 4 of the largest banks. You can be reported here if your account if flagged for fraudulent activity. What constitutes fraudulent activity is very vague.
It irritates me that banks reject people for bank accounts. It doesn't make sense. You're not asking them for money. You're just looking for a place to deposit your money. I've dealt with a bank being secretive about turning me down for an account. Instead of just telling me that I was turned down, they waited 5 days and sent me a letter in the mail. I was a little irritated that the agents on the phone didn't just outright tell me that I was turned down. One of them said "I think they just need a little more information from you."
You're probably dealing with Chexsystems issues. Pull a free report, and you'll be able to see everything you've done with bank accounts for the past 7 years. It will probably show if you have overdrafts, you've been flagged for fraudulent activity, and tons of other information. I had this issue myself, although I've found a few banks that are pretty awesome. If you have Chexsystems issues, try US Bank, Chase (for those with Chase branches around), and Citi Bank. Those three gave me accounts even when my Chexsystems report looked pretty bad.
Wow, I didn't even know this was a thing. I never heard of getting turned down when trying to open a bank account. I guess it makes sense under the circumstances some of you have described, but it seems like there should be clear definitions for things like "fraud." I've seen banks make a lot of mistakes, so customers could end up being blamed and rejected over something they had no control over.
Yes! Chexsystems has taken a lot of hits from consumer groups. I do remember hearing that there was a class action suit being brought against Chexsystems. I have no idea how it turned out or how far it got. I do belief that EWS sprung up after that.
From where I am, opening a regular savings account is pretty easy - in all major local banks. But it's different when it comes to opening a checking account. Banks here have very strict requirements when it comes to checking account applicants but it's understandable because there are cases here where checks are being use in deceitful financial transactions.
That is very strange. If you looked at your credit report and everything is good, than that is rather odd that you were rejected. Have you thought about just keeping Chase as your bank? Most banks have different checking accounts that offer different features. They might offer one without surcharge fees for ATMs. If you use mobile banking it would be another good thing, and you wouldn't have to be physically near a branch to use Chase.
It is strange and frustrating that application for bank account opening is declined by banks. I would try to find out the reasons for the decline by talking to them. Hopefully they changed their mind and accept the application and amend their records accordingly. It is not difficult to open account with any bank in my country provided the initial funds meets the minimum deposit amount, which is usually not difficult to fulfilled under normal circumstances.
Yep I was going to say the same thing, Chexsystems...they are evil and everywhere, especially with bigger banks. Have you considered trying like a credit union, or tried researching 'non chexsystems banks' online? There are many different resources for people online where they keep up to date lists of more chexsystems friendly banks and banking options in different states as well.
I have never heard of people getting declined just for opening bank accounts. I mean, I'd understand if you were applying for a credit card because the company would have to ensure you're solvent enough to pay on time and not exceed your credit limit. However, the bank that declined your application may have shady origins. You have to check how authentic of a bank that is. I don't have excellent credit - heck, I only ever owned one credit card before I had it cut - but I've never been declined simply because I wanted to open a bank account. That's totally absurd.
I suppose it also depends on the country where you want to open a bank account. In Australia I had no problem opening another bank account when I ran into arguments with my old bank. In fact, nobody asked me any questions whatsoever. All I had to do was to complete the usual point system, and I had my account within an hour of applying for it with the documents that they were asking for. And the same happened when I moved to Latin America a few years ago.
