Clent: gonzoduke: I can't think of a reason you'd cash your check at one bank and go to deposit that same money into another bank. I smell bs

I've done it before with checks larger than this.

My credit union has a policy that large non-payroll checks are held for up to 10 business days while it's 'processed' to prevent fraud. In this day and age of wire-transfers and instant communication, this makes no sense to me but presumably old-school instituions regulated by governments have their reasons.

The way I've gotten around this, is to bring it to the issuing bank; they will cash it immediately. Typically for a fee if you don't have an account with them. I then deposited the cash at my credit union.

Be cautious if the amount is over $10,000 since cashwithdrawal and deposits that large must be reported to the government by thefinancialinstitution.

The reason the bank holds the money is easy to explain.

FLOAT

While they're "verifying funds", they're earning overnight interest on it. Sure it sounds like not a lot, but multiply it by billions and it becomes real money.

They verify all funds overnight because if they don't they get hit with fees of their own.

palladiate: Lukeonia1: The update to this article now says he got his money back, after it was determined that his "counterfeit" bills were actually just old pre-redesign bills. Which is a marginal improvement; means this is less of a story about bank dragging its heels and screwing a customer over, and more of a "$2 bill at Taco Bell" story.

Also that's a pretty sad failure for an institution that handles money as it's only business.

Probably a new employee and a lazy manager who didn't bother to check the bills after the employee flagged them as counterfeit. Businesses these days don't seem to think that they have any obligation to provide anything more than the barest minimum of training, if that.

Clent: gonzoduke: I can't think of a reason you'd cash your check at one bank and go to deposit that same money into another bank. I smell bs

I've done it before with checks larger than this.

My credit union has a policy that large non-payroll checks are held for up to 10 business days while it's 'processed' to prevent fraud. In this day and age of wire-transfers and instant communication, this makes no sense to me but presumably old-school instituions regulated by governments have their reasons.

wow, your credit union pretty much hits the legal maximum on a hold (i think 11 days is the max for checks from a foreign routing (means, it goes to a different fed) over a certain amount).

but, yeah, many people go to the issuing bank to cash the check, then go deposit the cash in their bank. it makes the money instantly available, and it's a nice way to expedite payment if you don't trust the check writer.  it also saves you the trouble of depositing an NSF check and getting fined.

/ but, throw a fit if the issuing bank charges you a fee.  that's BS.  say, your customer is using your checks to pay me.  you are doing your customer a disservice, increasing his costs because you're lazy.  bla bla bla.  a lot of times someone will drop the charges.  (also mention you were thinking about opening an account, but not anymore, or something).
// back in my days of banking, we really frowned on the banks that charged fees for cashing checks.  at the time, BoA was one of the few that started the practice.

gonzoduke: I can't think of a reason you'd cash your check at one bank and go to deposit that same money into another bank. I smell bs

Probably because the check was drawn on the first bank. This way the guy doesn't have to wait for the check to clear to get access to his cash.

I smell someone who's never had a job.

Dude, you barely clear $40k. You have MUCH bigger problems than this counterfeit bills thing.

gonzoduke: I can't think of a reason you'd cash your check at one bank and go to deposit that same money into another bank. I smell bs

Worked in a bank. Happened all the time with people cashing paychecks drawn on the bank but not being an account holder. Usually their employer didn't offer direct deposit or they were just stupidly old school and needed to have the cash in hand.

It wasn't common to find counterfeit 100s. Counterfeit 20s and 50s on the other hand were quite frequent. Also had older people coming in asking for $500 bills from time to time. That was fun explaining to them that those aren't circulated anymore (and hadn't been for decades).

Clent: My credit union has a policy that large non-payroll checks are held for up to 10 business days while it's 'processed' to prevent fraud. In this day and age of wire-transfers and instant communication, this makes no sense to me but presumably old-school instituions regulated by governments have their reasons.

Basically, as far as I understand it, the bank uses that 10-day window to collect interest on your money. It isn't a lot, but it can certainly add up over time. Payroll companies do something similar, payroll taxes are due monthly, so if you use a payroll company to pay your employees weekly they collect interest on the with-holdings until taxes are ACTUALLY due.

palladiate:

Also that's a pretty sad failure for an institution that handles money as it's only business.

I know, right?

I remember something like this happening a few years ago in the UK.
A social club went to withdraw their saving for their annual bash and were given counterfeit spondulicks.

They notified the bank and requested replacement.
Initially the bank refused to replace them until they were reminded that the social club was in fact the local police force.

The currency was replaced pretty quickly.

flsprtsgod: And, many older people have this irrational fear of "e-money".... somehow having that "cash" he takes from one bank to another makes him probably feel like he's seen the money, so, it is all "good" then.

You'll see how irrational that fear is the first time your broke employer jerks around your paycheck. Cash is king.

lots of people seem to only have worked in the safety of the large corporation.  work in small business and you start to realize you're not paid until you've gotten the money in your account.  that check is not much more than an IOU until it's properly negotiated.

I got a fake bill from an ATM once, so I went inside the branch to tell them and get a real bill. They took it from me and threatened to call the police.

I was given a fake $50 from my local bank while getting a gifty fifty for nephew. Smooth and off color, from my bank. So yea, it happens.

/handed it back and said you gotta be joking, give me a real money.
//they were not pleased that I noticed
///I know anecdotal evidence is worthless

When I was a teller at Chase we were taught to rub the suspect bill on a piece of paper. If no ink came off it was suspect. The head teller had a 10x loop.

You are allowed to take a tax deduction for confiscated bills.

The Secret Service would have done an immediate inspection of every bill at Sovereign Bank if an accusation was made to them.

Only had one once in a large cash deposit of a local merchant. Since there was no one else in line I leaned over to him and told him why he shouldn't try to deposit the bill. Yes, I know he passed the problem onto someone else - such is life.

I worked at a company that was failing and bouncing checks left and right. On payday, you'd get your check and race to Bank of America (Their bank) and cross your fingers that the guy in front of you didn't take the last of the funds out of the Company account.
If you deposited it, chances were it would bounce. They refused to continue DD because the financial situation.

TheGreatGazoo: Unfortunately, that guy is totally screwed. Once you step away from the teller the bills are yours, good or bad.

Actually, you can sue them in civil court for defrauding you of $1400, just the same as any criminal who hands you fake bills in exchange for real money.

TFA: It shakes all of their faith in the banks, he says. "It's an establishment that you trust and to have counterfeit money in your hands when you leave the bank, it's just, it's frightening."

Well there's his mistake.

pute kisses like a man: My credit union has a policy that large non-payroll checks are held for up to 10 business days while it's 'processed' to prevent fraud. In this day and age of wire-transfers and instant communication, this makes no sense to me but presumably old-school instituions regulated by governments have their reasons.

wow, your credit union pretty much hits the legal maximum on a hold (i think 11 days is the max for checks from a foreign routing (means, it goes to a different fed) over a certain amount).

whoops, just looked at this online, and apparently the maximum holds were changed in 2010.  10 days is pushing it nowadays.  plus, all banks are local now (there's only one check processing center for the purpose of locality).

CSB time: similar thing on a much smaller scale.. cashed a check and went golfing. Upon paying they noticed a few of the bills were bad. The guy called out to Joe over at the bar who came over to inspect. Joe just happened to be the county sheriff and I showed him the balance paper I got when cashing the check. He calls for a deputy, gets my cell number and says go ahead and golf. Right about the 5th tee I get a call and the deputy comes out in a cart to get my statement the repeats the visit a bit later to hand me a copy of the paperwork and the bills back. The bank didn't want to replace the bills at first but with the report and the fact they admitted they don't even check bills under $50 got my money back.

/csb

pute kisses like a man: / but, throw a fit if the issuing bank charges you a fee. that's BS. say, your customer is using your checks to pay me. you are doing your customer a disservice, increasing his costs because you're lazy. bla bla bla. a lot of times someone will drop the charges. (also mention you were thinking about opening an account, but not anymore, or something).
// back in my days of banking, we really frowned on the banks that charged fees for cashing checks. at the time, BoA was one of the few that started the practice.

Yep, though last time I did this I was too chickenshiat to hold that much cash in my hands. So I asked for a cashiers check to take to my bank, this cost me a few dollars but was well worth it.

If the guy held $1400 in ancient money, the bills are probably worth more to collectors.

I'm sure he didn't receive the exact bills back because some teller along the line figured that out.

The follow-up: A Sovereign spokesperson told WBZ Tuesday the situation has been resolved and that "the investigation showed that the currency given to Mr. Rivas was in fact legal tender, not counterfeit."

But first he had to fall for the famous "I'm sorry this money is counterfeit. We have to keep it" trick.

I got a $10 fake bill as change buying a bottle of vodka one day from my liquor store. Guess who got that bill back for another bottle the next week?

PawisBetlog: Clent: gonzoduke: I can't think of a reason you'd cash your check at one bank and go to deposit that same money into another bank. I smell bs

I've done it before with checks larger than this.

My credit union has a policy that large non-payroll checks are held for up to 10 business days while it's 'processed' to prevent fraud. In this day and age of wire-transfers and instant communication, this makes no sense to me but presumably old-school instituions regulated by governments have their reasons.

The way I've gotten around this, is to bring it to the issuing bank; they will cash it immediately. Typically for a fee if you don't have an account with them. I then deposited the cash at my credit union.

Be cautious if the amount is over $10,000 since cashwithdrawal and deposits that large must be reported to the government by thefinancialinstitution.

The reason the bank holds the money is easy to explain.

FLOAT

While they're "verifying funds", they're earning overnight interest on it. Sure it sounds like not a lot, but multiply it by billions and it becomes real money.

They verify all funds overnight because if they don't they get hit with fees of their own.

In the past it was a physical limitation since they had to sort and send the physical checks to the other bank. This changed in 2004 and is WAY faster now since it's all digital, so there should be no reason for a 10 day hold.

RookStar: TFA: It shakes all of their faith in the banks, he says. "It's an establishment that you trust and to have counterfeit money in your hands when you leave the bank, it's just, it's frightening."

Well there's his mistake.

No, the mistake was that the cashier had apparently never seen an older $100 bill before and assumed it was fake. According to the second linked article, the bills were real and the cashier is a moron.

Galloping Galoshes: gonzoduke: I can't think of a reason you'd cash your check at one bank and go to deposit that same money into another bank. I smell bs

Probably because the check was drawn on the first bank. This way the guy doesn't have to wait for the check to clear to get access to his cash.

I smell someone who's never had a job.

If the money comes the same time every month, what difference does it make? If my money becomes available on the 30th instead of the 27th each month, there is no difference at all unless those very first 3 days before your first check are like some kind of really trying time for you or something.

It's not like the 3 days you have to wait each month are additive so that you're only being paid 30 days for 33.

Omnivorous: The follow-up: A Sovereign spokesperson told WBZ Tuesday the situation has been resolved and that "the investigation showed that the currency given to Mr. Rivas was in fact legal tender, not counterfeit."

But first he had to fall for the famous "I'm sorry this money is counterfeit. We have to keep it" trick.

Not a trick, it's federal law.

Reason #1634 why I almost never use cash.

TNel: I see some people don't read the article or comments.

farkers can read?!?

AMERICA reading is for ..

The followup says that the bills weren't counterfeit, just old. Small head $100s. The teller at his bank must have been some high-school grad that never saw one before.

Pelvic Splanchnic Ganglion: the cashier is a moron.

This

SevenizGud: Dude, you barely clear $40k. You have MUCH bigger problems than this counterfeit bills thing.

As someone with a combined household income of less than $40k, what are these "MUCH bigger problems" you speak of?

Bought our home 2 years ago, will be paid off in another 7. 2 cars, no payments. One credit card, low limit. Only pay for internet, no cable-- Netflix and local stations only. Between our chicken coop, garden and the local grocer, we eat well. My kid has 4 acres to play on. We have medical insurance, which we pay for.

I'm 31, wife's 28, kid is 5. It's not like we're super bootstrappy or even tight with money. It's called living within your means, and it isn't that difficult. Hell, I could do all of this 4 times over for what the folks in the subdivision behind me paid for those crapboxes. But I guess they all pity me, with my sub-$40k income.

Clent: I've done it before with checks larger than this.

My credit union has a policy that large non-payroll checks are held for up to 10 business days while it's 'processed' to prevent fraud. In this day and age of wire-transfers and instant communication, this makes no sense to me but presumably old-school instituions regulated by governments have their reasons.


Their "reason" is that the funds clear instantly, and they have your money (that you can't access) to "play with" for the 10 days of the "float".

/Banksters

Donnchadha: gonzoduke: I can't think of a reason you'd cash your check at one bank and go to deposit that same money into another bank. I smell bs



I can

Oh, you mean "legitimate" reason?

This is actually a common and "legitimate" practice, especially by those who don't keep a lot of money in their checking accounts or live paycheck to paycheck.

Odds are the bank he has his checking account at either won't cash his check or won't make it immediately available to use for debit card transactions. So he goes to the bank his paycheck is drawn off of, cashes it, then deposits cash in his checking account, which is immediately available.

I can see why it's easier or better to spend the money and time to drive to one bank, pay a fee, and get cash, then drive to another bank and deposit the cash. Oh wait, no I can't.

Next time, pony up the money to get a cashier's check.