Bank of the James on Your Credit Report
In short: Bank of the James is a state-chartered commercial bank that is a member of the Federal Reserve System, supervised by the Federal Reserve and its state regulator and headquartered in Lynchburg, VA. The FDIC lists it under certificate 35207, with a charter established in 1999 and 22 FDIC-reported offices reporting $1.0 billion in total assets as of 06/30/2026. As an original creditor it is the furnisher of any deposit-account, consumer-loan or card tradeline it reports — meaning it, not a third-party collector, is the party responsible under FCRA §623 for the accuracy of what appears on your credit report. Information that is inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable can be disputed under the FCRA. Outcomes depend on what the furnisher can verify, and results vary.
Who Bank of the James actually is
Charter details above are from the FDIC BankFind public database.
What makes this creditor different
Bank of the James operates under FDIC certificate 35207 on a charter established July 22, 1999 — 27 years of continuous operation — and reports $1.0 billion in total assets across 22 FDIC-reported offices as of its 06/30/2026 call report. It is a state-chartered commercial bank that is a member of the Federal Reserve System, supervised by the Federal Reserve and its state regulator, headquartered in Lynchburg, VA.
How Bank of the James appears on your credit report
With 22 FDIC-reported offices, Bank of the James runs consumer lending across many locations on a shared core system. When a loan is re-keyed between locations or a servicing platform is converted, the payment history and the open date are the fields that most often drift. Identify the account by its open date and account number rather than by the bank's name alone, so the furnisher can locate the exact record it is reporting.
Names it may report under
Products that commonly show up
- ◆Consumer installment and personal loans originated by Bank of the James
- ◆Deposit accounts charged off to a negative balance
- ◆Home-equity lines and mortgage accounts serviced under the Bank of the James name
Grounds to dispute a Bank of the James entry
Each of these is a reason a Bank of the James tradeline may be inaccurate or unverifiable. None of them assures removal — they are the angles worth checking on your own report.
- ◆Loan originated at one Bank of the James location and reported with another location's open date after a core-system conversion
- ◆Overdrawn deposit account charged off and reported without the itemisation required before collection
- ◆Account balance or credit limit reported incorrectly
- ◆Payment reported late when it was made inside the grace period
- ◆Date of first delinquency re-aged to extend how long it can report
- ◆Account still reporting as open after it was closed, or vice versa
- ◆Duplicate tradeline for the same account after an internal transfer
- ◆Account belongs to someone else with a similar name, or is the result of identity theft
Disputing an original creditor is not the same as disputing a collector
Bank of the James is an original creditor — the institution whose name was on the account when it was opened. That matters for two reasons. First, the FDCPA, which governs debt collectors, generally does not apply to a creditor collecting its own debt in its own name, so the “debt validation” request that works against a collection agency is not the right tool here. Second, as the furnisher of the tradeline, Bank of the James has direct obligations under FCRA §623 to investigate a dispute you send it and to correct or delete information it cannot verify as accurate.
Dispute with the bureaus — FCRA §611
File with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. They must generally investigate within 30 days and tell the furnisher. Free, and you can do it yourself.
Dispute with the furnisher — FCRA §623
Send Bank of the James a direct written dispute. It must investigate and must not continue reporting information it knows is inaccurate. Keep copies and proof of delivery.
Bank of the James questions, answered
Is Bank of the James FDIC-insured, and what is its certificate number?
Yes. Bank of the James holds FDIC certificate 35207. The FDIC record shows a charter established July 22, 1999, headquarters in Lynchburg, VA, and 22 FDIC-reported offices with $1.0 billion in total assets as of the 06/30/2026 call report. It is a state-chartered commercial bank that is a member of the Federal Reserve System, supervised by the Federal Reserve and its state regulator.
How do I dispute a Bank of the James account on my credit report?
You have two free routes and you can use both yourself without paying anyone. Under FCRA §611 you may dispute with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, and under FCRA §623 you may dispute directly with Bank of the James as the furnisher. Put it in writing, identify the account by its last four digits and open date, state specifically what is inaccurate rather than simply saying you disagree, and keep copies and proof of delivery. Whether an item changes depends entirely on what Bank of the James can verify, and results vary from case to case.
How long can a Bank of the James account stay on my credit report?
A negative account can generally report for up to seven years from the date of first delinquency — the original missed payment that was never brought current. That clock does not restart because the account was charged off, sold to a debt buyer, or transferred to another servicer. If the date of first delinquency has been moved forward, that re-aging is itself a reportable FCRA inaccuracy and is worth disputing on its own.
Does Bank of the James appear in the CFPB complaint database?
We do not publish a complaint figure for Bank of the James. The CFPB database is keyed to company names that do not map cleanly onto FDIC certificate 35207, and attributing another company's complaint volume to this bank would be inaccurate. If you want to check for yourself, search the CFPB's public complaint database directly by company name. If you have an unresolved problem with this bank you can also file your own complaint there at no cost.
What is the difference between disputing with Bank of the James and disputing with a collection agency?
Bank of the James would be the original creditor — the furnisher whose name was on the account when it was opened. A collection agency is a third party that bought or was assigned the account later. Against a collector you can demand validation of the debt under FDCPA §809 within 30 days of their first contact. Against an original creditor that right does not apply; your leverage is the FCRA §623 accuracy duty instead. The two routes have different deadlines and different evidence, so identify which party is actually reporting before you write.
Other creditors on credit reports
This page is general information about consumer rights, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Crowned Credit is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Bank of the James; company names are used only to identify the institution a consumer may see on a credit report. Crowned Credit does not promise any particular outcome; results vary by individual circumstances and by what a furnisher is able to verify. Accurate, verifiable information generally cannot be removed from a credit report. You have the right to dispute inaccurate information yourself, for free, directly with the credit bureaus and with the furnisher.
Ready to Improve Your Credit Score?
Take the first step towards financial freedom today. Schedule your free consultation with our credit repair experts.