Posted on 03/30/2016 4:05:07 AM PDT by Chickensoup
Went to a bank to break a 50 I had brought along for tolls, and was told that I could not do that unless I had an account.
An American bank was not accepting American money! What the hell is going on?
A Fifty is worth a little less than a twenty was worth in the 80's. Not much.
Went to a pet store to purchase pet food, had to register to use a fifty.
More of a move to get rid of money?
Anyone else?
I work in a bank... Many banks do not exchange money with non customers because if it is a counterfeit they do not have any recourse to get their money back.... This could be the reason they did not exchange your $50.00 :)
It reminds me of the time I took went to Regions Bank to cash a birthday check from my parents. Regions refused to cash it, saying I was not a customer. Instead, I was to take it to my bank and either cash it or deposit it.
I could have easily gone across the street to my own bank, but it was the principle. We went back & forth for a bit, but it was only when I spoke loud enough for the other customers to hear me, did they relent.
“Let me get his straight. I have a $50.00 check written to me by my stepfather who is your customer. I have more than enough ID. Yet you refuse to cash this check? You expect my bank, which has nothing to do with this transaction, to honor a check written by your customer? So what you are saying is as far as you are concerned you have no obligation at the counter to honor any check written by your customers to someone not a customer? “
They cashed the check when it became apparent the other customers were listening to what I was saying.
The reason $50s and $100s are no longer trusted is because there are now governments involved in counterfeiting. And they produce expensive, very high quality fakes, *not* to make money from them, but to use in money laundering, especially to support terrorism and espionage activities.
So they are willing to spend $1 billion to create $200m in counterfeit bills.
Everything has a convenience fee these days. Didn’t realize so many things were convenient.
Someone would have to be awfully paranoid to mistake me for a potential robber. Of course, I’m sure those signs are meant for someone else anyway.
Presenting American currency as payment constitutes a legal tender of compensation, which meets your obligation as a debtor. If tender is refused, under contract law, the burden of resolving the debt now falls on the creditor, and you may be absolved of the debt.
I suspect that part of this suspicion of large-denomination currency comes from the fact that our enemies are counterfeiting it in large quantities. Why else all the redesigns of the bills in recent years? Since paper currency isn’t backed by anything other than blind faith, anything that damages faith in that currency devalues it.
“Legal Tender for all Debts, Public and Private”.
Back in the 1980s, I was stationed on Guam, and my phone service was via the Navy Public Works Center.
When out-processing, I tried paying with my “normal” account at the time (First National Bank of Fort Sam Houston, heavily-military bank). They said they did not accept off-island checks. Mind you, I had closed my on-island accounts as an earlier part of the out-processing checklist.
So I pulled out a couple of 20s: they said they could not accept cash. I pointed out the fine-print on the bill. They refused. So I called the Navy JAG, and got their opinion. Yes, they were required to take cash. They still refused, AND they put their refusal in writing.
Game, set, and match. Attached both a copy of their refusal to take cash, and the JAG’s ruling that they were required to. And ended up not having to pay. .
Ditto.
Needed an account and an ID to break 100 bucks.
Some anti money laundering law.
You also can’t deposit cash into anyone else’s account (your wife’s for example).
you miss the point.
They don’t have change to begin with, or so little that to make change for your large bill would require them to make a trip to the bank to get more.
My particular business has no sales tax. I do take cash, but wont “make change” for anything.
I used a hundred buying groceries with no problem.
This sounds like a difference between a large corporate bank and a local bank. The last corporate bank I used was Wells Fargo. They sucked.
I’ve since gone back to my local bank which has been in business since 1862.
Maybe it is because money no longer says “Pay to the bearer on demand fifty dollars in gold or silver” but only “This note is legal tender for all debts public and private”.
What? I break $100. bills all the time, never have a problem. I always ask them, is this going to put you short? And they always take it.
We had a rental that was broken in to and the junkies left a candle burning. It burned. The insurance company sent us a check. I took the insurance check to the bank that held the mortgage to pay off the loan. We were leaving on vacation the next day so I just wanted to get it done before leaving.
You wouldn’t believe what I went through. They had no idea how to process it. The only reason I got it done was because I worked with the manager of the banks husband. lol
I did that to Wells Fargo. Even paid off the CC I had through them that very day. The manager really didn’t know what to think about all of it. lol
Then a couple of weeks later their CC fraud dept called me to ask why I had a large credit on my CC. Apparently they had credited the payoff twice. I told them....you figure it out....and hung up.
When I get my walking money I ask that it not be in anything larger than 20s because 50s and 100s are not well accepted. You just never know when someone is going to just say no to them.
Credit cards, no problem. Even for items less than $10, a sandwich.
“Your local drug dealer will take it!”
There are several local (illegal alien?) restaurants that only take cash. The pupusas at one are very good.
Let me tell you something else that is probably happening if she is like my mother was at that stage. Every clerk that asks if she would like a credit card is told yes. Mom didn’t use the cards to speak of but they sent initial 50 dollar charges for annual fees that were never paid and the penalties added up to 200 to 500 bucks. Since the card companies won’t deal with anyone but the card holder, even with Durable Power of Attorney, just imagine closing out 28 credit cards that have that problem.
Really? Not any bank I've used - only even 20's from the ATMs. Would have to deposit 2 $50 bills, and withdraw $100, BUT only 10% of the deposit is available for 3 days!
That doesn’t work. Part of the bank charter requires that they do nothing’s such as exchange damaged money and...yes...give change.
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