FARK.com: (5922012) More and more bib-box retailers are offering check-cashing and other financial services to "the unbanked," which you shouldn't at all interpret as being a euphemism for illegal immigrants

If you can read this, either the style sheet didn't load or you have an older browser that doesn't support style sheets. Try clearing your browser cache and refreshing the page.

		More and more bib-box retailers are offering check-cashing and other financial services to "the unbanked," which you shouldn't at all interpret as being a euphemism for illegal immigrants (washingtonpost.com)		152
		More: Obvious

• • •

2904 clicks; posted to Main » on 01 Feb 2011 at 12:21 PM | Favorite | share:

Share this link:

URL:

http://fark.com/go/5922012

Bookmark:

Article Comments close

152 Comments (+0 »)

Archived thread

First | « | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | » | Last | Show all

Aidan		2011-02-01 01:31:42 PM

Krakatoa: Thunderpipes:
I wish, would be a hell of a lot less work. Could sit around, smoke, drink Colt 45's and get free government cheese, all I have to do is vote for Democrats. Only stubborn pride keeps me from doing that.

Yes clearly. That and your stunning intellect. Also, you post a lot during normal business hours for someone working so hard. How do you work, post on Fark, and suck plutocratic cock at the same time?

/Enjoy your trolling.

If he doesn't hold the cock in his hands it shouldn't be a problem. Might be hard to look at the screen though. Perhaps a flatscreen?

The Singing Bush		2011-02-01 01:32:24 PM

scarmig:

Also, why can't my Health Savings Account be run through my Credit Union? That's farking stupid I can't do that. A whole separate account at a whole different institution so I can pay medical bills. WTF?

/Yes, I've talked to everyone
//No, they can't/won't do it.

Some banks or credit unions don't offer every single financial service, probably due to profitability or lack thereof. Story at 11:00.

jaybeezey		2011-02-01 01:32:27 PM

So as one of the "banked" should i even bother reading the article? I think not...mayhaps i'll stroll down to my bank of choice and request to see my current balance. Then i'll endulge some of the complimentary coffee in the waiting area and revell in my $38.19. Unbanked indeed!

A Fark Handle		2011-02-01 01:32:40 PM

2 grams: A Fark Handle: 2 grams: Unless you're wealthy, and have a vault full of cash, how does one without a bank account build credit? Finance a home, a car, pay for a vacation, purchase a plane ticket?

credit? word is bond. home? yeah right. car? maybe used. vacation? when and how. plane? you've got to be kidding.

clearly you don't understand how poor the poor are. if you can buy food with cash...

I was talking to the hippies who claim to be unbanked by choice because it's a better lifestyle.

oh those people...silly silly people. most credit unions will let you check/save for free, why not? what, you're going to go over the insured limit?

palelizard		2011-02-01 01:33:15 PM

BKITU: MemeSlave: silent tom: I'm unbanked and that's the way it's gonna stay. My life is simple, stress free and I suffer no inconvenience by not having any accounts.

How's that Internet access working out for you? IP-over-avian-carrier?

What is the airspeed of an unladen data packet?

American or Egyptian?

CptnSpldng		2011-02-01 01:33:47 PM

res_nihil: bhcompy: How can someone not have a bank account in today's world? Paying utilities pretty much requires you to have one. No one accepts cash by mail(and it's stupid to send it that way), drug stores no longer take payments for utilities, and their websites all require bank accounts rather than credit cards.

Money orders.

palelizard: Meh. Plenty of grocery stores will cash a payroll check, and have done so for years.

Yep. I worked at a grocery store from 97-01 and people cashed their checks in there all the time. It was mostly lower income people or teenagers. In a lot of cases they were checks from family businesses and such made out manually for doing piecemeal work and not the mass printed kind most large companies get.

Honestly illegal immigrants aren't going to be causing the most trouble considering how many of them get paid in cash or under the table some how in the first place.

During my supermarket tenure the biggest problem was check fraud. Soooooo many people would come in to cash checks they'd gotten from their family members or acquaintances or such and very often it would turn out they'd stolen them.

I've worked for a moderately sized check casher (9 stores at present) in New Jersey. Where we are located really does matter.
First, payday loans are illegal in NJ. You want one? Drive over a bridge to Delaware. Second, NJ regulates who gets a license to operate a check casher and we get audited and reviewed on a regular basis. The local liquor store can always cash your paycheck for you, but if they're charging you a fee for it, they'd better have a license. And subject themselves to IRS audit for Patriot Act Compliance for being a MSB. (Money Service Business)

palelizard, I know exactly what you mean. People don't try to rob us with guns, they try to rob us with Photoshop. I can almost guarantee that if a check comes in for $3,950.00, it's counterfeit. It appears that's the magic number as far as crooks are concerned.

bhcompy, you apparently know nothing of money orders, Western Union or CheckFree Pay in the world of bill payment.

Rapmaster2000		2011-02-01 01:34:05 PM

Ghastly		2011-02-01 01:34:47 PM

Aidan		2011-02-01 01:35:50 PM

jaybeezey: So as one of the "banked" should i even bother reading the article? I think not...mayhaps i'll stroll down to my bank of choice and request to see my current balance. Then i'll endulge some of the complimentary coffee in the waiting area and revell in my $38.19. Unbanked indeed!

The best part of being one of the dirty little poor people who actually still had a Merrill Lynch account was to wander into their lovely office, looking as louche as I could personally manage of a morning, and deposit a whopping $20 into my account. Good times.

scarmig		2011-02-01 01:36:37 PM

BigNumber12: scarmig: If I can walk into a wal-mart and "bank" without this farking hassle, without the goddamn fees

You think so, huh?

Back when I banked solely with money orders, the fees were right then, right there, when I used them, and in direct proportion to the amount I was transacting.

Post Office was the best deal going.

BigNumber12		2011-02-01 01:38:05 PM

CptnSpldng: I know exactly what you mean. People don't try to rob us with guns, they try to rob us with Photoshop. I can almost guarantee that if a check comes in for $3,950.00, it's counterfeit. It appears that's the magic number as far as crooks are concerned.

Sounds like they're avoiding a $4,000 threshold. Do you know why?

scarmig		2011-02-01 01:39:10 PM

The Singing Bush: scarmig:

Also, why can't my Health Savings Account be run through my Credit Union? That's farking stupid I can't do that. A whole separate account at a whole different institution so I can pay medical bills. WTF?

/Yes, I've talked to everyone
//No, they can't/won't do it.

Some banks or credit unions don't offer every single financial service, probably due to profitability or lack thereof. Story at 11:00.

Mine could. I suspect it is a buddy deal between United Health Care and whatever financial institution they have bent over a chair this week.

dusty15893		2011-02-01 01:40:15 PM

scarmig: There are so many restrictions and hoops to having a "legitimate" bank account nowadays that I'm considering using these kinds of services just to avoid hassle.

Seriously, I had to spend an hour on the phone with a bank rep the other day explaining that, yes, it *is* normal for some people to conduct all of their business out of a PO Box, and, no, I've never had to validate a physical address with the Federal government to transfer money from an old account to a new one.

Apparently, being able to list a physical address instead of a PO Box means I can't possibly be a tarrarist or an ID thief. Ironically, the reason I don't give my physical address is because once, many moons ago, it was used by an ID thief to try and charge purchases against my credit.

If I can walk into a wal-mart and "bank" without this farking hassle, without the goddamn fees, without the goddamn spam... Seriously considering.

Also, why can't my Health Savings Account be run through my Credit Union? That's farking stupid I can't do that. A whole separate account at a whole different institution so I can pay medical bills. WTF?

/Yes, I've talked to everyone
//No, they can't/won't do it.

You can go ahead and direct your impotent rage at the USA PATRIOT ACT, not the banks. That's what requires banks to gather certain identifying information (including your physical address) to make sure you're not a tererrisst.

BigNumber12		2011-02-01 01:42:27 PM

scarmig: Back when I banked solely with money orders, the fees were right then, right there, when I used them, and in direct proportion to the amount I was transacting.

Post Office was the best deal going.

I think that's why check-cashing and payday loan business thrive. People like to see things right up front - gives them a feeling of being in control. I suspect that most of them are not able to compare their losses to check-cashers against the fees they'd be incurring with a traditional bank account.

That's not to say that your arrangement didn't work for you. There's absolutely an intersection point between X%-of-$X upfront, and $X-per-month in fees.

discgolfer2711		2011-02-01 01:43:23 PM

silent tom: I'm unbanked and that's the way it's gonna stay. My life is simple, stress free and I suffer no inconvenience by not having any accounts.

how do you pay for your internet connection? Assuming you don't live in your parent's basement.

madmann		2011-02-01 01:44:24 PM

CptnSpldng: palelizard, I know exactly what you mean. People don't try to rob us with guns, they try to rob us with Photoshop.

When Photoshop is outlawed, only outlaws will have Photoshop.

/Banked hippie doing legal 'shopping for a living. There goes 2 grams' theory.

CptnSpldng		2011-02-01 01:44:39 PM

Rapmaster2000: Aidan: Bathia_Mapes: bhcompy: How can someone not have a bank account in today's world? Paying utilities pretty much requires you to have one. No one accepts cash by mail(and it's stupid to send it that way), drug stores no longer take payments for utilities, and their websites all require bank accounts rather than credit cards.

Some people use money orders to pay bills. You don't need a bank account to get a money order.

I think you're the second or third person to say this, but the last few times I've issued money orders, the bank charged me $2 or $3 for the order. It could be because I was writing an order for $1000 or more. Dunno.

That's a good deal. I've had to get them at the grocery store for around $40 on $800. It's been about 15 years since I've had to do that, for being late on rent (well, I haven't had rent for 8 years), but $2 is a pretty good deal.

Our Check Casher stores charge $1.00 for each MO. The face value limit is $500.00. I think 7-11 charges $0.59 each but I don't know what their face value limit is.

Bathia_Mapes		2011-02-01 01:54:17 PM

Aidan: Bathia_Mapes: bhcompy: How can someone not have a bank account in today's world? Paying utilities pretty much requires you to have one. No one accepts cash by mail(and it's stupid to send it that way), drug stores no longer take payments for utilities, and their websites all require bank accounts rather than credit cards.

Some people use money orders to pay bills. You don't need a bank account to get a money order.

I think you're the second or third person to say this, but the last few times I've issued money orders, the bank charged me $2 or $3 for the order. It could be because I was writing an order for $1000 or more. Dunno.

Most of the supermarkets and check cashing places in my area charge an average of 75¢ per money order, but there are a few places that charge as little as 35¢. According to their site, the USPS charges:
$1.10 for $0.01-$500
$1.50 for $500.01-$1,000.

Shocktopus		2011-02-01 01:54:59 PM

The unbanked have so many kids they have to buy bibs by the BOX?

No wonder they are terking err jerbs!!

untaken_name		2011-02-01 01:55:51 PM

discgolfer2711: silent tom: I'm unbanked and that's the way it's gonna stay. My life is simple, stress free and I suffer no inconvenience by not having any accounts.

how do you pay for your internet connection? Assuming you don't live in your parent's basement.

Well, I assume he gives them money to pay for it. That's usually how it works. If you really can't think of any possible way that someone could pay someone else for something without using a bank account, you are financially stupid. If you can't think of any possible way someone could use the internet without paying money for it, you're just plain stupid. I'm not trying to be harsh, but damn, dude, could you maybe try thinking about something for at least 1 minute before you post? It might do you some good.

Shocktopus		2011-02-01 01:56:09 PM

DecemberNitro: bieber box

So, you had a punchline floating around in your head, and just couldn't be bothered to wrap a joke around it?

CptnSpldng		2011-02-01 01:56:39 PM

BigNumber12: CptnSpldng: I know exactly what you mean. People don't try to rob us with guns, they try to rob us with Photoshop. I can almost guarantee that if a check comes in for $3,950.00, it's counterfeit. It appears that's the magic number as far as crooks are concerned.

Sounds like they're avoiding a $4,000 threshold. Do you know why?

SAR (Suspicious Activity Reports) must be filed with the IRS. If the scam requires them to get the mark to send money back to the original crooks via Western Union, they may be hoping that they'll get their money before WU or the check casher notices. Also, some fools may only verify over a $5000.00 limit. (We verify with no regard to limits if we feel we need to. That's how we end up with $50,000.00 or less in bad check expense on $200,000,000.00 in face value of checks cashed in a year.)

2 grams		2011-02-01 01:57:15 PM

madmann: CptnSpldng: palelizard, I know exactly what you mean. People don't try to rob us with guns, they try to rob us with Photoshop.

When Photoshop is outlawed, only outlaws will have Photoshop.

/Banked hippie doing legal 'shopping for a living. There goes 2 grams' theory.

No it doesn't.

my theory has 2 main points.

1) those that are unbanked are:
Illegal.
Deadbeats
Felons
Hippie.

You sir are a hippie.

My other point was that youcould not have a successful, sustainable lifestyle without a bank account, and yes successful in my eyes is home onwership, new car and world travel.

Your'e a dirty hippie, so of course you probably think diffent, (that's what hippies do),

but that doesn't make me wrong.

Shocktopus		2011-02-01 01:59:10 PM

silent tom: I'm unbanked and that's the way it's gonna stay. My life is simple, stress free and I suffer no inconvenience by not having any accounts.

So you have the delightful situation of never having enough money left over that you need somewhere to put it?

That's not simple and stress free living, that's just poor.

Although the banty-rooster pride you take in it does add a certain sad flair to your fail.

bhcompy		2011-02-01 01:59:18 PM

CptnSpldng: bhcompy, you apparently know nothing of money orders, Western Union or CheckFree Pay in the world of bill payment.

Money orders cost money. Check cashing costs money. Both are more than the costs of a basic bank account

Thunderpipes		2011-02-01 01:59:19 PM

Rapmaster2000: Thunderpipes: Krakatoa: Thunderpipes: You failed at life if you need this service. Good for bib-box stores!

Having seen your posts over the years, it's pretty clear you've failed at life.

I wish, would be a hell of a lot less work. Could sit around, smoke, drink Colt 45's and get free government cheese, all I have to do is vote for Democrats. Only stubborn pride keeps me from doing that.

So you're not concerned about a standard of living adjustment.

Why? I can just have more kids, get more cheese.

CptnSpldng		2011-02-01 02:07:23 PM

bhcompy: CptnSpldng: bhcompy, you apparently know nothing of money orders, Western Union or CheckFree Pay in the world of bill payment.

Money orders cost money. Check cashing costs money. Both are more than the costs of a basic bank account

No argument with you there; checks cost money, stamps cost money, internet access (bill pay on line) costs money. I was responding to your inference that only by possessing an bank account could you pay your bills properly.

Shocktopus		2011-02-01 02:08:29 PM

madmann: newton: If you see a CHECK INTO CASH move into your town, your town has about 5 years left.

...before....?

I have a funny response to this, but it'd probably get me a time-out.

silent tom		2011-02-01 02:10:02 PM

untaken_name: discgolfer2711: silent tom: I'm unbanked and that's the way it's gonna stay. My life is simple, stress free and I suffer no inconvenience by not having any accounts.

how do you pay for your internet connection? Assuming you don't live in your parent's basement.

Well, I assume he gives them money to pay for it. That's usually how it works. If you really can't think of any possible way that someone could pay someone else for something without using a bank account, you are financially stupid. If you can't think of any possible way someone could use the internet without paying money for it, you're just plain stupid. I'm not trying to be harsh, but damn, dude, could you maybe try thinking about something for at least 1 minute before you post? It might do you some good.

To answer the question (and others)....I put a great deal of effort into stripping my life down to the bare basics. My internet connection is included with my apartment along with my utilities. I get an awesome deal on the apartment as as I perform all maintenence, lawn care, snow removal and any renovations. I handle rental applications and show apartments. This allows me to keep my living expenses ridiculously low so if I have a slow week (or month) at work, I have little to stress about. Why would I need a bank?
What's funny to me is how my ex-wife resents the living hell out of my life while she lies awake at night trying to figure out which bill to put off until next week.

bunner		2011-02-01 02:13:50 PM

Euphemisms, florid job descriptions and politically gymnastic descriptions of cheap behavior.

It's how America rolls.

bhcompy		2011-02-01 02:14:18 PM

CptnSpldng: No argument with you there; checks cost money, stamps cost money, internet access (bill pay on line) costs money. I was responding to your inference that only by possessing an bank account could you pay your bills properly.

It is much more difficult to do so these days because walk-up pay is mostly gone. Enough so that I'd say that any person with a brain would think that it is unreasonably unaccommodating to do so, unless they were as paranoid as Dale Gribble or deliberately avoiding a bank account to make a point(like some people here)

madmann		2011-02-01 02:15:00 PM

2 grams: You sir are a hippie.

My other point was that youcould not have a successful, sustainable lifestyle without a bank account, and yes successful in my eyes is home onwership, new car and world travel.

Wha??? You gotta get with the program.

Around Fark, if you're on the side that hates hippies, then your assigned talking point is that poor people in this country all own houses, cars, X-Boxes, plasma TVs, Gold Kruggerands and garbage bags full of weed, all bought for them by Socialism. They generally live the life of Riley while the rest of us toil. They'd be gazillionaires anywhere but America.

Get with the program, or you're going to upset some very carefully constructed talking points by Phil and the rest of the League Of Fail.

crazytrpr		2011-02-01 02:16:27 PM

silent tom: untaken_name: discgolfer2711: silent tom: I'm unbanked and that's the way it's gonna stay. My life is simple, stress free and I suffer no inconvenience by not having any accounts.

how do you pay for your internet connection? Assuming you don't live in your parent's basement.

Well, I assume he gives them money to pay for it. That's usually how it works. If you really can't think of any possible way that someone could pay someone else for something without using a bank account, you are financially stupid. If you can't think of any possible way someone could use the internet without paying money for it, you're just plain stupid. I'm not trying to be harsh, but damn, dude, could you maybe try thinking about something for at least 1 minute before you post? It might do you some good.

To answer the question (and others)....I put a great deal of effort into stripping my life down to the bare basics. My internet connection is included with my apartment along with my utilities. I get an awesome deal on the apartment as as I perform all maintenence, lawn care, snow removal and any renovations. I handle rental applications and show apartments. This allows me to keep my living expenses ridiculously low so if I have a slow week (or month) at work, I have little to stress about. Why would I need a bank?
What's funny to me is how my ex-wife resents the living hell out of my life while she lies awake at night trying to figure out which bill to put off until next week.

do you pay child or spousal support? If you are required too and your wife gets a smart lawyer those bartered deals are income. BTW they are taxable too, the state and IRS want their cut.

The Singing Bush		2011-02-01 02:21:15 PM

silent tom: untaken_name: discgolfer2711: silent tom:

To answer the question (and others)....I put a great deal of effort into stripping my life down to the bare basics. My internet connection is included with my apartment along with my utilities. I get an awesome deal on the apartment as as I perform all maintenence, lawn care, snow removal and any renovations. I handle rental applications and show apartments. This allows me to keep my living expenses ridiculously low so if I have a slow week (or month) at work, I have little to stress about. Why would I need a bank?
What's funny to me is how my ex-wife resents the living hell out of my life while she lies awake at night trying to figure out which bill to put off until next week.

Well now, can we all agree that silent tom has a ridiculously unique situation that is probably available to 0.00000000001% of the population, and that his thoughts on being banked or unbanked are pretty much irrelevant to, oh I don't know, anyone else? Good, carry on then...

Magorn		2011-02-01 02:38:48 PM

I make pretty close to six figures a year and until recently I couldn't get a bank account. Why? because 10 years ago whenI left DC for Chicago, I had a Mellon Bank No fees/No Minimum/no Statement Checking account that, out of an excess of caution I Left $100 in rather than closing when I left town in case some old check popped up.

Well Mellon got bight by Suntrust, who, without my knowledge, switched the account to thier $9/mo account.

A year later, therefore I was $7 "overdrawn" because of their fees, to which they tacked on about $80 in additional penatlies and fees , which they then (in the first notice I ever got from them) demanded I pay them.

I told them to fark off, because a)I'd never agreed to a fee based account with them, b) their own fees caused the default, and c) they'd never sent me the paper statements that kind of account required. and D) BTW I want my $100 back

This went on for a while and they seemed to agree with me and dropped the demand (thought they wouldn't return the $100).

Fast foward 4 years and I'm out of law School starting my first job and going to my local bank to set up an account for direct deposit.

Sorry, they say, telechex is reporting that you owe Wachovia (who bought Suntrust) money, so we won't give you an account. To which I reply A) why the fark do you care? I'm not asking for a loan, I'm asking to PAY YOU for the privilege of storing my money B) I don't owe those bastards a thing. To which they simply say "sorry, you have to take tat up with them, this is our policy"

Full of Piss and vniegar I call wachovia and explain the situation, offer to send them copies of my letters to Suntrust, etc

They don't give two farks. Nobody from Suntrust is still around, and no they don't know the circumstances as to why it's there, but there is this entry on the ledger that I owe them money and they won't change the credit report entry until I write them a check. Period. Well It wasn't much money but I am a stubborn cuss when I feel somethin' jest ain't right; and I determined it would be a cold day in hell before I gave them moeny they weren't entitled to. And in the next five years we were at an impasse, one that prevented me from having an account in my own name (we just opened it up in my wife's name instead). It finally took me threatening to sue them for financial libel, and following through with a summons and complaint, to get them to finally back down

TheDirtyNacho		2011-02-01 02:46:13 PM

BigNumber12: scarmig: Back when I banked solely with money orders, the fees were right then, right there, when I used them, and in direct proportion to the amount I was transacting.

Post Office was the best deal going.

I think that's why check-cashing and payday loan business thrive. People like to see things right up front - gives them a feeling of being in control. I suspect that most of them are not able to compare their losses to check-cashers against the fees they'd be incurring with a traditional bank account.

That's not to say that your arrangement didn't work for you. There's absolutely an intersection point between X%-of-$X upfront, and $X-per-month in fees.

There is that, and then there is also the fact that many of the poor simply do not know how to use a bank. Their parents and grandparents probably did not either. A great deal of money handling skills are inherited and primary schools do a miserable job of teaching them. And even if they do have knowledge of banking, the risk of an overdraft fee (~$20 - $40) is very real when you live check to check.

Getting a non-fee account requires some research. Not that any of this is above someone who is poor, but it requires a poor yet educated and determined person to get beyond.

jtown		2011-02-01 02:46:49 PM

crazytrpr: jtown: Hah! I was just about to rant about how there's no excuse for Joe Sixpack to not have a free checking account because I've had one for 5 or 6 years. Then I did a google search for "free checking" and found a story explaining that I was about to lose the "free" part of my free checking account. [sigh]

The fee would have sucked the $20.something I'd left sitting in that account for the last 4 or 5 years in a couple cycles. Just pure chance that I happened to start using the account last month and my significantly higher balance keeps me out of the Fee Zone.

Another reason the poor don't use checking accounts they can't keep the minimum in the account to stay out of the fee zone.

OTOH, I don't think they realize that all of the fees they pay as non-bankers can add up to far more than the fees on a regular checking account. Even the $25/month at Chase doesn't sound ridiculous compared to check cashing places and money order fees. It adds up fast. Say 3 checks at $5/check, 4 money orders at $2/mo, WesternUnion $50 to one of the kids and you're up to $28. I could be overshooting on the check cashing and money order fees but the point is valid for any fee greater than $0.

$5-10/month for a checking account with debit card suddenly doesn't seem so bad. Deposit and write all the checks you want for a flat rate.

untaken_name		2011-02-01 02:59:45 PM

jtown: crazytrpr: jtown: Hah! I was just about to rant about how there's no excuse for Joe Sixpack to not have a free checking account because I've had one for 5 or 6 years. Then I did a google search for "free checking" and found a story explaining that I was about to lose the "free" part of my free checking account. [sigh]

The fee would have sucked the $20.something I'd left sitting in that account for the last 4 or 5 years in a couple cycles. Just pure chance that I happened to start using the account last month and my significantly higher balance keeps me out of the Fee Zone.

Another reason the poor don't use checking accounts they can't keep the minimum in the account to stay out of the fee zone.

OTOH, I don't think they realize that all of the fees they pay as non-bankers can add up to far more than the fees on a regular checking account. Even the $25/month at Chase doesn't sound ridiculous compared to check cashing places and money order fees. It adds up fast. Say 3 checks at $5/check, 4 money orders at $2/mo, WesternUnion $50 to one of the kids and you're up to $28. I could be overshooting on the check cashing and money order fees but the point is valid for any fee greater than $0.

$5-10/month for a checking account with debit card suddenly doesn't seem so bad. Deposit and write all the checks you want for a flat rate.

Don't forget the bank fees though - they DO add up. Write more than 5 checks? Pay a fee. Want to talk to someone live on the phone? Fee. Want to see a real live teller in the branch? Fee. Need a withdrawal slip? Fee. Want to use the teller's pen? Fee. I swear, I once had to pay a fee to the bank for processing all the fees they were charging me.

The Singing Bush		2011-02-01 03:23:03 PM

untaken_name: jtown: crazytrpr: jtown:

Don't forget the bank fees though - they DO add up. Write more than 5 checks? Pay a fee. Want to talk to someone live on the phone? Fee. Want to see a real live teller in the branch? Fee. Need a withdrawal slip? Fee. Want to use the teller's pen? Fee. I swear, I once had to pay a fee to the bank for processing all the fees they were charging me.

t1.gstatic.com

Fiction can be fun!

untaken_name		2011-02-01 03:28:36 PM

The Singing Bush: untaken_name: jtown: crazytrpr: jtown:

Don't forget the bank fees though - they DO add up. Write more than 5 checks? Pay a fee. Want to talk to someone live on the phone? Fee. Want to see a real live teller in the branch? Fee. Need a withdrawal slip? Fee. Want to use the teller's pen? Fee. I swear, I once had to pay a fee to the bank for processing all the fees they were charging me.

Fiction can be fun!

Well, everyone else in this thread is either using massive hyperbole or just straight up making crap up. Why not me?

jtown		2011-02-01 04:09:11 PM

untaken_name: Don't forget the bank fees though - they DO add up. Write more than 5 checks? Pay a fee. Want to talk to someone live on the phone? Fee. Want to see a real live teller in the branch? Fee. Need a withdrawal slip? Fee. Want to use the teller's pen? Fee. I swear, I once had to pay a fee to the bank for processing all the fees they were charging me.

You do realize that not every bank charges for every interaction, right? I've had checking accounts since I was 16. I've had exactly one legitimate overdraft charge and no unexpected fees. I had another overdraft charge when the bank lost a deposit but got the charge removed when they found the deposit. Do you know what my bank charges me if I write 100 checks in a month? $0. What's my in-network ATM charge? $0. How many teller visits do I get per month? 2 for one checking account, unlimited for the other.

Do you know how I know these things? Before opening the accounts, I went to most of the local banks and picked up brochures outlining their various accounts. Before signing, I read the contracts and I asked specific questions of the people who set up the accounts to verify that my interpretations were correct.

But I admitted in my original post that I only avoided impending fee problems by sheer luck. An account that used to be 100% fee-free with no minimum balance was about to be converted to a fee-driven account. That would have spoiled a perfect decades-long run of fee avoision. Of course, if I was living hand-to-mouth, I wouldn't have left that $20.something sitting there for all those years.

Basic banking is not complicated. I managed to figure it out when I was a child and I'm not that special. (Except when mom said it with air quotes and rolled her eyes.)

untaken_name		2011-02-01 05:58:12 PM

jtown: You do realize that not every bank charges for every interaction, right?

You do realize that not every post is completely and totally serious, right? Did you not READ the post? Did you not read the post quoted within my post? Did you not apply any cognitive power to the relationship between the two? Apparently not.

/disclaimer: not everything in this post is completely and totally serious (hope this helps!)

soupgoblin		2011-02-01 06:28:37 PM

Rapmaster2000: But it's all the dumbocraps fault that they're here. What we need is less banking regulation that ties the hands of small businesses like these with needless red tape. Government is always the problem.

o_0

Since when did banks become small businesses?

And I guess in blaming these mysterious "dumbocraps" you were derping about, you actually meant the large corporations supported by the conservatives that hire illegals so they have a larger profit margin and can give larger bonuses to CEO, right?

Jgok		2011-02-01 08:38:07 PM

TofuTheAlmighty: subby is a farking dunce. Millions of people of low income people get by without banking because it's a nuisance to them and the bank. And you don't have to be a citizen to be a bank customer - they'll take everyone's money.

This. I didn't have a bank account until I turned 26 and got married. Quite a few of my friends still don't have accounts, and most of them just get their checks cashed by their employer. Those who can't get it cashed where they work just go to Wal-Mart, where they'll cash checks for less than ten bucks.

Of course, I still have a bank account and debit card even after my divorce. I love paying bills online instead of dropping by the gas station like I used to.

blacksho89		2011-02-01 09:16:55 PM

CptnSpldng: Rapmaster2000: Aidan: Bathia_Mapes: bhcompy: How can someone not have a bank account in today's world? Paying utilities pretty much requires you to have one. No one accepts cash by mail(and it's stupid to send it that way), drug stores no longer take payments for utilities, and their websites all require bank accounts rather than credit cards.

Some people use money orders to pay bills. You don't need a bank account to get a money order.

I think you're the second or third person to say this, but the last few times I've issued money orders, the bank charged me $2 or $3 for the order. It could be because I was writing an order for $1000 or more. Dunno.

That's a good deal. I've had to get them at the grocery store for around $40 on $800. It's been about 15 years since I've had to do that, for being late on rent (well, I haven't had rent for 8 years), but $2 is a pretty good deal.

Our Check Casher stores charge $1.00 for each MO. The face value limit is $500.00. I think 7-11 charges $0.59 each but I don't know what their face value limit is.

I cash my check at Wal Mart for a $3 charge and get a money order for .99 for my power bill. Rent, internet, utilities, I drive by the offices and pay cash-although Wal Mart will take those payments for a couple of bucks. That's a real valuable option for someone who doesn't have a car.

Most people are not disciplined enough financially to take advantage of free checking, cash back rewards for paying a Discover bill in full every month, only using an in-network ATM, etc. For those people (myself included), the fees I pay the Mart every month are less than the fees and interest I paid my credit union.

Desmo		2011-02-01 11:57:46 PM

bhcompy: How can someone not have a bank account in today's world? Paying utilities pretty much requires you to have one. No one accepts cash by mail(and it's stupid to send it that way), drug stores no longer take payments for utilities, and their websites all require bank accounts rather than credit cards.

I'm in Prevailing Wage Enforcement and I see it everyday: low-ball contractors (electrical, plumbing, cement finishers, tile setters, carpet layers etc..) pay legal and illegal immigrants $75 - $100 a day in cash for 10 - 14hrs work. No breaks, little or no lunch break, No benefits, no health care & no pension. They live hand-to-mouth, day-to-day.

They don't make enough to put in a bank, and WalMart is helping to fuel this type of economy by building all their stores and facilities with these low-ball, scum-bag contractors.

So, thanks Walmart, not only do you not buy locally produced goods, you destroy established local economies by ruining local businesses and create a needy community, you are now making money on people who are slipping between the cracks and making it easier for illegals to be exploited, instead of deported.

j0ndas		2011-02-02 04:58:41 AM

Bank accounts (1) require documentation and (2) give useful information to the IRS about you trying to cheat on your taxes. Legit people have bank accounts, crooks and illegals often do not.

dbirchall		2011-02-02 05:08:10 AM

You have to be pretty darn illegal to not be able to get a bank account. What do you need to get one, a SSN? They give those to people who aren't even residents.

scarmig		2011-02-02 07:48:18 AM

j0ndas: Bank accounts (1) require documentation and (2) give useful information to the IRS about you trying to cheat on your taxes. Legit people have bank accounts, crooks and illegals often do not.

I'm pretty sure all of our esteemed Congressmen have bank accounts.

Jamieboy		2011-02-02 08:27:16 AM

scarmig: j0ndas: Bank accounts (1) require documentation and (2) give useful information to the IRS about you trying to cheat on your taxes. Legit people have bank accounts, crooks and illegals often do not.

I'm pretty sure all of our esteemed Congressmen have bank accounts.

in off shore banks.

Displayed 50 of 152 comments