I have had a terrible weekend - been unable to sleep and dealing with much stress. To make things simple, I have recently returned to the country and applied online for a BOFA checking account (I might have also selected the Keep The Change saving option). I need a checking account for my company direct deposit urgently.
I received an email from BOFA in a couple of hours with the words: "Thank you for your recent online application for a new Bank of America account. We regret that we are unable to fulfill your request at this time." It invited me to come into a banking center to discuss with a representative. I am unsure if that will help or if it means I'm in Chexsystems (something I had never heard of until now).
A little background: I had a BOFA checking account until about 2007 that I closed while out of the country in good standing. I had also opened a 'Totally Free Checking' Account in a local Milwaukee grocery store with US Bank that I missed closing. I received some mails and a collection notice from them a while later (around 2008) that I ended up paying to the CRA. I'm not sure how this ended up with a CRA and also while I was charged fees for a 'Totally Free Checking'. I wonder if this has ended up in Chexsystems.
To make things simple, what would your excellent members advise I do: I have about 3 options as I can tell:
1) Go into a BOFA location, share the details and since my company is a reputed company and direct deposit is guaranteed (quite sizeable), hope they'll open the checking account
2) Contact Citibank - they have a program for opening checking accounts for international employees with our company. Will this get denied too?
3) Go to Woodforest Bank at a nearby Wal-mart
4) Go to Henrico Credit Union and pray
5) Pray
Any advice would be appreciated. My zip code is currently 23060
