If you have been denied a bank account and you have assumed that ChexSystems is the only surveillance database that you need to worry about, then you have been operating under a dangerous assumption, because there is another database called Early Warning Services that operates in much the same way as ChexSystems, and it collects similar information about your banking history, and it is used by many of the same banks to screen applicants, and it can also prevent you from opening a bank account even if your ChexSystems record is clean.
The existence of two separate surveillance databases means that you need to be aware of both of them, and you need to understand how they differ, and you need to know how to fight back against both of them, because clearing one without clearing the other will not solve your problem, and you will still be denied bank accounts even after you have successfully disputed your ChexSystems record.
- What Early Warning Services Is
Early Warning Services is a consumer reporting agency that operates in much the same way as ChexSystems, and it collects information about your banking history, including overdrafts, closed accounts, returned checks, and suspected fraud, and it provides this information to banks and credit unions that subscribe to its service, and it is used by many of the same banks that use ChexSystems to screen applicants.
The main difference between ChexSystems and Early Warning Services is that Early Warning Services is owned by a consortium of major banks, including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo, which means that it has a direct connection to the banks that are most likely to deny you an account, and it has a direct incentive to serve the interests of those banks rather than the interests of consumers.
- How Early Warning Services Differs from ChexSystems
Early Warning Services differs from ChexSystems in several important ways, including the types of information it collects, the way it processes disputes, and the regulatory framework that governs it, and understanding these differences is essential to fighting back against both systems effectively.
The most important difference is that Early Warning Services is not subject to the same regulatory oversight as ChexSystems, because it is not a credit reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and it is not subject to the same requirements for investigating disputes and responding within thirty days, and this means that it can be even more difficult to correct errors in your Early Warning Services file than in your ChexSystems file.
- The Scope of Early Warning Services
The scope of Early Warning Services is significant, because it is used by over 5,000 banks and credit unions, and it has information on over 300 million consumer accounts, and it processes billions of transactions every year, and it is one of the largest consumer reporting agencies in the country, yet most consumers have never heard of it and do not know that it has a file on them.
The scope of Early Warning Services means that even if you successfully clear your ChexSystems record, you can still be denied a bank account because of information in your Early Warning Services file, and you will not even know that you have been denied because of a different database.
- The Overlap Between the Two Systems
The overlap between ChexSystems and Early Warning Services is significant, because many banks report information to both systems, and many banks use both systems to screen applicants, and many consumers have files in both systems that contain similar information, and this means that you need to address both systems if you want to be able to open a bank account.
The overlap means that you cannot focus exclusively on ChexSystems and ignore Early Warning Services, because the banks that denied you based on your ChexSystems record will also deny you based on your Early Warning Services file, and you will not be able to open an account until both files are clean.
- The Dispute Process for Early Warning Services
The dispute process for Early Warning Services is similar to the process for ChexSystems, but it is not identical, and it requires the same attention to detail and the same specific legal language, but it is governed by a different regulatory framework, and it may require a different approach, and you may need to be even more persistent in following up on your dispute.
The dispute process for Early Warning Services is not well-known, and most consumers do not even know that they have a file at Early Warning Services, and they do not know how to dispute the information in their file, and this is one of the reasons why it is so difficult to correct errors in that system.
- The Importance of Requesting Both Reports
The importance of requesting both reports cannot be overstated, because you cannot fight what you cannot see, and you cannot dispute what you cannot identify, and you cannot correct what you cannot understand, so the first step in fighting back against both systems is to request copies of both reports and to review them carefully for errors.
You are entitled to one free copy of your ChexSystems report per year under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, but you are not entitled to a free copy of your Early Warning Services report unless you have been denied an account based on information in that report, and even then, the process for obtaining a copy is more complicated and less well-known.
- The Strategy for Fighting Back
The strategy for fighting back against both systems involves requesting copies of both reports, reviewing them carefully for errors, and disputing any errors that you find, and the strategy involves using specific legal language that forces the agencies to investigate your disputes, and the strategy involves following up relentlessly until the errors are corrected.
The strategy is not complicated, but it requires attention to detail, and it requires the right tools, and it requires the right approach, and it requires a willingness to persist in the face of bureaucratic resistance, and it requires a belief that you have the right to a clean financial record.
- The Escalation Strategy for Early Warning Services
The escalation strategy for Early Warning Services is similar to the strategy for ChexSystems, but it may require a different approach because Early Warning Services is not subject to the same regulatory oversight, and it may not respond to disputes in the same way, and it may be more difficult to force compliance.
The escalation strategy for Early Warning Services may involve filing a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, filing a lawsuit against the agency, and demanding that the bank that reported the erroneous information correct the record, and it may require even more persistence than the ChexSystems strategy.
- The Importance of Acting Now
The importance of acting now cannot be overstated, because every month you remain on the ChexSystems and Early Warning Services lists, you are paying the hidden taxes of financial exclusion, and these hidden taxes can add up to $1,000 to $2,000 per year, and over the seven-year retention period, you could pay as much as $14,000 in unnecessary fees.
The importance of acting now also stems from the fact that the longer you wait, the harder it will be to correct errors in your files, because banks may not have kept records that can be used to verify the information, and ChexSystems and Early Warning Services may have archived the information and made it more difficult to dispute.
- The Bottom Line: You Must Clear Both Records
The bottom line is that you must clear both your ChexSystems record and your Early Warning Services record if you want to be able to open a bank account, and you must act now to request copies of both reports and to dispute any errors that you find, and you must use the specific legal language that forces the agencies to investigate your disputes.
Do not assume that clearing your ChexSystems record is enough, because it is not, and do not assume that Early Warning Services will not affect your ability to open a bank account, because it will, and do not wait for the system to fix itself, because it will not, and the only thing standing between you and a clean financial record is the decision to act.
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The ChexSystems Removal Protocol provides you with the tools you need to clear both your ChexSystems record and your Early Warning Services file, because we have spent years perfecting the legal framework that forces both agencies to delete inaccurate and unverifiable records, and we are ready to put that knowledge to work for you.