banks are stupid.

cats4sky

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so i called my bank to see if they would cash my income tax check and they tell me only if i have enough money in there to cover it, otherwise i have to deposit it and wait til it clears. Its a freakin government check, do they honestly think its not going to clear??? so walmart is doing it for 3 bucks!
 

strange_wings

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"banks are stupid" With the current state of things, I believe that's an understatement!
 

katiemae1277

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I have never understood why banks do that stuff, I get a refund check from my student loans to pay for books and the bank holds it for a week before i can have any of that money. It's a check from a very reputable university, what makes them think it wouldn't clear??
 

kscatlady

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It makes sense if it's a personal check, but one from a business or government, I agree that stupid. (And I work at a bank!)
 

mrblanche

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The reason is really pretty simple, and you'll understand it as soon as I tell you.

There has been a big wave in counterfeit cashier's checks, certified checks, and government checks in the last few years. Most banks either don't accept the first two any more, or put a hold on them until they clear completely (which can take as much as two weeks).

You don't have to do much of a google search to find out all about it.

Here's just one example:

http://www.bankersonline.com/article...hv01n06a4.html
 

katiemae1277

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Originally Posted by mrblanche

The reason is really pretty simple, and you'll understand it as soon as I tell you.

There has been a big wave in counterfeit cashier's checks, certified checks, and government checks in the last few years. Most banks either don't accept the first two any more, or put a hold on them until they clear completely (which can take as much as two weeks).

You don't have to do much of a google search to find out all about it.

Here's just one example:

http://www.bankersonline.com/article...hv01n06a4.html
While I'm sure that that is true, it sure as heck doesn't take them 2 weeks to take the money out my account when I write a large check
 

peachytoday

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Originally Posted by kscatlady

It makes sense if it's a personal check, but one from a business or government, I agree that stupid. (And I work at a bank!)
Someone forged my companies business checks for thousands of dollars this December. The company name was on there, address, phone number, our bank account and routing numbers on the checks. Very professional. The only thing they did not have was our logo. The shops that accepted the checks are out for that amount of money. My company has a positive pay system that will automatically not pay checks that have not been either sent to our bank in our batch or approved by me. So we rejected all the checks when the business tried to get funds from our account. Fraud exists everywhere.
 

yosemite

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I think in some cases it depends on what your relationship is with your bank.

I've never had a cheque held in my life but our daughter has because she had some financial difficulty a few years ago. Even now she has to wait for a cheque to clear before she can get the funds.

If I deposit a cheque in an ATM, I can withdraw the money immediately even if my balance in my chequing account was less than the amount of the cheque deposited.

I've even gotten a small short-term loan before signing any papers. The manager just asked me to drop by and sign the papers whenever I could.
 

lorie d.

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At my local bank where I have an account, I can always get my government refund checks cashed right away. But the teller always goes to a back room and makes a phone call before giving me any money.
 

zoeysmom

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Some banks have "overdraft" protection and if you have that, you can usually cash a cheque right away....at least for the amount of your overdraft. I do think you have to have a certain level of credit rating for that though.
 

mrblanche

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Originally Posted by katiemae1277

While I'm sure that that is true, it sure as heck doesn't take them 2 weeks to take the money out my account when I write a large check
And it won't take 2 weeks for your genuine government check to clear, either. And that's the point, right?
 

katiemae1277

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Originally Posted by mrblanche

And it won't take 2 weeks for your genuine government check to clear, either. And that's the point, right?
but it did take a week for my University check to clear, which is my point. No reason for that, given that it was a genuine University check.
 

mrblanche

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Actually, thanks to 9/11, most checks clear electronically the night they are deposited. But a few, such as the business checks mentioned above, don't STAY cleared. And that's the problem.
 
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cats4sky

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hmmm...yeah i can see them holding it with personal checks but i guess with the counterfeiting it makes sense, but then why can these check cashing places do it instantly? oh and i dont know if all walmarts have it, but my walmart has a check cashing center and they cashed my income tax check right on the spot for 3 bucks!
 

mrblanche

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The $3 per check fee covers the expenses of the occasional bad check, but if that check turned out to be fraudulent, you can bet you'll be getting a call from the local DA.
 

peachytoday

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Originally Posted by cats4sky

hmmm...yeah i can see them holding it with personal checks but i guess with the counterfeiting it makes sense, but then why can these check cashing places do it instantly? oh and i dont know if all walmarts have it, but my walmart has a check cashing center and they cashed my income tax check right on the spot for 3 bucks!
Walmart was one of the business that my business did not honor the counterfeit check. They are out the money and have to spend time and resource chasing the counterfeiter down. If they track them down, they just might write it off as a loss. It is a risk they take. They are hoping to make enough on the good one to offset the bad ones.
 

mistressotdark

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luckily i've never had that problem..I get my tax refunds direct deposited..so I don't have to wait for it to clear...
at least not anymore.
 

ericapurr

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Originally Posted by cats4sky

so i called my bank to see if they would cash my income tax check and they tell me only if i have enough money in there to cover it, otherwise i have to deposit it and wait til it clears. Its a freakin government check, do they honestly think its not going to clear??? so walmart is doing it for 3 bucks!
So are credit unions!
 

trouts mom

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Originally Posted by mistressotdark

luckily i've never had that problem..I get my tax refunds direct deposited..so I don't have to wait for it to clear...
at least not anymore.
Same here..it is way more convenient!
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by mistressotdark

luckily i've never had that problem..I get my tax refunds direct deposited..so I don't have to wait for it to clear...
at least not anymore.
same here - always do the direct deposit option since that's been available.
 
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