Once you are sure you need to close a checking account, be patient but diligent in getting your checking account closed.
Before you get to the bank
* Bring an account statement with you so that you will have easy access to your checking account number.
Once you are in the bank
* Have a conversation with a bank representative telling him or her of your desire to close the checking account. (Make sure you are not talking with a bank teller. Often the bank tellers do not have access to your complete files or the proper codes to finish the task.)
* Make sure the bank representative does not dissuade you from the task of closing the checking account. Probing questions or informing you of promotional offers could distract you from closing the account.
* Confirm that the bank representative has your file with your name and your current address on the computer screen. Confirming your name is particularly important if you have a common name that could easily be confused with someone else.
* Watch the bank representative’s actions and body language. You should be convinced that the proper cancellation codes were input into the computer.
*Ask for a copy of the document that proves that you actually closed the account.
As you are leaving the bank
* It is acceptable to thank the representative for assisting you in closing the account.
* Do not walk away feeling guilty that you turned down any offers to keep the account open. Before you walked into the bank, you had decided to close the checking account. Following through on that decision was your priority. It was not your priority to help the bank representative maintain customers.
Once you are at home
* Review your next bank statement carefully. Does it say that that account was closed on a specific date? If it does not, chances are the codes or the paperwork did not get accepted into the computer properly .
* Redo the process of closing the account again. And then review the next bank statement to ensure that it does actually confirm that the checking account has been closed.
* Shred any remaining checks that are connected with that checking account so that months from now those blank checks won’t confuse you. Six months to a year for now, you don’t want to hear yourself saying, “I thought I closed this account.” Better yet, you do not want to grab those checks by mistake and send one out forgetting that the account is no longer active.
With that checking account closed, you can now move onto life’s other matters.