If you know of a non-chex bank or credit union that is not on my list or one that does use chexsystems but is "chex-friendly " please let us know about it

All information and help is greatly appreciated.

Skylight Bank which is an internet bank and will give anyone an account WITH a Visa ATM card does not use Chex System. Skylight Bank I used them for several years when I was still listed in Chex Systems. They won't allow you to use checks but the Visa card works just like a check.

My work required direct deposit and I was lucky enough to find this place.

Nevada Federal Credit Union has a second chance checking/banking program.

Justice Federal Credit Union. I got a checking account and they did not pull a chexsystems, but did pull equifax for verification of identity. You will need to join the NSA the link is on the JFCU.ORG website on the left hand side under affinity partners. The checking account does not have a fee and you can use Shared Branch which is great. Any questions let me know.

INFO ON WHAT SHARED BRANCHING IS

ACCESS TO OVER 2,700 NATIONWIDE BRANCHES

You and your family can now access your Justice FCU accounts for FREE at over 2,700 shared branches nationwide! Credit unions have joined together to create Shared Service Center* branches around the country. Shared Service Center branches, allow you to conduct most of your business as if you were in a Justice FCU branch.

You can do any of the following at a Shared Branch:

* Make withdrawals
* Cash checks (You'll first be required to deposit the check and then you can withdraw the funds.)
* Make deposits
* Make loan payments
* Transfer funds
* Get account balances
* And much more!

Skylight is part of US bank.... I would try to get an account with US Bank before goint with pre-paid banking (all the fees involved generally) Most states that have US Bank locations have " in store locations " that will approve anyone in chexsystems as long as there is no fraud on your account.

Nevada is one of the harder state when you are trying to find a non-chex bank. I am aware of Nevada Federal Credit Union and for years it was on my list but I have since removed it because of the amount of people that were turned down there. Apparently they are very picky about what the chex report actually says and the dates of the reports.

friends of mine in chex have had no problems with NFCU. Is this the program of their you've reviewed?

yes many people are being turned down by them...this is normally because they show fraud on their report. Generally 2nd chance accounts will deny people if they owe any debt to the old bank or if fraud and sometimes account abuse is indicated on the report. More and more banks are now reporting people as fraud for these reasons.

Does the consumer's copy of the report show whether fraud or abuse is being reported?

yes that is why it is very important to know exactly what is reported. Knowing what your report says can determine whether you can get an account at a certain bank or not. unfortunately most banks that use second chance checking, new opportunity checking, fresh start checking etc... do not list the requirements and most times if you ask them, they really do not have a definite answer. They usually say that they would have to see the report to determine what can be done. Some say they will determine it by the chex report and a credit report so it depends on both. I try to ask people that are denied accounts exactly what their reports say to get an idea of what the bank is denying for.

So these are fields that should be included in the user database we're going to create. BTW, bfarber said he will work on it for us - he's busy, so it won't be instantly - but it will be in the works. We need to make a list of possible fields.

Eglin Federal Credit Union does NOT run chex nor do they pull credit. You must however be a local and in one of their membership groups.

Hurricanesfan27...... thanks for the information, It is greatly appreciated !

not a problem.. and i can verify my info I just got a checking account for my youngest son.

Don't know if this will count or not. My husband works at Edward Jones. They have a money market that pays interest and allows unlimited checks writing and ATM for $40.00 a year. It allows direct deposit. I do know they hold all checks deposited for 3 business days. They do not use chexsystem.

I have had several people in the past tell me that they have tried to use a money market account in place of a checking or business checking. Normally this does not work out. Money market accounts are not set up to be used the way a checking is used. Most people run into problems.. example, a common one is that funds are not made available as quickly as they would be in a checking (even direct deposit funds are held in some)

And 40.00 seems a bit high, can I ask where you live?

California

Most people in CA are getting accounts right now at BOA. Have you considered them?

I looked at your website and just looked at my state (Illinois) and wanted to let you know that I was able to open an account at Wachovia. I actually opened online, then went to the branch to make the initial deposit. I have two items on Chex, one should be over 5 years old this summer (been fighting as my records show I should not owe the amount they say), and the other might be about 18 months old (Been attempting to pay in payments, they want entire balance at once).

Wachovia was on my list and since has been removed. In the last few weeks I have had at least 5 people report to me that accounts were closed due to EWS. But yes for some, Wachovia is a good choice.

WACHOVIA makes exceptions but uses chexsystems, they have also been known to open accounts and close them at a later time. I would not trust this bank unless your debt is paid and your chexsystems report does not show fraud. You may also want to check to be sure you are not reported to EWS for this account.

Email:
Dear Customer,
Thank you for contacting Wachovia.
We do make exceptions in most cases. Please call us to apply for a
checking account.
Sincerely,
Lola Brown
Financial Specialist
Schedule: Monday through Friday
Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET
Phone: 1-800-WACHOVIA (922-4684) New Accounts, ext. 46038
Fax: 615-889-9748


A word of caution: Wachovia does run new accounts through Early Warning Services (formerly PPS) within 30 days. If you are listed in EWS, you may be shut down by loss prevention/risk management. LP usually runs the reports within 7 business days of account opening.

Thanks for the Info. I opened the account in Novebmer 2006, so hopefully they have already run me through EWS by now. Will go look at your sight to see if I can find out how to know if I am in EWS.

Windsor Locks Federal Credit Union
Spring St
Windsor Locks, CT

1 question and 1 new bank---how do you find out if you're in EWS? I can't find much info on google for them.

PSECU in PA does not run Chexsystems, they do however run Experian and will look at credit score.

cammy....

http://www.early-warning.com
Those wishing to obtain consumer report information should contact their Consumer Call Center at 800-325-7775. From what I have been told it is much easier to get a copy of your report with EWS than it is with Chexsystems. Apparently they will email you a form that you can mail or fax back to them. From what I have been able to tell, if you are reported to chexsystems then chances are good that you are reported to EWS. This seems especially true of those that have a Chexsystems report that has fraud indicated on it.

I'm not sure of others experience, but I called EWS, who asked me which bank told me to contact them. Since I was applying with BoA on-line, and not heard back by then (almost the end of 2nd day after applying), I said BoA. The rep on the line seemed surprised, and told me she had nothing negative in her file about me, and we ended the call. BoA did approve me, even though I have 1 possibly 2 items in Chex.

We did go with Wachovia and have had an excellent experience thus far. Accounts been open a few weeks, got all of our stuff (checks, check cards, etc) expediently.

I did call EWS who said I had no record with them, though they showed an old check with telecheck.

I even called my Wachovia branch who told me they no longer use Chexsystems becuase of all the errors and they no longer pull EWS.

cammy...may I ask what branch ? Where do you live? Thanks for the information

I've applied online with Wachovia and was surprised they approved me because I have two items reported to chex system a year ago for account abuse. I had a theft on one account that bofa was refusing to straighten out. I made several attempts to resolve this matter by filing a police report and following up with the report and letters I sent. There was $900 debited from my account and they closed the account without notifying me and reported it to chex. I'm now disputing the item with chex and bofa. After reading this board about Wachovia I was quite concerned about them later closing my account if they reverified chex system. I did contact ews and they don't have anything showing on me. Also I called to speak with a rep at (800)wachovia and they told me don't use chex system online. I called back and spoke with a manager there and she told me that once the account is opened online with an account number given and the account is kept in good standings within the first 30 days they will not reverify with chex. I'm confused . I'm not sure what is going to happen. I've only had the account opened for 4 days now and I guess I will have to wait and see what happens.

btw I made my deposit 4 days ago and it hasn't posted yet.

hmmmm many times they will not run chexsystems initially but will at a later time. They are also using EWS. If I were you I would definitely look for a back up account

Hi MCA,

I did look at your website chexvictims.com and saw listed a credit union called Sharefax CU that won't use chexsystem and thought I would give them a try. I sent a notorized copy of my application today for a checking and savings account. I thought the reviews on this CU was great. I'm feel more confident about it and I can relate to one the comments about the guy who transfer funds into his father account instantly. My mother lives near the CU there in Cincinnati and lives on a fixed income and this would be a lot easier for me to transfer funds into an account for her when she needs it. Thanks for your input.

It is www.chexvictims.net actuallybut Franklin Savings is also an excellent choice in that area. But yes Sharefax is a great Credit union....it has been for years. The information for state listings is not on the forum but actually on my site at www.chexsystemsvictims.com ( you may want to look it over before you make a decision) and if there is anything else you need, just let me know

Thankyou MCA,