Okay, this is certainly not a crisis, and letting it ride out for the next year isn't going to kill me, but it would be nice to have a clear Chex report just for the case of having a clear chex report.

A had an old Crestar account which turned into a SunTrust account when ST bought out Crestar. I had the account for about seven years (it had its share of ODs, but I was never in jeopardy of it being closed). When I moved to an area not serviced by ST. By that time, I was using my new account at another bank, and let minor fees totalling (I believe) less than $40 accumulate on the account, and ST closed it and reported me to Chex. That was just over four years ago. I highly doubt that there is a fraud indication on the report. In fact, when I opened a checking account a few years ago, I was listed in Chex and the branch manager was able to override the denial and open the account.

I now have a checking account at national bank (which I now use as my secondary account) and another with my investment brokerage (my primary account). I certainly have no need and no plans to open a new checking account. The one issue causing me even consider trying to clear my report is that I understand that WaMu will issue a secured card to anyone who isn't in Chex, but then again, I don't even know if I want a WaMu secured card. But I digress.

My questions are:

1. Am I correct in my understanding that this will fall off my Chex report in a year?

2. If I contact ST, what are my chances for a PFD (if I explain that I was in the process of a cross-country move and I didn't know about this small amount that I owed the bank)?

3. If I pay, and ST simply updates my Chex record to indicate "paid," does that add to the five-year clock (so instead of having no record in a year, I'll continue to have a record for the next five?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.