What people should know about chexsystems

If you've opened a checking account recently and you didn't have any trouble doing so, it's likely that you haven't heard of Chexsystems. However, if you try to open a bank account and you do have some trouble, it might be because of Chexsystems.

eFunds is the parent company of Chexsystems. Chexsystems was developed to detect fraudulent activity and to help financial institutions manage and analyze risk, specifically for individual customers.

Basically, it keeps track of and then reports on your banking activities similar to what your credit report and score does for you in terms of measuring how you are as a credit risk and in paying bills on time. Chexsystems keeps a sharp eye out for suspicious banking activity, overdrafts, insufficient funds check cashing, or an inability to meet minimum balance account requirements.

With these functions, Chexsystems serves banks in two ways. It verifies your checking activity and also operates similar to how a credit consumer-reporting agency does. Just as with the credit reporting agencies like TransUnion, for example, you can also ask for one free report every year. It's free of charge to you just as your yearly credit report is free of charge to you. This is because it falls under the jurisdiction of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, similar to the credit reporting agencies.

This means that consumers can question any information contained in the report, dispute entries in it and can request evidence for reported activity. Majority of banks and credit unions in the US use Chexsystems and if there is anything negative regarding a prospective applicant, that applicant could have difficulties opening a checking account. Chexsystems: is it fair? Critics have voiced their objections about Chexsystems' reporting practices claiming that the system is characterized by unfair reporting. Unlike credit bureaus that issue reports containing both positive and negative information, critics insist that Chexsystems only reports on the negative, hence jeopardising the credit reputation of individuals who are otherwise qualified to open checking accounts.

Because of this increase in criticism, in 2000, several banks got together and agreed to reconsider policies that affected checking account applications based on reports by Chexsystems. Some reforms were put through, including ignoring entries that are more than three years old, where those entries don't contain fraudulent activity. The reforms also disregard entries that are greater than one year old, as long as the consumer has settled the debt in question.

Chexsystems Report: what information is provided? We looked at a sample report and our first impression was "you can't get more thorough than that." The consumer's name and address are at the top of the report. An ID number is provided along with the individual's social security number. When writing Chexsystems, they request that you always refer to your SSS and ID numbers.

If you believe any information in the report is inaccurate, the report states that Chexsystems will investigate any discrepancies you point out. You can also send your inquiry to fax number 602-659-2197.

After this is the "Reported Information" box. Most of this information comes from financial institutions. It is recorded in Chexsystems for five years. If there is more than one reported transaction or piece of information, items are itemized. Each item details source of the reported information, and the individual in question being reported on, including Social Security number, driver's license number, as well as the type of report done, such as non-sufficient fund's report.

Following "reported information" is another box that reads "Inquiries Initiated by Consumer Action." This means transactions initiated by you, the consumer, and shows all your applications for a credit card or any application you made at a financial instituion or bank. This information is kept for up to three years.

The third section of the report is on "Inquiries not Initiated by Consumer Action." This means that other people have asked about you. These people could be your current loan holders or credit card companies, pre-approval creditors, or anyone else trying to assess your credit.

Finally, there's one more box that says "retail Information," which includes checks issued to stores and other retailers that have been returned. When a store receives a check that they can't cash because there are non-sufficient funds, for example, this information is shared with the company called "Shared Check Authorization Network" or SCAN for short. It keeps a database of fraudulent activity and checks that have been returned. In order to obtain information for check authorization and verification, retailers must be SCAN members. This information is used by Chexsystems, but Chexsystems does not become involved in collecting returned checks.

In addition, if you've ordered checks, the report also provides this information. It also gives a detailed history of your check orders. Next, the two boxes after this are validation activities for your driver's license and Social Security number. Your driver's license is processed in two ways, both with validation and then with verification. Chexsystems matches your driver's license by matching your license format with your state's approved format, thereby validating it. It also verifies your place of birth and name, which is the verification aspect of this process.

So before you write out a check, think of Chexsystems and make sure that you have enough money in the bank to cover the check, that it is your check and not someone else's, and that perhaps it's a better idea to pay for merchandise with cash or a credit card!