ChexSystems NightMare...Plz Help?

Question

Hello All. Im in a horrible situation, just would like to know some options or suggestions I may or may not have. Alright, im 19 yrs old. Last year I had a Sovereign Bank acct. opened it and what not got my Debit Card. I then moved after having the acct open for about 3 weeks. During the course of the move I lost my card, didnt know at 1st. Then I recently tried to open up a different bank acct and im told im in the chexsystems for 3000 some odd dollars!!! I reported my card stolen, and I thought that cleared this up and what not..NO it did not. So now what can I do?? I live in Philadelphia. Can I contact the police, fill out a police report. Should I contact Sovereign..even though this was a year ago now?? I mean..I didnt do anything to my account. I cant even open up a Credit Union acct because of this. It really sucks..please sum advice..

Also, I saw some mail that said it was reported to a Collections Agency..so Am I basically screwed?

Answer 1

My suggestion is start at the beginning with Sovereign Bank. It seems your debit card was used for purchases and not for cash (the bank would not have paid on insufficient funds for cash withdrawals).

Gather all records of the time you moved, ie signed lease (it will show the date you were physically in PA), gas receipts/plane/train/bus ticket stubs, first paycheck stub and anything else that can show where you were during the time the charges were made.

This may be a bit time consuming but write a statement detailing the date you moved, where you moved to with the address and when you first noticed your card was missing, get as close to the 'when' as possible. Then take the statement with copies of all your documents to a Notary and have your statement notarized.

Send copies (not the originals, keep those yourself) to both Chex Systems and Sovereign Bank with a return receipt request. It will cost you about $25 to do all this.

It may or may not help, but you will need to go on the offensive before you start this fight to win it. This is a long post because I'm including information directly from Sovereign Bank.

Here you go (send it right to these folks, by name if you want to):
Shareholders, employees and other interested parties who desire to express a concern relating to accounting or auditing matters should communicate directly with Sovereign’s Audit Committee in writing addressed to “Audit Committee Chair,” Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. P.O. Box 936, Reading, PA 19603.

Chairpersons:
Brian Hard, Chairman
William J. Moran, Vice Chair

# All complaints must be in writing.
# Complaints may be submitted anonymously.
# Complaints may be signed, with or without a request for confidential handling.

Here's the information to send your packet to ChexSystems:
ChexSystems
12005 Ford Road, Suite 600
Dallas, TX 75234-7253
Fax: [phone]*

I've also included a link for a report on getting a bank account while you are getting this resolved.

Good luck and just a small 'kick in the butt'...watch your so-called friends.

Answer 2

Who did you report the stolen card to? You should contact the Sovereign Bank and report the card stolen. They will require you to file a police report.

You will probably run into lots of problems trying to clear this up since it took a year. If you can't get it cleared up thru the bank, you won't be able to get off the ChexSystem black list.