I was totally taken advantage of by someone close to me who has ruined my bank account.
Washington Mutual is currently in the process of closing my account due to what they have deemed "account abuse".

Here is the background to my story: a very close, long-time family friend took extreme advantage of me and has ruined my standing with my bank.

She borrowed money from me by asking me to write a $400 check to her sister, later said she tore up the check to her sister, that they worked something out and now just needed the check herself and paid me back immediately within a couple of days (after her husband's vacation check came in she says) with a check for the same amount. Well, the check to her sister went through (her sister "accidentally" deposited it) and so did the $400 one I wrote her making me $400 off on my account, and not at all to my knowledge, I spent my money as usual, not knowing that an additional $400 had been taken out.

In the meantime she needed to borrow another $250, since I didn't know about the $400 I agreed. Then, in removing money from an ATM i saw that my bank balance was in the negative--a big suprise to me. So when I researched it, I found out about the original $400 check to her sister that had been deposited.

I then asked that she deposit the $400 plus the $250 additional she now owed me to my account, so she did.

In the meantime, she put a stop payment on the 1st $400 check to me (a "mistake" from her bank she claims) causing my account to go into the negative unbeknownst to me.

As a result, the $250 check I had written to her was returned to her, because of my negative balance from the $400 check that had been cashed that I had not been aware of and because of the $400 check she had stopped payment on. So she paid me back that other $400 she owed me (from the check I thought had been returned for NSF but later learned was stopped payment), plus the fees that had been assesed to my account due to my helping her out.

The next day, the $600 she had deposited for me resulted in a returned check due to insufficient funds in her account.

It's no wonder my bank feels like I have de-frauded them. I feel totally betrayed and taken advantage of. Basically, this person who is like an aunt to me stole from me and sucked me in unknowingly to some sort of check floating scam she was trying to pull off. Unfortunately, I am the one who has suffered. It's a total nightmare and i feel completely violated and embarassed that I was such an idiot about this whole thing.

I am not negaitve on my account at all. The morning after the final $600 check from her was returned I recieved my paycheck which more than covered the amount I was overdrawn by and I have regularly recieved paychecks of a decent amount over the 7 or 8 years I have been a WaMu customer. I am not in a low-income range, I make about $56K/year. And while I do tend to make a lot of mistakes sending me into overdraft, I pay the fees and always deposit the money back into my account.

I went into my local WaMu branch today, and the manager there is trying to help me stop the close from happening but it seems pretty helpless. He and I contacted their risk management department who turned down his request to not close the account. So we appealed to the WaMu executive quality management department with my story. They are going to appeal the decision as well, but it is feeling pretty helpless. When I arrived home the same evening this all happened I found out for the first time that the $400 check i thought had been returned for NSF was actually a stop payment from my friend (something she claimed was a bank mistake), in my plea to the banks I had assumed it was because she wrote me a bad check--not because she stopped payment, I am concerned that this makes a bad situation worse and that I look like I lied about what had happend in my appeal.

The account is due to close on 6/25. My branch manager suggested I open a new checking account with another bank immediately so I opened an account with Bank of America today, 6/13. I already had a savings account with BofA. But now I am concerned that Bof A will run some sort of report and close my new checking account with them due to the likely possibility that i will be reported to the Chex system as of the 6/25 closing. The manager at WaMu seems to think that BofA would have run the Chex report in the process of opening the account today and not later, and that my new account there should be fine, but is not positive about what their new account process is.

I am hoping somone can help me by answering/advising me on a few quesitons:

1) Would BofA have already run the Chex report while opening the checking account? Is this something they do electronically over the computer? The rep did not make any phone calls or anything.

2) Would BofA run a report later and close my account?

3) Is there anything I can do to stop WaMu from closing my account?

4) Is there anything I can do to stop WaMu from reporting me to Chex if they do close my account?

I am totally freaking out. I can't afford to not have a checking account. I made an honest mistake by trusting someone who completely took advantage of me and the banking system. Obviously, I will NEVER trust her again. I know that ultimately it is my responsibility to manage what happens in my account, and i do not owe the bank any money at all, I always make good on all of my transactions. If anyone could help answer these questions for me I will be truly grateful.

Wow! what a mess! I hope you get this straightened out.

hi Kasparkels... I will try to answer your questions

1. Yes Bank of America would already have ran your name with chexsystems when they opened your account. With that said ..Bank of America recently has been opening accounts for those reported to chexsystems. Because they approved you doesn't mean that you are not already reported.

2. No Bank Of America will not close your account later .. A) you do not owe any money to the reporting bank and you do not owe Bank Of America any money from an old account which is the main reason they would ever want to close it. If you want to be 100% sure about an account once you are reported to chexsystems, it is always best to find one that does not use chexsystems at all. Option depends on where you live(what state)

3. No there is nothing you can do to stop WAMU from closing your account once they have made that decision. Loss prevention I am certain has determined that you are a " risk" and that decision over rides any decision that can be made at a local branch.

4. WAMU is one of the hardest banks to deal with when it comes to chexsystems issues. Chances are they are going to report you no matter what you do. You Could attempt to plead with the LP person in charge of your case but I doubt it will help. Chances are they have ALREADY reported you. It is your right to dispute with both chexsystems and the reporting bank

Thanks for your input, that helps me relax a little. I am in California, from a list I have seen about banks that will open account for those in Chexsystems BofA is one in California that will. It appears that California has some sort of special law or protection? Not sure I fully understand...is there anything advantageous to living in California at least in terms of my situation?

How do I know if a bank uses Chex?

Can i ask another question, what is the difference between "abuse" and "fraud" on a Chex report? My assumption would be that fraud would be the worst, abuse a second place. How detailed is it? It's so frusrating for me because the whole situation I described above transpired over about a 2.5 week period of time...

Also, should I try to open a second account right now as a back up in case BofA shuts me down? As established, I don't owe any banks any money, in fact WaMu has several hunderd $$ of mine frozen right now..

Would trying to open a second account flag me in Chex and increase my chances of being noticed as a "risk" by BofA?

okay, one more question--sorry! just trying to get this figured out.

In the list of banks on your site MCA that say they will open accounts, many say unless "fraud" is listed in the report, is "abuse" considered the same as "fraud" or is this considered differenet by the banks?

NSF, Account Abuse Suspected Fraud and Fraud are just vague indicators that banks use to report. Generally they have no proof of fraud but they report is anyhow in hopes to stop you from getting an account easily.

Account abuse is not considered as bad by most banks as fraud. In CA, your best option is to find an " in store location" of a US bank that will help you. CA is a very difficult place when it comes to chexsystems issues. Many there also go with Transportation Alliance Bank. There is a list of US bank locations that have been started on my forum at www.chexvictims.net that have been known to help those in chex. But for the most part, I would call around to some locations " in store ones" and see if they are one of the willing ones.

I believe your account with BOA will be fine but it never hurts to have more than one account. No, applying for US bank would not flag you so to say. Just do not apply at many many banks to avoid that situation.

Like an aunt to you? aunts give money, they don't take money. i can understand if she was a relative and the heat and water were about to be turned off, if she needed to borrow money; but she straight out lied to you about her sister needing money then tearing up the check then cashing the check then asking you for more money after cashing the check. I wonder how many other people she'd done that to?

I'll be honest: she sounds like she has a severe drug problem, and not (just) a check fraud problem. She needs help. I'm sorry you are going through this.

I hope no one else in your family and circle of friends is giving this woman and her family money, at this point. If anyone needs that kind of assistance right now, it's you.

Question....will BoA ever, ever close the new account...perhaps when they learn of Chex report?

I'm in similar situation w/ bank doing overages because of dipping into checking even though there's a zero balance...they took late cc payment, car payment, etc. So now checking account has negative...and I'm sure it will get even more negative in 10 days when another OVERDRAFT fee is attached.

Will my new bank see an updated chex report in a few months and want to close my new account?

Anything is possible with a bank that uses chexsystems when you have a negative report with chexsystems. I can tell you that in the last few years thousands of people have opened accounts with BOA and they all had negative chex reports. Their accounts remain opened and have never closed.

There have been a few instances where a person was able to open an account with BOA even though they owed money to BOA from a previous account. Some of those were later closed. More than likely, BOA has already pulled your chex report and they are aware of it and allowed the account anyhow. I really don't think you have anything to worry about. Many people on the chexvictims forum are still playing it safe and trying to open accounts at banks that do not use chexsystems just in case as a back up. The Fidelity account is a favorite one in CA it seems

WAMU must be on a special "account abuse" kick because they now want to close all my accounts and report me to Chex for account abuse. I am fighting it all the way to legal if necessary. Worse yet, they have changed their mind 3 times in 3 weeks. Mine is simple - I am a bookkeeping nightmare, I travel and work alot but have an incredible relationship with my WAMU branch. They know if I overdraw my account that I will be around in a day or a few days to throw in another chunk of money to cover everything. They are even closing my corporate accounts even they they have nothing to do with this problem. As small business owners we go weeks without $$ and then $100,000 in one check - very irratic but we have run over $1.5 million through our accounts in last 12 month period.

Three weeks ago, June 4th they decided to close my accounts because earlier in May I made a mistake by depositing 3 credit line checks into my accounts that ended up bouncing. These were my own credit line checks (with my parents on the credit line account as well) but I diid not realize that I had grabbed an "old" credit line checkbook instead of the new checks and apparently they had changed the account number when they changed the type of credit line and amount, etc. When I realized finally what happened - they also just kept redepositing those checks automatically and i couldn't stop them - I immediately covered all the bounced items in the accounts and my branch manager and I had a good laugh at my great banking skills. We have never had an issue - she is as livid as I am and has called Executive Svc as well as Risk Management and they won't budge. I'm not stopping my fight because this was so innocent and always has been - I pay their fees when I overdraft and never say a word - but now I am suddenly after 10 years a security risk?

So I was also told to go to another bank and open an account now before everything gets closed in 10 days - and I had all the same concerns the other poster had - not sure if I should go to BofA or "Fidelity" which I am unaware of - also the US Bank in-store idea - just don't know what to do at this point and I'm so angry I cannot see straight. They have no right to attack my integrity, I always pay my bills and cover my checks and my credit is not that great to begin with because of late payments. But I have never done the bankruptcy thing, I don't have a lot of debt whatsoever, a few thousand only, no foreclosures, and own my own home. This is crazy - any ideas anyone? Besides a $400 an hour lawyer that is

Wow. I definitely understand. Too bad I saw this message so late. I did have an attorney help me with a few of my banking issues, but I couldnt message you, so PM me or email me. mrwhsla@yahoo.com

teamg ........... WAMU is probably one of the worse banks to deal with when it comes to the Risk management dept. I have heard so many horror stories in the last 6 years about WAMU. When it comes to chexsystems issues they are absoultely the worse. They will not only report you to chexssytems but they also run random account sweeps on current members that are in " good standing" If they find that you have a chexsystems record, they freeze and close accounts.

You can start by filing the following complaints

1.I would defintely write a letter to the corporate headquarters at WAMU ..send the letter to the CEO if possible ... explain your story and how you feel as if youa re being treated unfairly etc. This has helped many other people when dealing with other banks in similar situations.


2. http://www.federalreserveconsumerhelp.gov/?District=13


3. WHEN YOU MAKE A COMPLAINT TO THE OCC...GENERALLY THIS WILL GET THE BANKS ATTENTION VERY FAST !!! THEY DO NOT LIKE COMPLAINTS FROM THE OCC.

The OCC's Customer Assistance Group is ready to help customers of national banks with questions or complaints they have about their financial institution. CAG's toll-free lines are open Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Central Time. You can reach one of OCC's Customer Assistance
Specialists by calling: 1-800-613-6743.

If You Have a Problem With a National Bank or its Operating Subsidiary

The OCC Customer Assistance Group (CAG) Top
The OCC Customer Assistance Group was created to answer questions, offer guidance, and assist consumers in resolving complaints about national banks and their subsidiaries.

The first step is to try to resolve a complaint directly with your bank or its operating subsidiary before involving an outside agency. If you are unable to do so or are uncertain about whether your complaint involves an organization that the OCC supervises and regulates, the OCC Customer Assistance Group will try to assist you.

General inquiries about banking laws or practices often can be answered on the phone or through email by a Customer Assistance Specialist. The specialist may also be able to suggest other ways for you to try to resolve your problem directly with the bank or its subsidiary.

http://www.occ.treas.gov/ConsumerComplaintform.pdf

Your friend got you into this.What you should do is to cofront her and give her 72 hrs to make this right,or you will file a fraud charge with the police.I know it's harsh but remember this could screw you up for years.Because 5yrs from now she'll do it again.