Chexsystem query by third party

[treehugger1]

Ok gurus and others, here is/are question(s) for you.

I pulled my ChexSystem report and noted that about a month ago a "risk management/accounts receivable company pulled my chexsystem report. The company goes by the name of mic ro bilt. I have never authorized them to pull my chexsystem report. Interestingly enough, they show as the inquirer and they checked my file on behalf of themselves. The company appears to be a high-tech skip-tracing/locator company.

All I can think is they might have been hired by one of my judgment creditors to look for checking accounts. No big deal as all my funds in any bank accounts are exempt, and I would immediately file to have them returned to me.

They have an email address where you can send a complaint, so I did that. I requested that they supply me with a legal reason that they had to check my file. I'll see how they respond. If they cannot support their retrieval of my information, then I will file a complaint with my state AG's office and the FCC.

I also wonder how many folks ever pull their chexsystem file and see what is being reported.

Any others ever heard of these folks?

[jacko]

Thanks for the tip. I just ordered mine. Can Paypal and debit card accounts be traced?

[QUOTE=treehugger1;384390]Ok gurus and others, here is/are question(s) for you.

I pulled my ChexSystem report and noted that about a month ago a "risk management/accounts receivable company pulled my chexsystem report. The company goes by the name of mic ro bilt. I have never authorized them to pull my chexsystem report. Interestingly enough, they show as the inquirer and they checked my file on behalf of themselves. The company appears to be a high-tech skip-tracing/locator company.

[albacore44]

I never thought to check mine. my son had the following happen due to chexsystems. He lost his job, and has several bank accounts floating around. well somehow his long dormant Chase account became overdrawn. it had a couple of bucks in it, and he had not used it for a long time. he gets a notice in Jan that its overdrawn, so he ignors it. probably some lack of use fees pushed him into being overdrawn. well they reported him to Chexsystems, and a couple weeks later, one his credit unions sends him a letter that they had been notified by Chexsystems, blah,blah, blah, and that they would be closing his account and sending him his $20 balance by cashiers check. he dident care since he did not use that account either. I found it odd that chexsystems would send out information, without someone requesting it.

[tigergem]

Interesting, I just got my Chexsystems report as well. Part of my annual ritual to request it. Usually there is nothing on Chexsystems, as there should not be. This year they sent me an interesting response. They have "additional information" which they did not disclose to me because all of my "identifiers" didn't match. And they want my additional addresses for the past five years. I didn't have any additional addresses in the past five years. This should get interesting.

[treehugger1]

It is a bit interesting that micro bilt pulled my chexsystem report, but they don't show up as a hard or soft inquiry on my credit reports. IF they send an email reply to my request that they justify their access, I'll report back here. I'll admit that my CS report is as big a catastophe as my credit reports. I have dozens of inquiries as I searched from bank to bank hoping to find one willing to give me a checking account after I screwed one up due to an unsecured overdraft line of credit that I didn't have the money to pay a few years ago.

In terms of prepaid debit cards, most of them do not use CS. I'm not sure about paypal.

[WhatMoney]

Interesting subject. I am about to pull by ChexSystems report. I have never had any overdrawn accounts or defaults in any checking/savings accounts ever, so I don't expect to see much. But I have opened six new bank accounts in the last 12 months (where my name/SSN appears) - so I am interested in which of them used CS for the approval. I am only a trustee on some of them - so that should also be interesting.

If I find any creditors or search firms are getting my CS report revealing these new accounts I'll be disappointed - and follow through like treehugger is doing.

Paypal, I doubt uses CS - they don't even have my SSN. You need a functioning bank account to open a PayPal account so that should be good enough for them. PP probably checks somewhere if you request a PayPal credit card, since they require your SSN for credit applications.

[WhatMoney]

TreeHugger's question got me interested in ChexSystems. Read the quote below from a very informative website about CS. This answers my questions a few weeks ago about Deluxe and your check printing information being released.

Ordering Checks
Did you know that when you order checks from Deluxe or one of their subsidaries, that they send personal information to Chexsystems and other companies. They send your account number, address, phone number, and more. Do not order checks through Deluxe, Current Checks, Designer Checks, or Checks Unlimited. Do not use any company that is affiliated with Deluxe. They also send information to other companies such as chexsystems, telecheck, Debit Bureau, EFunds, and EWS.

Just always make sure that it isn't owned by Deluxe/Chexsystems. They also keep information on file such as your account number, check numbers etc.

Why is this a problem?

Chexsystems has been known in more than one instance to have contacted a bank realizing an account has been opened just from the customer simply ordering checks. There have been times when Chexsystems has even suggested to the bank that they close the account because they felt the customer was a potential risk etc.

Walmart(THEY USE EWS AND WILL DENY IF REPORTED), Checks in the mail also uses EWS

Accounts have been closed just from ordering checks.

Here are some that were found to be safe Suggestions: Style Checks ,Identity, Checkworks, the check gallery, 4checks, artistic checks, check crafters, promise checks checks in the mail, Costco Checks, Bradford Exchange, lifechecks.

http://www.chexsystemsvictims.com/Ordering_Checks.html

As to who can access your information in ChexSystems, I will quote directly from the ChexSystem report:

Inquiries Not Initiated By Consumer Action refers to inquiries resulting from transactions you may not have initiated, so you may not recognize the source. Members with permissible purposes include current creditors, pre-approval creditors, and potential investors trying to assess risks. They report these requests only to you as a record of activities, and they do not include any of these requests on credit reports to others.

Inquiries Initiated By Consumer Action refers to inquiries resulting from a transaction initiated by you. These include applying for a credit card or completing an application at a financial institution. Please note that the inquiries are part of your credit history and may be included in our reports to others. These inquiries can be viewed for ninety days up to three years.

[treehugger1]

And, that's what caught my attention with this particular company that shows on my CS report. They are listed under inquiries initiated by consumer action. They do not show up under inquiries not initiated by consumer action.

I can't think of anything I applied for in early January that correlates with the date the particular company pulled my CS report. I certainly never initiated any "business" with this particular risk management/locator business.

I hope to hear from them in the next few days.

[WhatMoney]

Interesting subject. I am about to pull by ChexSystems report. I have never had any overdrawn accounts or defaults in any checking/savings accounts ever, so I don't expect to see much. But I have opened six new bank accounts in the last 12 months (where my name/SSN appears) - so I am interested in which of them used CS for the approval. I am only a trustee on some of them - so that should also be interesting.

Followup:
Received my free ChexSystems report in the mail 4 business days after my online request. As expected I have no derogatory information from banks or retail businesses. Clean record as it should be. Also no inquiries "Not Initiated By Consumer Action" - meaning no one is yet looking for my bank accounts, 5 years after CC default.

However, all the the banks where I opened a new account in the last two years are listed once - at the initial check. Second accounts opened at these same banks later on did not generate another inquiry. In some cases the address of the branch I opened the account was listed. In other cases only the bank corporate out-of-state headquarters was listed.

In one case an account was listed where I am only a trustee - the funds belong to another person and cannot be touched. Disappointing - but let them try to go after that account. They will be slapped with an FDCPA violation lawsuit for attempting to steal funds from an unrelated party. A trust account is not a joint account.

The "History of Checks Ordered" section lists all check orders including account number and check starting number for all my check orders since 2007. The two companies that supplied check printing information to ChexSystems were Deluxe Corporation, St. Paul, MN, and Harland Check Printing, San Diego, CA.

No accounts opened more than 3 years ago were identified in any section.

The "Checks Ordered" section is a bummer. I seldom use a check anyway. Consider not requesting checks when you open a new bank account, even when they are free. Now we know why they are free - Deluxe can sell your information...
Alternatively you can order checks from one of the vendors mentioned above, although there is no guarantee that information is still valid. But the first check order that comes with a checking account or brokerage or money market account that is suppled by the institution will generally show up in ChexSystems.

There was no reference to any PayPal accounts or other debit card only accounts, fyi.

end of update.

[treehugger1]

Yes, the ordered checks info was eye-opening to me! I have applied for dozens of accounts, but did order some checks through a bank at one time. I'm not married to this bank, so it is time to say goodbye to them.

[jacko]

I just read my Chex System report and it's bare. Just lists two inquires, my previous checking and my current. Plus it lists only my previous checking for ordering checks.