Mass. overdraft>credit report>contest?

[missy1117]

What is the name of your state?I live in Massachusetts
About 2 months ago i overdrew my bank acct when i had some unexpected expenses on a trip and no access to the internet to stop my bills from automatically paying. When i got home 3 bills were 'processing' and couldnt be stopped. I immediately cancelled the rest of the bills. Then (long-story-shot) I lost my job.

At its worst the account was overdrawn approx -$450. Including about $150 in fees/overdraft charges etc (which, incidentally, dont seem to correspond to anything; ie, not one fee per day, nor one fee per attempeted transaction...which seems shady to me, but isnt actually my point)

During this time, ive made several small, but relatively regular deposits to the account. (usually $20 per deposit, every 5-7 days or so. The longest time between deposits was 11 days.) There have been no additional attempts to withdraw anything.

The only contact the bank made with me came in the form of 2 of the same form letter. One within a few days of the initial overdraft, the other about a week and a half later.

I called the bank a couple of times, just to 'touch base.' I didnt expect it to accomplish anything, but i wanted them to be clear that i was aware, paying attention, alive, and not attempting to commit fraud. I told them i had lost the job, that i was doing what i could, and that they'd be the first to know when i got a new job.

Then last week i called the automated bank information number to check my balance and see that my last deposit had been credited. (The balance had been -$313 and I had deposited $20) Much to my surprise, the automated voice reported that my balance was $0. Alarmed, i called the bank, was shuffled around to several people there before someone finally told me that my account had been handed over to a debt collector.

I called the debt collector and was told that I would be taking a 'hit' on my credit repoort for this.

Now, i realize ive gotten myself into this mess, and that this is probably very naiive of me, but, im hoping someone could tell me if theres any way that i can contest the mark on my credit report, in light of the fact that i had been making consistant (albeit, small) deposits to the account in a good faith effort to pay off my debt to them.

Incidentally, i now have the money and will be bringing to the bank tomorrow (the debt collection people said that depositing it at my bank as usual would take care of my debt with them)

Thank you in advance.

[Ladynred]

im hoping someone could tell me if theres any way that i can contest the mark on my credit report, in light of the fact that i had been making consistant (albeit, small) deposits to the account in a good faith effort to pay off my debt to them.

There's really nothing you can do to stop the hit to your credit, however, don't believe anything a debt collector tells you. Its their job to squeeze money out of people and they'll lie to get it. Their favorite tactic is to scare you into paying immediately.

What you also need to find out is whether or not the bank reported you to ChexSystems or not. THAT can be a real problem if you ever need another checking account in the next 5 years.

[Veronica1228]

Originally Posted by Ladynred

There's really nothing you can do to stop the hit to your credit, however, don't believe anything a debt collector tells you. Its their job to squeeze money out of people and they'll lie to get it. Their favorite tactic is to scare you into paying immediately.

What you also need to find out is whether or not the bank reported you to ChexSystems or not. THAT can be a real problem if you ever need another checking account in the next 5 years.

Why shouldn't she pay the bank immediately? They probably covered some of the OP's payments for her so she needs to pay them back plus the fees. It would also be very proper and very correct for her to be reported to Chex. I doubt she'll be able to get an account for a while, and rightly so.

[Ladynred]

Oh, I don't disagree that he SHOULD pay the bank ASAP, and yes, probably deserves to be in Chex for writing bogus checks to start with. But, as we all know, most consumers haven't a clue about Chex until they're in it. If they haven't reported him yet, paying ASAP might prevent that from happening - and he still learns his lesson - don't spend more than ya got !!

[missy1117]

In my defense i would like to clarify that no bad checks were written. I had to put emergency car repairs on my debit card. ("had to" as in, it wouldn't move, id still be in the woods somewhere) Meanwhile, all of my bills had, for months been set up as re occurring monthly online payments, each at a fixed amount withdrawn on a specific date. Some of these payments were already processing, and were therefore 'untouchable' - i stopped the ones that i could, but it was too late to stop the others. You may not believe that there's a difference between passing bad checks and what ive done, but I can honestly tell you that at least in my case, there is one huge difference; and that is that I had neither the intent nor the desire to deceive or defraud my bank.
Ok. Sorry. Im done. I just felt strangely compelled to defend myself.
Thank you for your comments & for any future comments.
Oh, one last thing: Im a 'she' not a 'he'
~Missy1117

[Ladynred]

OOops.. sorry for the gender flub

[JETX]

Originally Posted by missy1117

In my defense i would like to clarify that no bad checks were written.

Actually, they were. An 'automatic draft' is an 'electronic' CHECK... and your authorizing the merchant to 'debit draw' your account is the exact same thing as actually writing a check.... in advance. It would be similar to writing a check now, and putting the date for two weeks. Then sending that check to the merchant with instructions to deposit on the date.

And your use of a EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer - ATM) card to pay for the repair could be credit fraud.

One last comment on this.... your 'version' doesn't hold water.
"About 2 months ago i overdrew my bank acct when i had some unexpected expenses on a trip and no access to the internet to stop my bills from automatically paying. When i got home 3 bills were 'processing' and couldnt be stopped. I immediately cancelled the rest of the bills. Then (long-story-shot) I lost my job."

You seem to be in denial of YOUR responsibility here. When you incurred those 'unexpected expenses' (??) on a trip, why didn't you take PRO-ACTIVE steps to resolve your problem?? Call a friend and ask them to loan you some money?? And why were you taking a trip when you were clearly living so 'close to the edge' of your budget anyway??
Why didn't you have overdraft protection from a savings or CD account to protect you??

Also, you don't just lose your job and instantly lose your income without ANY ability to stop the auto-drafts. Didn't you get a final check to deposit to cover those expenses??