Does Bank of America freeze accounts because of chexsystems

People are getting accounts at BOA right now outside of the guidelines posted below. I have actually known of a few people that had their accounts closed after the fact by BOA. I believe the circumstances were because they still owed BOA or another bank money, and possibly a " suspected fraud " was indicated on the report.

There have been a few occasions that BOA allowed the fees to be paid off and they could keep the accounts.

But it seems as if generally once you have an account with BOA that you are just go to go and should not have any problems as long as the account is kept in good standing.

Bank Of America

bankofamerica.com

Special Note:

People are getting accounts even outside of these guidelines at this time

Email:

Thank you for contacting Bank of America.

If you have been reported to Chex Systems, Bank of America will be unable to open a new account for you until you have been removed. You are normally on Chex Systems for five years (this was formerly seven years.) The new guidelines are as follows:

- Bank of America will increase the threshold for reporting accounts closed for non-fraud related overdrafts to $100.00.

- Bank of America will disregard Chex Systems reports based upon non-fraudulent activity that are older than three years.

- Bank of America will disregard a Chex systems report for non-fraudulent activity that is older than a year if the overdraft has been paid.

- Bank of America will disregard a Chex system report for non-fraudulent activity if the applicant completes a financial responsibility course and has repaid the overdraft.

- Bank of America will continue to inform customers about Chex Systems upon opening an account and at least 30 days prior to closing an account.

It will be necessary to bring all pertinent data and information clearing you of any liabilities to a banking center, and depending on your situation, a bank manager can make a decision as to whether or not an account can be opened for you.


Sincerely,
Nicole R.
Bank of America

In the process of looking for an account I did apply online for a BOA and I didn't think I got approved when I seen the chexsystem check on my report BUT I got my debit card in the mail yesterday. I didn't even put anything into the account yet. Now my question is they know my chexsystem status so are they gonna turn around and freeze my account?

shannon,
do you owe BOA or any bank any money or does the report show as paid?

It does say I owe $576 to WAMU for over draft and account abuse. So far so good with them but I've only had it for about a week now. I have BOA and Wachovia only reason I didn't think I got approved with BOA and I tried Wachovia and it went right thru with them. My direct deposit is set up to go to Wachovia thru the at work account but not sure if I'm gonna leave it that way or change it to my USAA account.I opened that b/c I got scared Wachovia would close my account right after opening it up.

Sometimes banks will do sweeps of new accounts . If it shows that you have been reported to Checksystem, chance are that they will close your account.They usually check new accounts for 3 - 6 months.

kashzan is completely right. The only good thing I can tell you about BOA as far as this situation is concerned, is that I have had a few people tell me that BOA allowed them to keep their accounts open if they were willing to pay back the other bank the money that was owed in full.

There were even a few cases where someone told me that they owed BOA money yet BOA opened an account for them anyhow. Later when this was found, they were told to pay the money owed and they could keep the account. One person was able to make payments.

There was another case where a person owed a credit union money , yet BOA allowed this person to open an account. Later ( DON'T ASK ME HOW ) the money was taken directly out of the persons account without their knowledge and the account was closed.

So I really don't know what to think about the banks that will close accounts after opening them ...other than it is absolutely crazy !!

Because BOA allows people on chexsystems to open accounts now, most times they will not close your account once it is opened. But I still would suggest to have a back up account, just in case, and never have all your money in one place.

I had an account with BOA that got severly overdrawn by charges caused by payday loans. After several attempts to get it straightened out I found a branch manager / VP that not only reversed all the charges and opened me up anew. FYI BOA was voted into the top three worst customer service companies in the country right behind Home Depot. I got lucky meeting the right person. He also knew that I was in Chex systems and opened the account anyway. Wamu took a dollar from me and refused to open an account and would not even give me my dollar back. They were also sued for fixing appraisals in NY.

I was able to open a savings and MyAccess account with Bank of America. Reason I went with them is they are everywhere, they approved me, and no monthly fees. Was gonna go with Chase, but they have high fees. Back to Bof A...I think once they open it you are safe. But, like MCA said have a back up account for awhile.
The first 30 days of a new account is at the biggest risk for closure. I would say after 6 months you are pretty safe. B of A does not run sweep on accounts to my knowledge. I have been checking my chexsystems report. The biggest thing with Bank of America and risk closure is depositing checks. Make sure if you deposit a check it clears before you spend it. If the check comes back and you are in the negative...they WILL very likely close it. People have noted that in other sites and blogs.

FYI...Wells Fargo and WAMU (possibly Wachovia) do run sweeps many times during the first year. Avoid them at all costs.

ok...here's my two-cents. I have a BofA account. I'm on Chexsystems becuase of Wells Fargo. I opened my B of account online, and haven't had an issue with my Chexsystems thing yet. i opened that online account over a year ago. No problems, except their customer service sucks. If anyone has any questions about the WaMu NY attny general thing, send me a PM.

As to WAMU and other huge banks, they've been hit extremely hard by the mortgage crisis, so I'd bet that they're looking at every penny.

When banks freeze accounts and close them AFTER they have allowed them to be opened it is because the banker that opens the account WANTS to open deposit accounts ( bonus checks, commissions, etc ) but the decision to freeze and close the account if a chexsystems report is found is made by " security / loss prevention " I have seen situations more than once where a manager of a branch bypasses chexsystems and approves the account to be opened but later the account is still closed.

The worse part is sometimes people have set up direct deposit and have ALL of their money tied up. There is really not alot you can do if you find yourself in this situation.

I have heard horror stories where a lady couldn't buy xmas for her kids, a man was stranded with his broken down car on the highway ( finds his card is not working when trying to get a tow ) a elderly person could not buy groceries when her social security check is all she had tied up in the account. TERRIBLE TERRIBLE STORIES! I always say don't trust chexsystems or the banks that use them !! I have been helping people find banks and credit unions now for over 5 years for this very reason.

Here is what I suggest if you find your funds are frozen ...

Fight It!

1) Go into the bank and speak with the branch manager where you have the account.
2) Demand to see in writing where the Federal Reserve allows them to hold your funds for that extended period.
3) Send a fax to both the local branch manager and a bank executive [VP], demanding your money. Ask them to show you legal proof that allows them to hold your funds hostage.

3) In the fax, tell them if they do not release your funds immediately, you will find complaints with the following authorities:

- The Attorney General for Your State
- The State Agency that Regulators the Bank
- The Local Justice of the Peace


This has actually worked a few times

i work with churches who send me money to help with the construction of building orphanages, well one on the depositors decided without notifiying me that they were going to stop payment once that happened the frooze my account and all the assests in it

Yes this is very common. Never EVER take personal checks from anyone and deposit them to your account. If the checks turns out not to be good or fraudulent in any way at all, they will freeze and close your account even though it is NOT your fault.

I had one over draft fee i paid by transfering from one bank too antoehr once i did that i closed that account days later i opened but student checking account... and still have normal savings account..

JP Morgan Chase (WaMu) closed my bank account and reported Account Abuse to ChexSystems because I was a bad check victims. My account was never overdrawn, and I never wrote any bad checks.

I have to go to court. More info:
jeong - vs - jpmorganchase . com

If JP Morgan Chase Bank considers receiving bad checks as Account Abuse, it should be disclosed to its customers and the public. JP Morgan Chase Bank's customers should be told that in case that they receive bad checks, their accounts may be closed by JP Morgan Chase Bank without any notice. Reports will be filed with the ChexSystems as Account Abuse, and Account Abuse will be shown on the ChexSystems for five years. Its customers may not be able to open accounts somewhere else with the Account Abuse recoreded in the ChexSystems.

Detail information: jeong-vs-jpmorganchase.com

It started with depositing a check getting a receipt, which included the initial deposit and funds availability. I would deposit a check and I was told that the funds were immediately available. I would do the grocery shopping and pay bills the same day thinking I was covered. The change in policy came in with regards to how their computer sorted everything out. The new Bank of America policy was to put through all the charges first and then the deposit if they fell within the same day.
This change in policy caused several NSF???s and then they took the fees from the money that had been deposited, which left us overdrawn on any other transactions that occurred after this initial action. We called and disputed the charges and tried to go as high up as possible regarding the matter. There was a $400 dollar deficit all due to over draft charges. We disputed this and at the same time stopped depositing money into that account as it left us behind in paying the actual bill each month. My husband was trying to resolve the issue and was awaiting yet another phone call regarding this matter when I learned that Bank of America had reported us to Chexsystems as "Abuse of Account." Now what?

Does anyone know what Chase banks policy is regarding a negative chexsystems report?

Yes, bank of america WILL close your account..they are doing this to me because of my ex husband and his banking issues... go to Wells Fargo...at least they will keep your account open and work with you if you have issues.

Quote:

Early Warning Services is a limited liability company owned by Bank of America, BB&T Corporation, JPMorgan Chase, Wachovia, and Wells Fargo.

Most use chexsystems and EWS. While there are some that may make exceptions with chexsystems, generally if you are reported to EWS, they will not. Many times Chase will make exceptions wtih chexsystems but is more likely to close an account due to EWS or credit reports that show problems.