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Home >> Accounts >> Checking Accounts
Bank Refuses to Open Account, Accepts Direct Deposit
I recently tried to open an account at a bank. They denied me, based on my wife's having some problem with ChexSystems. This is not the issue, but part of the story. When we opened the account, they asked me if I had any direct deposits I wanted to transfer to their bank. I told them yes, but that I did not want to transfer them until I had the account established and decided whether or not I wanted to keep the account. The person opening my new account said "ok lets sign the paperwork and we will keep it in the file so that when you are ready to have the direct deposit transferred all you have to do is call us". This was my monthly VA disbursement. This account was never fully opened. They wanted a copy of my wife's drivers license. When she gave it to them, they decided to close the account. They sent the paperwork to have my VA check sent to them without my permission and now I have incurred almost $200.00 in bank charges, because the money went to that account which is closed, so they sent it back to the VA.
This paperwork should have never been sent in and the account was never really opened, so I didn't get anything from the bank telling me they had done this. I only realized it when on the first my check was not where it was supposed to be. Having written checks on this guaranteed deposit to pay my bills has caused my account at my original bank to be overdrawn. Is this bank obligated to pay these charges from this mishap or am I just stuck with this mess?
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 There are lots of issues here, if things are as you have described them. The bank that sent in the VA direct deposit authorization without opening the account owes you reimbursement for the fees you incurred. However, you are likely to have a hard time getting them to admit it.
Without an open account, it's hard to argue that the bank had any contractual liability to you. Although you seem to have written checks assuming that the VA payment was in your old bank account, you apparently failed to verify that fact before writing the checks.
Getting the other bank to come up with $200 to reimburse you for your overdraft and related charges is likely to be difficult, even if it's the right thing for them to do. It's up to you to decide whether you want to give it a try.
Published on BankingQuestions.com 2/16/10
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