• Home
  • About Off The Grid
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
  • How-To
  • Grid Threats
  • Survival
  • Gardening
  • Food
  • Worldview
  • Health
  • Privacy
  • Hunting
  • Defense
  • Financial
  • News
  • Misc
No Result
View All Result
  • How-To
  • Grid Threats
  • Survival
  • Gardening
  • Food
  • Worldview
  • Health
  • Privacy
  • Hunting
  • Defense
  • Financial
  • News
  • Misc
No Result
View All Result
Off The Grid News
Home Financial

How “Zombie” Bank Accounts Can Ruin Your Credit

by Jen A
in Financial, Top Headline
Print Print
How “Zombie” Bank Accounts Can Ruin Your Credit
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on TruthEmail Article

Even after you close your bank account, it can ruin your credit. Accounts at certain banks have a way of coming back to life and dinging you with overdraft fees, late charges, and penalties. The resulting negative balances get turned over to collection agencies, ruining your credit before you even know what’s hit you. Known as “zombie” bank accounts, these monster accounts can reopen long after you think they’re closed and easily take on a life of their own.

The Anatomy of a Zombie Bank Account

Zombie bank accounts are made possible by bank policies that reserve the right to reopen a closed account for new incoming transactions. You may close the account, but an automatic debit or direct deposit arrangement could cause the account to reopen.

Once it springs back to life, the account will stay open until you manually close it again. It’s not unusual for a zombie account to be open for months or even years before you notice – after all, you think it’s closed! What generally happens is that you notice a hit on your credit report that can be connected back to unpaid account maintenance fees or overdraft fees on an account you thought was dead and gone.

Complaining doesn’t necessarily make the problem go away. Banks point to account closure policies and your signature on the closed account documents as a sign that you read and understood their policies about reopening closed accounts without notice to you. This makes it your fault, not theirs.

Even worse? Many bank web sites give confusing or unclear information about closed accounts. Poorly trained account representatives can point you in the wrong direction. In the meantime, you’re stuck with a mess on your credit report – a mess that never would have showed up if your zombie account had stayed in the grave.

Naturally, consumer groups have long complained about zombie account policies at banks. In the August issue of Consumer Reports, the magazine brought the problem up again, highlighting issues at Bank of America and Chase, two of the nation’s largest banks. Yet even small and regional banks can have zombie account policies on the books, hurting your bottom line in ways you never see coming.

New book reveals how to keep this “gangster” economy from murdering your money…

Closing the Zombie Account Loophole

To avoid nasty surprises, you need to take a few extra steps when closing any bank account. After all, if you hate your bank now and think they’re making your life miserable, how much worse do you think it will be in a few years when you’re not even a current customer and trying to get them to fix something for you? Better smart than sorry.

First, make a list of all the automatic payments and deposit relationships associated with your account. Put them on hold or move them to your new account before closing your old account to dramatically reduce the chances your account will be reopened by activity on your end.

Next, make sure you’re clear on the bank’s zombie account policy. Get it in writing the day you close your account – online information on bank websites can be out-of-date and verbal assurances that your account won’t be reopened are worthless. This will cut out wiggle room for the bank and make sure there’s nothing funny going on with your closure.

Finally, set up a reminder to yourself to check and make sure the account is closed each quarter of the first year after you close it. This will help you catch your zombie account almost immediately if it comes back to life due to any newly processed deposits or withdrawals associated with annual maintenance arrangements or subscriptions that you missed when you first closed the account. Since many zombie accounts are reborn within the first year after they’re closed, the quarterly checks will help cut your odds of a nasty surprise later.

By taking these precautions, you can protect your credit and your sanity when you close down a bank account. Though zombie bank account policies are under fire, they’re still on the books at banks of all sizes around the country. Until they’re finally put to rest, don’t let a zombie ruin your life.

©2012 Off the Grid News

ShareTweetShareSend

Related Posts

Is Ukraine’s Bankruptcy Imminent?

Is Ukraine’s Bankruptcy Imminent?

by Bill Heid

Zelinsky Walking  a Tightrope to Restructure Debt President Zelensky has already issued a decree allowing the Ministry of Finance to...

What’s Really Driving the Precious Metals Boom?

What’s Really Driving the Precious Metals Boom?

by Bill Heid

Gold, Silver, and the Big Breakout Gold and silver prices are heating up, and a key stock index for gold...

Gold’s Run Toward $10,902: An Unprecedented Market Squeeze is Unfolding

Gold’s Run Toward $10,902: An Unprecedented Market Squeeze is Unfolding

by Bill Heid

Historic Shift in Gold’s Fortunes Ahead? The new year has burst onto the scene with remarkable strength in precious metals....

Next Post
Voter Fraud Groups Decry United Nation Monitors at US Polling Places

Voter Fraud Groups Decry United Nation Monitors at US Polling Places

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Pentagon Finally Admits The Truth About EMPs

Pentagon Finally Admits The Truth About EMPs

canned green chiles

How To Can Green Chiles

Why Conventional Wisdom About Stockpiling Food Is Just Plain Wrong

Why Conventional Wisdom About Stockpiling Food Is Just Plain Wrong

TRENDING STORIES

  • bubonic plague

    Is Another Bubonic Plague Pandemic On The Horizon?

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Waco Fertilizer Plant Explosion & A Look Back On The “Waco Massacre”

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Make Yourself 3 Times More Likely To Survive A Heart Attack

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • AI Surveillance Of Shoppers: Walmart’s Newest Tool To Grab Your Data

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ‘Apocalyptic’ Microchip Implants Are Here – And Being Inserted Into People’s Hands

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Subscribe to our Insider Newsletter

Huge discounts on off-the-grid gear and life saving supplements.






‘Off The Grid News’ is an independent, weekly email newsletter and website that is crammed full of practical information on living and surviving off the grid. Advice you’ll never hear from the mainstream media.

  • How-To
  • Grid Threats
  • Extreme Survival
  • Survival Gardening
  • Off-Grid Foods
  • Worldview
  • Natural Health
  • Survival Hunting
  • Privacy
  • Financial
  • Current Events
  • Self Defense
  • Home Defense
  • Pain-Free Living
  • Miscellaneous
  • Off Grid Videos

© Copyright 2025 Off The Grid News.  All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • How-To
  • Grid Threats
  • Survival
  • Gardening
  • Food
  • Worldview
  • Health
  • Privacy
  • Hunting
  • Defense
  • Financial
  • News
  • Misc
  • Videos

© Copyright 2025 Off The Grid News.  All Rights Reserved.