Question by : I cannot get a checking account because of ChexSystems and I need to pay bills. HELP!!!?
A few years ago (when I was young and careless), I ruined my credit and also landed myself on the infamous “ChexSystems” because of some overdraft fees from my old bank. I’m currently working on restoring my credit and paying of my debts but in the meantime I do not have a checking account and all the banks are denying me because of ChexSystems. Restoring credit is not an overnight process and these banks (the sames ones that have been getting bailed out by the government) are making me feel like a hardened CRIMINAL because of a couple bad decisions I made with credit cards & loans when I was a kid!
I currently run a small business but cannot really move forward because I don’t have a checking account to deposit my checks or pay the vendors I owe. I’ve been having use prepaid cards and sketchy check cashing services to deposit my checks and send out money orders from random places to pay my vendors. Not only is this becoming VERY expensive and inconvenient, it’s very unprofessional! I have to withdrawl money from my prepaid debit card (sometimes 2 and 3 times), then go pay for money orders that only go up to certain amounts (which means I have to get 2 or 3 money orders for one person). Plus, all the fees are killing me!
My main concern is paying my vendors, not really depositing my checks — so I was wondering is there a legit bill pay service that will allow me to payment anyone (company or individual) using my debit card (this is the only way I can pay since I don’t have an actual bank account) and issue paper checks to the payee on my behalf??? I’m only interested in a reliable company ONLY, so that I won’t have to worry about them going out of business, running off with my money or something like that. The only two requirements are that they MUST accept payment via debit card and issue paper checks to the payee for me. As mentioned, I’ve been paying vendors using money orders which is a hassle, highly-unprofessional and hard to track if it were to ever get lost in the mail.
Basically I just wan to be able to login every 2 weeks, enter all of my payees information & check amounts, pay all the checks to the bill pay service with my debit card, have a paper checks sent out to the payees (preferrably with my business name on them) and then have the ability to track it online, if necessary (for instance, if a check gets lost in the mail). I’ve taken a look at MyCheckFree, PayTrust, etc and all have only part of what I need… but not all! Again, I am working on restoring my credit and getting things cleared with ChexSystems but in the meantime, I need to be able to run my business so that I can live. Any solid suggestions???
PLEASE FOLKS, I AM TRULY EXHAUSTED & DEPRESSED FROM THIS WHOLE EXPERIENCE. I AM REALLY DOWN & OUT. I JUST NEED ADVICE FROM PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT… NO WISE CRACKS. LIFE IS HARD ENOUGH AS IT IS. THIS HAS AFFECTED MY LIFE IN A WAY YOU CAN’T IMAGINE AND IF I KNEW THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW, I WOULD HAVE NEVER TAKEN MY BANK ACCOUNT FOR GRANTED!!!
And to everyone out there, credit is almost EVERYTHING in America! The world is heartless and cares nothing about you — it’s you and you alone, so work to protect YOURSELF! Apparently without money/credit/power, people treat you like dirt. Protect yourself and your credit, young folks…
Best answer:
Answer by Scott – an Enrolled Agent w/ IRS
And nobody told you the advice that you now shout out? Should have listened.
You aren’t going to find an online service that does this type of service.
We have a family run CPA office and that is a service that we could do. therefore look for a local CPA or lawyer office to do this for you. The way it works is that a checking account is opened with your name as part of the checks title. You bring in your CASH and we would then write out checks for you from this account. Expect a $ 500 upfront fee and to pay about $ 2 per check as our fee. Also be prepared to pay bank fees of about $ 4 per month. Your name isn’t on the account so you can’t go to the bank and get checks yourself.
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