What Happens if Your Bank Account Has a Negative Balance? (2024)

FAQs

What Happens if Your Bank Account Has a Negative Balance? ›

If you have a negative bank account, that means you've taken out more money than was available in the account. Letting an account go negative can be costly, because banks charge fees when this happens. And your bank could close your account if it stays negative for too long.

You would need to pay the negative balance first. If the negative balance isn't paid the account will be closed by the bank and reported to chexsystems. The negative mark stays on your record for 5 to 10 years.

Your bank may close your account and send you to collections if you're always in overdraft and/or don't bring your account up to date. An overdraft occurs when your account falls below zero. Your bank will let your account become negative if you have overdraft protection but you may face fees.

If you don't know about an overdrawn account or ignore it, the bank could eventually take legal action against you. The amount your account is overdrawn is a legal debt you owe, which means the bank can sue you and use legal remedies such as wage garnishment to get the money.

In most cases, people quickly eliminate their negative bank balance by simply depositing the amount needed to get their account back in good standing. However, there are certain consequences that your bank may impose, especially if you consistently have a negative bank balance, such as: Overdraft fees.

Overdrafts don't usually affect your credit scores unless you don't resolve them quickly and the account goes into collections. Checking accounts aren't included in your credit reports from the three major credit bureaus, but they could be included in your ChexSystems report.

Account closure

Depending on the bank, they may either shut the account down before the negative transaction is completed or allow several transactions (and fees) before closing the account. But once the account is closed, your future transactions, including automatic payments and paycheck deposits, will be blocked.

You can be denied an account if you're in debt to another bank because of an overdrawn account or overdraw your account too often.

Your bank might offer you an overdraft line of credit that you can draw against. Say you have a checking account and the bank grants you a $1,000 overdraft limit. That means you can spend all the money in your account, plus up to $1,000 more before the bank will block any further transactions.

If you don't pay, the collection agency can sue you to try to collect the debt. If successful, the court may grant them the authority to garnish your wages or bank account or place a lien on your property. You can defend yourself in a debt collection lawsuit or file bankruptcy to stop collection actions.

Can you open a bank account if another account is negative? ›

If you have a negative record, banks might refuse to work with you as a new customer.

Money you owe to your bank is a non-priority debt, which means that you might not lose your home for not paying the debts, but you can still be taken to court and ordered to pay what you owe - often with extra costs on top. If you owe your bank money and cannot pay: get advice. make a list of all your debts.

If you choose to opt in to debit card and ATM overdraft, you are usually allowed to make ATM withdrawals and debit card purchases even if you do not have enough funds at the time of the transaction. However, you will generally incur fees on transactions that settle against a negative balance later.

Unfortunately, if your account is overdrawn for a long period or you regularly slip into the red, the bank may close your account. In this scenario, it may send the money you owe to a debt collector, which would impact your credit. Plus, a low ChexSystems score could make it difficult to open a bank account.

Yes. Generally, banks may close accounts, for any reason and without notice. Some reasons could include inactivity or low usage. Review your deposit account agreement for policies specific to your bank and your account.

If the account balance stays negative for an extended period, your account may incur multiple additional fees depending on the bank's policies for your account. Checking accounts that continue to be overdrawn past a certain time might even be closed.

If your financial situation is unlikely to get any better, you should contact your bank. They might agree to: temporarily pause interest or fees on your overdraft debt. let you pay any essential costs like food and bills before paying off your overdraft.