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Are Banks required to cash checks drawn on their bank.
my question | 04/08/06 | Mike

Posted on 04/08/2006 4:43:13 PM PDT by wcas

I may be wrong posting this here but I mad a this bank today. My son got his frist pay check today from his frist career Job, Not having a bank account no bank would cash his check, I told him to go to the bank that his pay check was drawn on and they should cash it, this is not a small compay 250 employees. I made sure he had two forms of picture ID, Drivers license and dependent Military ID(They didn't even know what the military ID was)They said they would cash it unless he open an account, Personally I think they have check the check since it is drawn on their bank. anyone Know? He said they were very rude to him! Thanks all sorry if I'm in the wrong place.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: banking; banks; checkcashing; help
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To: wcas
He said they were very rude to him!

Is he tattooed, pierced like a pin cushion, have a heavy lisp, or all three?

I cash one of my paychecks every weekend at the bank it came from, never with any problems. A picture ID is all you need.

21 posted on 04/08/2006 5:29:38 PM PDT by chapin2500 (Freaks can't be taken seriously)
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To: wcas
but I mad a this bank today

What you say?

22 posted on 04/08/2006 5:32:57 PM PDT by RedBloodedAmerican
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To: wcas
I would contact the bank's regulator first with a telephone call (it's likely to be the FDIC (1-800-378-9581); if not, try the OCC (1-800-613-6743) or OTS (1-800-842-6929)) and see if they agree with you. If they do agree that the bank should honor the instrument, and the bank still won't do anything, write a formal complaint letter to the bank regulator and send a copy to the president of the bank.

For what it is worth, I think failing to honor a legitimate check drawn on the bank is a no-no -- certainly coercing you to open an account with them in order just to have a legitimate check on their own institution honored is not appropriate behavior on the bank's part in my opinion.

If you end up writing a letter, include this information (taken verbatim from the FDIC website):

  • Complainant's name, address, telephone number;
  • The institution's name and address;
  • Type of account involved in the complaint--checking, savings, or loan--and account numbers, if applicable;
  • Description of the complaint, including specific dates and the institution's actions (copies of pertinent information or correspondence are also helpful);
  • Date of contact and the names of individuals contacted at the institution with their responses;
  • Complainant's signature and the date the complaint is being submitted to the regulatory agency.

And here are the addresses for written consumer complaints:

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection
550 Seventeenth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20429



Office of Thrift Supervision
Consumer Affairs Office
1700 G Street, NW
Washington, DC 20552



Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Customer Assistance Group
1301 McKinney Street
Suite 3710
Houston, TX 77010



23 posted on 04/08/2006 5:52:50 PM PDT by snowsislander
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To: snowsislander

A great reply! Thanks for the info!


24 posted on 04/08/2006 5:58:13 PM PDT by jigsaw (Cynthia McKinney has changed her name to Shooter Lippy.)
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To: snowsislander
Good luck.

You will get no where except in the shred bin.

Any financial institution can refuse service to anyone they want to pretty much.

If they suspect fraud--thats all they need to say and case closed.

25 posted on 04/08/2006 5:58:57 PM PDT by maui_hawaii
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To: snowsislander

FDIC doesn't have anything to do with this whatsoever as well.


26 posted on 04/08/2006 6:00:34 PM PDT by maui_hawaii
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To: wcas

Not even the worst run bank in Podunkville employs tellers without giving them a crash course in recognizing ID, everything from passports to military IDs to state IDs to driver's licences. Even school IDs from the local school. Why on earth did you come up with a story like this? It's just stupid.


27 posted on 04/08/2006 6:00:53 PM PDT by grellis (can't sleep clown will eat me)
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To: wcas; All

Just curious, but why on earth would you join Free Republic to find out how to get a check cashed?


28 posted on 04/08/2006 6:03:12 PM PDT by wagglebee ("We are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom." -- President Bush, 1/20/05)
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To: wcas
IANAL, but I believe that at least the specific branch upon which the check is drawn must cash the check or bounce it (even if it is for a big amount). I know someone who was once in a similar position being denied who said in a very loud voice, "YOU MEAN THIS BANK DOESN"T HAVE ENOUGH FUNDS TO COVER ONE OF ITS CUSTOMER'S CHECKS?!" They gave him the cash.

There may be additional laws related to "payroll accounts" where banks have an even greater obligation to "pay to the order of."

ML/NJ

29 posted on 04/08/2006 6:07:10 PM PDT by ml/nj
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To: wcas

It used to be so, but no longer. Now they will at least charge a fee to cash checks drawn on their bank.

Someone may know...didn't this start occurring after Sept. 11,'01?


30 posted on 04/08/2006 6:17:36 PM PDT by madison10
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To: maui_hawaii
FDIC doesn't have anything to do with this whatsoever as well.

The FDIC is a bank regulator, and is the primary banking regulator for many banks. Other bank regulatory agencies are the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Reserve. The NCUA regulates credit unions. There are also state banking regulators, but if I were starting out on this, I would start with the FDIC. (There is a long list of ways to try to work which agency is the primary regulator at the bottom of this page.)

From the FDIC's website, which explains how for consumers to get help with a banking problem:

Complaint Filing Process

If the consumer has a complaint against a financial institution, the first step is to contact an officer of the institution and attempt to resolve the complaint directly. Financial institutions value their customers and most will be helpful. If the consumer is unable to resolve the complaint directly, the financial institution's regulatory agency may be contacted for assistance.

The agency will usually acknowledge receipt of a complaint letter within a few days. If the letter is referred to another agency, the consumer will be advised of this fact. When the appropriate agency investigates the complaint the financial institution may be given a copy of the complaint letter.

The complaint should be submitted in writing and should include the following:

  • Complainant's name, address, telephone number;
  • The institution's name and address;
  • Type of account involved in the complaint--checking, savings, or loan--and account numbers, if applicable;
  • Description of the complaint, including specific dates and the institution's actions (copies of pertinent information or correspondence are also helpful);
  • Date of contact and the names of individuals contacted at the institution with their responses;
  • Complainant's signature and the date the complaint is being submitted to the regulatory agency.

The regulatory agencies will be able to help resolve the complaint if the financial institution has violated a banking law or regulation. They may not be able to help where the consumer is not satisfied with an institutions's policy or practices, even though no law or regulation was violated. Additionally, the regulatory agencies do not resolve factual or most contractual disputes. (From the FDIC website, http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/rights/index.html)

(My emphasis added in the first and final paragraph.)

I believe that it is a legal obligation for the bank to honor valid instruments drawn on that bank's accounts that have sufficient funds to pay them and that have not had a stop placed on them, but that's just my commonsense belief.

The regulators will know for certain if this is indeed a legal or regulatory obligation, and if it is, they will make the bank eventually comply.

31 posted on 04/08/2006 6:26:58 PM PDT by snowsislander
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To: snowsislander

Who is the FDIC?





The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) preserves and promotes public confidence in the U.S. financial system by insuring deposits in banks and thrift institutions for up to $100,000; by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to the deposit insurance funds; and by limiting the effect on the economy and the financial system when a bank or thrift institution fails.

An independent agency of the federal government, the FDIC was created in 1933 in response to the thousands of bank failures that occurred in the 1920s and early 1930s. Since the start of FDIC insurance on January 1, 1934, no depositor has lost a single cent of insured funds as a result of a failure.

The FDIC receives no Congressional appropriations – it is funded by premiums that banks and thrift institutions pay for deposit insurance coverage and from earnings on investments in U.S. Treasury securities. With insurance funds totaling more than $44 billion, the FDIC insures more than $3 trillion of deposits in U.S. banks and thrifts – deposits in virtually every bank and thrift in the country.


32 posted on 04/08/2006 6:41:29 PM PDT by maui_hawaii
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To: wcas


Banks are not required to cash checks period regardless of what bank the check is drawn from, the crux of the matter is that your son needs to have a bank account at a bank, any bank, with enough money to cover the check.


33 posted on 04/08/2006 6:46:48 PM PDT by rockabyebaby (I'm not afraid to say out loud what the rest of you are afraid to admit.)
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To: snowsislander
Any item can be denied.

A bank can refuse to cash a check merely because the customer is rude or improperly dressed and there is nothing that customer can do about it. I have even heard of customers being carted off the property for cursing at bank employees, courtesy of the sherriff.

The FDIC controls overall lending and bank regulatory matters, not things like customer service, or which items are or are not paid. There is no obligation to cash checks.

If a bank said they won't lend money to hispanics or if they were involved in predatory lending or some other threat to the financial foundation... then the FDIC can step in. If the banks falsely advertise their interest rates or whatnot...

The only thing that even comes remotely close is the Expedited Funds Availability Act and that does not in any way concern a check casher.

The Expedited Funds Availability Act requires all banks, savings and loan associations, savings banks, and credit unions to make funds deposited into checking, share draft and NOW accounts available according to specified time schedules and to disclose their funds availability policies to their customers. The law does not require an institution to delay the customer's use of deposited funds but instead limits how long any delay may last. The regulation also establishes rules designed to speed the return of unpaid checks.

Go here for a more complete list of what they govern.

34 posted on 04/08/2006 6:51:22 PM PDT by maui_hawaii
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To: rockabyebaby; snowsislander

You can even be denied cashing a check in your own bank, with a check drawn off of the same bank. IE you have an account there and the check is drawn off of the same bank. It just depends on the circumstances.


35 posted on 04/08/2006 6:57:47 PM PDT by maui_hawaii
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To: cripplecreek
Leave him alone, it's his frist day.

Hahahahaha! Made me laugh!

36 posted on 04/08/2006 7:35:54 PM PDT by CAluvdubya (The ignorant defeatocrats have declared war on the War On Terror!)
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To: snowsislander

Unfortunetly, you are simply incorrect. Banks are under no obligation to cash checks for non-customers. You can call the FDIC all you want, but it is a waste of time because the bank has broken no law or regulation.


37 posted on 04/08/2006 7:40:04 PM PDT by Rodney King (No, we can't all just get along.)
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To: Lurker
That's interesting. I've had trouble with this myself.

Did you mean go to a currency exchange, then go back to the bank and say the phrase. I tried to look the phrase up in my Black's, but nothing came up. Can you tell me what it means, technically?

38 posted on 04/08/2006 7:42:59 PM PDT by William Terrell (Individuals can exist without government but government can't exist without individuals.)
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To: Wheee The People
Is it significant he asked a banking question on his first day? Why?

39 posted on 04/08/2006 7:45:33 PM PDT by William Terrell (Individuals can exist without government but government can't exist without individuals.)
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To: maui_hawaii
And if you bring the writer of the check to the bank, identifies himself, affirms he wrote the check, and the bank won't cash it. I did this.

Hard time alleging fraud.

40 posted on 04/08/2006 7:52:52 PM PDT by William Terrell (Individuals can exist without government but government can't exist without individuals.)
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