Will the bank close my checking account?

[Dissipate]

Ok, I have a checking account at Washington Mutual (home of the truly free checking). The problem is my account balance has been exactly $1.00 for the past 6 months or so. The reason why is that I haven't had any income since I quit my job (living off mom & pop) and have been a full time student. Will the bank eventually close my account and would this hurt my credit?

 

[Vic]

No. WAMU has no minimum balance requirements.

 

[Nutdotnet]

You're living off NO money?

 

[ArcticChill]

what u live on the street with a labtop in ur hands?

 

[Whisper]

He said he's living off his parents while going to school. So no, I don't think he's wandering around the street with a laptop looking for unsecured wireless LANs to tap into.

 

[oniq]

Originally posted by: ArcticChill
what u live on the street with a labtop in ur hands?

labtop?!

 

[fr]

I had an account with them with $25 and no activity for 2 years. They sent me a few notices saying that if I did not tell them otherwise, they would close my account and forward the funds to the state for me to claim.

 

[Ameesh]

i don't think they will. but you could just call them (your local branch) to get confirmation.

 

[Shame]

Deposit $10 into the account every 6 months and don't worry about it...

And no, closing a checking account with a positive balance won't hurt your credit. The bank closing a negative checking account, sending it to a collection agency, and that collection agency reporting it, will...

 

[Sid59]

i love WAMU. much better experience since i left BofA

 

[RossMAN]

It depends on the minimum balance requirements of your account. Most likely you have WAMU's "free checking" account which basically means, free checking.

However your account is in danger of going dormant. If that happens, it will be closed and a check for the remaining balance will be mailed to you.

Just deposit $0.01 every 6 months to keep it active and from going dormant.

 

[Vic]

When I did more online trading, I set up a free checking account at WAMU to handle my paypal, etc. That account has now been dormant with no activity for more than a year with only $5 bucks in it. WAMU still sends me monthly bank statements. I don't think they care.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Vic
When I did more online trading, I set up a free checking account at WAMU to handle my paypal, etc. That account has now been dormant with no activity for more than a year with only $5 bucks in it. WAMU still sends me monthly bank statements. I don't think they care.

Each bank has different time periods for dormant accounts.

I've had $1 in BOFA for over 1.5 years with no problems. The other day I walked in there and deposited $0.25 just in case.

My Credit Union gets all my money, fsck corporate banks!

 

[d33pt]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: Vic
When I did more online trading, I set up a free checking account at WAMU to handle my paypal, etc. That account has now been dormant with no activity for more than a year with only $5 bucks in it. WAMU still sends me monthly bank statements. I don't think they care.

Each bank has different time periods for dormant accounts.

I've had $1 in BOFA for over 1.5 years with no problems. The other day I walked in there and deposited $0.25 just in case.

My Credit Union gets all my money, fsck corporate banks!

doesn't bofa charge you if you dont have a minimum in there or direct deposit?

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: d33pt

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: Vic
When I did more online trading, I set up a free checking account at WAMU to handle my paypal, etc. That account has now been dormant with no activity for more than a year with only $5 bucks in it. WAMU still sends me monthly bank statements. I don't think they care.

Each bank has different time periods for dormant accounts.

I've had $1 in BOFA for over 1.5 years with no problems. The other day I walked in there and deposited $0.25 just in case.

My Credit Union gets all my money, fsck corporate banks!

doesn't bofa charge you if you dont have a minimum in there or direct deposit?

Yep but I have a grandfathered account from a bank they "acquired".

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: Vic
When I did more online trading, I set up a free checking account at WAMU to handle my paypal, etc. That account has now been dormant with no activity for more than a year with only $5 bucks in it. WAMU still sends me monthly bank statements. I don't think they care.

Each bank has different time periods for dormant accounts.

I've had $1 in BOFA for over 1.5 years with no problems. The other day I walked in there and deposited $0.25 just in case.

My Credit Union gets all my money, fsck corporate banks!

My CU already holds my money, I thought you knew that already
The WAMU account was just for the convenience of the free no minimum balance checking to handle my Paypal separate from my primary accounts.

I freakin' hate BofA anyway. I had an account with them years ago and they stole $300 from me. When I took the issue to the bank (with clear documentation of their error), the bank manager (downtown branch at 5th & Salmon) refused to even look at my documentation and said (and I quote), "The Bank of America is never wrong." I closed my account on the spot and I will never do business with them again. When I was a mortgage broker (work for a lender now), I wouldn't even broker mortgages to them.

 

[Dissipate]

Ok, I think I am going to put $100 in there when I get my tax refund. I need $80 in there to pay for my safe deposit box anyways.

Edit: Thanks for the info everyone.