Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Virginia

Re: acct number

Yes, it's legal. You should know that the rules have changed with respect to checking accounts. They are now treated the same as debit cards. That is to say, that if you give a merchant the name of your bank and your checking account number, that's authorization for the merchant to issue a debit against your checking account immediately, the same way they'd charge against your credit card. Except that you have less rights in the matter with respect to correction of errors. There's also a greater opportunity for fraud, since your checks flow through commerce much more freely than does your credit card number; they can be negotiated through any number of third parties. What we need is an "opt out" provision in the law, so that the consumer can tell his bank not to honor debit requests in the absence of a separate debit card number and expiration date, and make the bank liable for unauthorized payouts. Tell your congressman.