Do You Have A Spare Bank?

It pays to plan ahead. Banks report events to various reporting agencies. When you bounce checks it is reporting the an agency that other banks subscribe to. If you get in a dispute with a bank about fees and charges don't think you can just walk away without dealing with the issue. For example your bank will report NSF (non sufficient funds) and OD (overdraft) charges to an agency like ChexSystems. Banks will also report an account being close with a negative balance. That means that any bank that is a member of ChexSystems will know what happened and may not open an account for you. If you cannot reconcile with your bank then you have at least two alternatives. Go to a non-CheckSystem bank or already have an account opened at another bank. Then you can simply switch banks. What I am suggesting here is to open two accounts at the same time. Don't wait until you have a problem and then open the account. The reporting agencies will do a follow up on new accounts and negative activity will be reported to the new bank even after the account has been opened. I am not saying you can just give your bank the shaft and go to your other bank. What I am saying is this will give you time to work out your differences, if possible, and still be able to operate. Remember that debits you owe and do not pay could be reported on your credit report and turned over to a collection agency. You want to avoid that if possible.