A financial tool used by most banks, ChexSystems keeps track of your bank accounts for negative activities like bounced checks, unpaid overdrafts and similar. Once a financial institution reports anything like this to ChexSystems, you are going to be on their list for a period of five years. During this time, you will not be approved for a fresh account by any bank, as most of them work with ChexSystems to avoid financial losses. Now what happens if the information given by the bank regarding your account is inaccurate? Do you still need to suffer for that many years? Thankfully, the answer is ‘no’. You can work on getting out of ChexSystems. If you have sufficient proof that supports your claim, you can force your bank to remove your name from the blacklist. Know that removing your data can only be done by the financial institution that put you on the list. It will take some time though, probably anything from three months to close to a year. At times things may not go your way inspite of having everything in order, and then you will have to seek assistance from a small claims court.

Getting out of ChexSystems starts with asking for a copy of your personal report from ChexSystems; this is your legal right as ChexSystems must give a free copy to a customer on request. Once the report reaches you, go through it carefully. Scan every minute detail for errors, and when you locate them, send a dispute letter to your bank via certified mail. You can also send a copy of the letter to ChexSystems for their information. ChexSystems asks that you write to your bank directly for all disputes but write to both as it can help speed up the process. You must only use certified mail as then you will have proof of all communication sent by you. The law provides that your bank must update your entry on the ChexSystems list as ‘disputed’, within 30 days from receiving your letter. Getting out of ChexSystems depends on your bank acting on your claim, but often it so happens that banks do not do so. After the stipulated time period is over, request for a new copy of your ChexSystems report. If the entry remains unchanged, your bank is in violation of Section 623 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Unfortunately most customers who find themselves on the blacklist are not aware that a bank in violation is obligated to remove the record. It may require that you write another set of letters to the authorities asking for removal of your name. If it still does not work, turn to a small claims court for legal help. Usually at this stage the bank takes notice and steps it up; but if it does not, you have the Fair Credit Reporting Act on your side, which is the consumer’s aide when it comes to getting out of ChexSystems.