Denied a checking account b/c of credit score?

[torinsmom]

I got a card in the mail that promised a $200 visa gift card if I opened an account at a local bank and used it for 5 debits within 2 months. I have had the same bank account for 11 years, but figured WTH, I might as well make some free money. So I went in an applied for a checking account. The lady said it was denied b/c my credit score was below 640. She said it was 613. Funny, because in April, my score was above 700 and nothing has changed. There are some medical bills on there from years ago that she said brought the score down, but they were there in April and I thought medical bills could not be counted anyway. So, I did not get a checking account.

I was just kind of shocked that you could be denied a checking account b/c of credit. I have never had a problem with any of my bank accounts--no bounced checks, etc. What do people with REALLY bad credit do?

Marsha

 

[Stacerita]

I got a card in the mail that promised a $200 visa gift card if I opened an account at a local bank and used it for 5 debits within 2 months. I have had the same bank account for 11 years, but figured WTH, I might as well make some free money. So I went in an applied for a checking account. The lady said it was denied b/c my credit score was below 640. She said it was 613. Funny, because in April, my score was above 700 and nothing has changed. There are some medical bills on there from years ago that she said brought the score down, but they were there in April and I thought medical bills could not be counted anyway. So, I did not get a checking account.

I was just kind of shocked that you could be denied a checking account b/c of credit. I have never had a problem with any of my bank accounts--no bounced checks, etc. What do people with REALLY bad credit do?

Marsha

They use those check cashing places and use cash.

 

[quentina]

They use those check cashing places and use cash.

There are plenty of banks (reputable) that do not do credit checks. My friend just did bankruptcy (SP??) and was able to open an account at TD (formally commerce bank). She closed her Wachovia account that was pretty new to switch.

At walmart, the bank inside, has a sign that says no credit checks for checking ..........really big, banner type sign.

I think that all credit unions due credit checks, I don't think all others do.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

They use those check cashing places and use cash.

This.

The access to checks "allows" for the opportunity to bounce checks.


However, I would pull your credit report just to review that there are no issues present. Since it seems you had a significant drop of around 100 points, something occurred and you need to find out what.

 

[torinsmom]

Nothing happened. She showed me the report on the screen and the only negatives were the medical bills(which I am slowly paying off) I couldn't see the score, so maybe she wasn't even telling the truth. I am a member of a credit union and I know when I started my account there, I had filed bankruptcy the year before. I still got the account. You'd think they'd look at past experience with banks and not medical bills.

I guess this is kind of like giving higher insurance rates to people with bad credit, since some study showed that people with lower credit scores had more accidents.

Marsha

 

[glitterkittyy]

Nothing happened. She showed me the report on the screen and the only negatives were the medical bills(which I am slowly paying off) I couldn't see the score, so maybe she wasn't even telling the truth. I am a member of a credit union and I know when I started my account there, I had filed bankruptcy the year before. I still got the account. You'd think they'd look at past experience with banks and not medical bills.

I guess this is kind of like giving higher insurance rates to people with bad credit, since some study showed that people with lower credit scores had more accidents.

Marsha

No, people with lower credit scores don't have more accidents; they have more incidents of insurance fraud.

 

[DMickey28]

Credit has become such a huge part of our life, even if we don't use credit cards. I'd be soo ticked that I couldn't get the $200 GC>

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Nothing happened. She showed me the report on the screen and the only negatives were the medical bills(which I am slowly paying off) I couldn't see the score, so maybe she wasn't even telling the truth. I am a member of a credit union and I know when I started my account there, I had filed bankruptcy the year before. I still got the account. You'd think they'd look at past experience with banks and not medical bills.

I guess this is kind of like giving higher insurance rates to people with bad credit, since some study showed that people with lower credit scores had more accidents.

Marsha

I would still check as you are entitled to do for free now that you have been denied something. When was your bankruptcy finalized? I don't know how long it takes to hit the credit report, but could that be why your score was so high in April and not now? Credit scores do no arbitraily drop by that much, especially if you are saying all this stuff was already on their in April. (though I've never heard of someone having over 700 with a year old bankruptcy. That seems odd to me.)


Again--stuff has changed in the financial world in the past year and some institutions are just steering clear of anything that smells bad based on a number. I don't agree with it, but I can't blame them either. Unfortunately though, the lending world (and banking world) are so heck-bent on focusing solely on credit scores. It is a shame, but it seems that you are out of luck on the free money.

 

[Art 1]

Normal for banks to do this. Late or un-paid medical bills do count against your score. You ability to obtain insurance can also be affected by your credit score, along with being hired for a new job.

 

[Piecey]

Some banks offer accounts with rigid restrictions for those with poor credit.

Chase calls it an Access account (unless they've changed it since I worked there)...
Your debit card would be denied if you had less than $300 in the account, it charged a monthly fee, checks wouldn't be honored, etc. but after awhile of using this account assuming all went well you might be able to upgrade to traditional checking.

 

[EveDallas]

I would still check as you are entitled to do for free now that you have been denied something. When was your bankruptcy finalized? I don't know how long it takes to hit the credit report, but could that be why your score was so high in April and not now? Credit scores do no arbitraily drop by that much, especially if you are saying all this stuff was already on their in April. (though I've never heard of someone having over 700 with a year old bankruptcy. That seems odd to me.)


Again--stuff has changed in the financial world in the past year and some institutions are just steering clear of anything that smells bad based on a number. I don't agree with it, but I can't blame them either. Unfortunately though, the lending world (and banking world) are so heck-bent on focusing solely on credit scores. It is a shame, but it seems that you are out of luck on the free money.

She said that she has had her current account for 11 years. If she filed one year before that, the bankruptcy would be at least 12 years old.

 

[torinsmom]

No, people with lower credit scores don't have more accidents; they have more incidents of insurance fraud.

I am talking car insurance. My dad is an insurance salesman and he told me that is why my rate was coming up so high back in the day.

I would still check as you are entitled to do for free now that you have been denied something. When was your bankruptcy finalized? I don't know how long it takes to hit the credit report, but could that be why your score was so high in April and not now? Credit scores do no arbitraily drop by that much, especially if you are saying all this stuff was already on their in April. (though I've never heard of someone having over 700 with a year old bankruptcy. That seems odd to me.)

I didn't file for bankruptcy a year ago. I was saying I got an account at the credit union TEN YEARS AGO, which was a year after I filed for bankruptcy. Since then(bad marriage, bad credit mistakes), I have built my credit up. I still have some medical bills from when I had brain surgery 6 years ago that I am slowly paying off, but no other negatives.


No biggie. That is $200 I didn't have yesterday, so it isn't going to break me. I just thought it was weird. I don't know how my ex has a checking account, because he just continued to act the same way after we got divorced.

Marsha

 

[agnes!]

I bet the bank is basically running a bait-&-switch on this offer.

agnes!

 

[FireDancer]

Our credit union doesn't do a standard credit check for checking but we use a service that will tell us if you have had any checks returned NSF in the last 5 years or have any open collections. If you do no checking account is permitted.

There are also other checks for OFAC and identity but those are for membership and not specific types of accounts.

Credit rating is very important in today's world. I was lucky because growing up my mom beat it into our heads that our credit rating is so important so I managed not to make any credit mistakes when I was young. Our school also had a program starting in 5th grade where they taught you about how to manage bank accounts and how credit works. I am always surprised at how many kids don't know this stuff until they are 19 with ruined credit.

 

[torinsmom]

Funny thing is that she said they were doing an IDENTITY VERIFICATION. That is what it said on the paper I signed too. I didn't know they were even doing a credit check.

I don't know how it could be a bait and switch if they wouldn't let me open account.

Marsha

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I didn't file for bankruptcy a year ago. I was saying I got an account at the credit union TEN YEARS AGO, which was a year after I filed for bankruptcy. Since then(bad marriage, bad credit mistakes), I have built my credit up. I still have some medical bills from when I had brain surgery 6 years ago that I am slowly paying off, but no other negatives.


No biggie. That is $200 I didn't have yesterday, so it isn't going to break me. I just thought it was weird. I don't know how my ex has a checking account, because he just continued to act the same way after we got divorced.

Marsha

I misread your post, so my sincere apologies.

I would still consider this a "biggie" and truly check your report just to make sure that something is no amiss that the bank didn't or wasn't able to show you on the screen. I guess I would want to know what caused my score to suddenly plunge from something good to something bad.

If you have agreements for your medical bills and are paying on them, then your credit score shouldn't be diving at this time as a result. It would only do that if you haven't been able to keep up with whatever was arranged. Since it was 6 years ago, it isn't like the past 6 months you turned into a pumpkin and they dipped your score even further.


Hope you are doing well health-wise and sorry about the $200.

 

[FireDancer]

Funny thing is that she said they were doing an IDENTITY VERIFICATION. That is what it said on the paper I signed too. I didn't know they were even doing a credit check.

The service we use does both Identity verification and the NSF check. We have the option of adding credit checks but don't so they might. Do you know if it was an eFunds product they used? It may have also been called ChexSystems or Qualifile.

 

[torinsmom]

I really don't know what it was called. I just checked to make sure the info she had was correct, which it was. I'll check my credit report, since I am assuming they will send one of those nice "denied" letters in the mail soon. This definitely has made me decide to get those medical bills paid off ASAP. At least they will be marked as paid so it won't look so bad.

Marsha

 

[CajunDixie]

Funny thing is that she said they were doing an IDENTITY VERIFICATION. That is what it said on the paper I signed too. I didn't know they were even doing a credit check.

I don't know how it could be a bait and switch if they wouldn't let me open account.

Marsha

Do you have a copy of the paper you signed? If it really only does mention Identity Verification then they owe you $1000 for pulling a credit report without your permission. When the denial comes in the mail send back a letter that says to remove the inquiry as the bank did not have your permission to pull your credit. That inquiry they made may hurt your score a few more points. Call the bank manager and tell them they violated the credit laws.

You can read about credit laws on creditboards . com

 

[torinsmom]

They didn't give me a copy of the form. I guess I should have looked at it more carefully. I am sure it said somewhere in small letters that I was giving permission for a credit check. That just isn't what the person told me.

Marsha