DTEJD1997 Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 Hey all: I'm in the wilds of Michigan working as a contract attorney... Got a few paychecks. My bank is located primarily in Texas, and I missed going to one of the few branches in MI by about 10 minutes... Bank of America has a branch down the road which is open later. So I stop in to present my check for payment. The friendly clerk tells me there is a $6 fee for cashing the check. I said she must be mistaken, as the check is drawn on her bank. She says NO MISTAKE, if you aren't a customer you pay the fee. I think she is confused, and ask for the branch manager...she informs me that she is not a "check cashing service" and if they cashed checks, "we would have lines out the door". I ask her about the fact that her bank has an obligation to honor the check as long as the law firm has $$$ to cover it. She says sure, but we charge a fee for dispersing cash. How is this legal? What if the check was $5? I would owe them a $1 for cashing it? WTF???? These jokers take taxpayer money as a bailout, no management is fired, and they stick it to us. Now if the check was NOT DRAWN ON THEIR BANK, then fine...Cash it, don't cash it, take 50%. If it is drawn on your bank, you've got an obligation to honor it when presented for payment. The state's banking commission should be doing something about this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
argonaut Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 It's legal... http://www.helpwithmybank.gov/get-answers/bank-accounts/checks-cashing/faq-banking-check-cashing-04.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTEJD1997 Posted June 29, 2014 Author Share Posted June 29, 2014 Yes, shockingly it is legal. There is no cap as the fee they can charge. They don't even have to cash if they don't want to... How is this not a hinderance on interstate commerce? If a bank wants to be allowed to operate, they've got to help commerce. It is not a one way street. Perhaps some of the states AG will start to change this if attention is brought to it. If you want a bank charter, cash the damn checks drawn on your bank. If don't want to be a "check cashing place", don't open a branch on every corner! Here is the other thing....the amount of ILL WILL that BoA just earned with me is off the charts. I will limit my business with them to an absolute minimum... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jouni1 Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 is it still normal practice in the states to get your pay in checks? i have heard they're more common down there, but it still seems a bit weird. i've seen a check less than 5 times in my life. i'm asking because if it's still like in the movies, it's a pretty big growth arena for V, MA and internet banking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spekulatius Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 is it still normal practice in the states to get your pay in checks? i have heard they're more common down there, but it still seems a bit weird. i've seen a check less than 5 times in my life. i'm asking because if it's still like in the movies, it's a pretty big growth arena for V, MA and internet banking? Paychecks are pretty rare nowadays, pay is mostly done with direct deposits. It is possible that business with a lot of empoloyee turnover do a lot of payroll using Paychecks. In any case, this has nothing to do with MA or V's business. FWIW, I came back from a vacation and had a hell of a time to get a 100$ note "broken down". Most transactions are done using credit cards or debit, so business don't have much cash in their register, maybe a few twenties, few tens and one $ notes, but no more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fareastwarriors Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 is it still normal practice in the states to get your pay in checks? i have heard they're more common down there, but it still seems a bit weird. i've seen a check less than 5 times in my life. i'm asking because if it's still like in the movies, it's a pretty big growth arena for V, MA and internet banking? Direct deposit is common but so are preloaded debit cards for employees without bank accounts. The fees on those debit cards are outrageous especially in context that these employees are the "unbanked" and are generally poorer working class people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yadayada Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTEJD1997 Posted June 30, 2014 Author Share Posted June 30, 2014 is it still normal practice in the states to get your pay in checks? i have heard they're more common down there, but it still seems a bit weird. i've seen a check less than 5 times in my life. i'm asking because if it's still like in the movies, it's a pretty big growth arena for V, MA and internet banking? Paychecks are pretty rare nowadays, pay is mostly done with direct deposits. It is possible that business with a lot of empoloyee turnover do a lot of payroll using Paychecks. In any case, this has nothing to do with MA or V's business. FWIW, I came back from a vacation and had a hell of a time to get a 100$ note "broken down". Most transactions are done using credit cards or debit, so business don't have much cash in their register, maybe a few twenties, few tens and one $ notes, but no more. I have not got a paycheck in about 20 years. I have no idea how common/uncommon they are. I just wanted to cash a check and get $900 walking around money for the next week or so. I also have a few different bank/brokerage accounts...so I don't often go in person to cash checks outside of my bank. I just found it OUTRAGEOUS that BoA is trying to squeeze $ for something that they are obligated to do. I won't be doing business with them in the future, that is for sure. I also sympathize with people who are getting squeezed by the banks every time they turn around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wellmont Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 this is when it pays to plan ahead. when I get checks (rarely) I take a picture of them and send them to my bank and am instantly credited. also ATM is your friend. One of my banks lets you take out $600 a day and if you call them supposedly they will increase that. People generally do things when it's convenient for them, and not necessarily when it's cost effective for them. There are a few banks out there that will not charge you a penny to use any ATM in the country. I bank at two of them. But most people don't. The only time I've had to go to a branch in the last few years was to get a "bank check". And if I could have waited a day I could have had it FedExed to me for a reasonable fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muscleman Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Hey all: I'm in the wilds of Michigan working as a contract attorney... Got a few paychecks. My bank is located primarily in Texas, and I missed going to one of the few branches in MI by about 10 minutes... Bank of America has a branch down the road which is open later. So I stop in to present my check for payment. The friendly clerk tells me there is a $6 fee for cashing the check. I said she must be mistaken, as the check is drawn on her bank. She says NO MISTAKE, if you aren't a customer you pay the fee. I think she is confused, and ask for the branch manager...she informs me that she is not a "check cashing service" and if they cashed checks, "we would have lines out the door". I ask her about the fact that her bank has an obligation to honor the check as long as the law firm has $$$ to cover it. She says sure, but we charge a fee for dispersing cash. How is this legal? What if the check was $5? I would owe them a $1 for cashing it? WTF???? These jokers take taxpayer money as a bailout, no management is fired, and they stick it to us. Now if the check was NOT DRAWN ON THEIR BANK, then fine...Cash it, don't cash it, take 50%. If it is drawn on your bank, you've got an obligation to honor it when presented for payment. The state's banking commission should be doing something about this... Why would you still be a customer with BoA then? I closed my accounts with Citi and Chase last year, and I am a happy customer with Ally Bank now. With your situation, I could just take a picture of the check using Ally's mobile app and I get the deposit. Then I can withdraw from any ATM in the US without fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItsAValueTrap Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Banks have to make money somehow. The clerk you talked to and her manager are paid a wage. Their time spent talking to you costs the bank money. Fraud and compliance are other costs that the bank has to deal with. Normally, banks subsidize most of this stuff because they hope that they will make money off their clients elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTEJD1997 Posted June 30, 2014 Author Share Posted June 30, 2014 Banks have to make money somehow. The clerk you talked to and her manager are paid a wage. Their time spent talking to you costs the bank money. Fraud and compliance are other costs that the bank has to deal with. Normally, banks subsidize most of this stuff because they hope that they will make money off their clients elsewhere. A great way for banks to make money is to pay checks at $.90 on the dollar. Maybe even take half. This is not an issue about making money. It is an issue of a bank paying a check that was drawn against it. If you can't have reliability of getting $1.00 on the dollar of a check, then what good is a check? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hielko Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 No good. So don't use checks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siddharth18 Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 ACH (or some other versions of it - like POPMoney, ClearXchange, Chase QuickPay) is 10,000% better than paper/physical check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fareastwarriors Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 The bank is charging a fee for a service. That makes sense to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookie71 Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Use a local bank or credit union. Vote with your feet against the "customer no service bank". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkbabang Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 No good. So don't use checks. Bitcoin :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTEJD1997 Posted July 5, 2014 Author Share Posted July 5, 2014 The bank is charging a fee for a service. That makes sense to me. Paying a check that is drawn on the bank is a service? That is an OBLIGATION & liability of that bank. What if they don't want to provide the service? They don't have to pay it? That is one of the reasons that banks are allowed to exist, they are supposed to facilitate commerce & trade. A great way for companies to make money is to pay their debts at less than 100 cents on the dollar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddballstocks Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 is it still normal practice in the states to get your pay in checks? i have heard they're more common down there, but it still seems a bit weird. i've seen a check less than 5 times in my life. i'm asking because if it's still like in the movies, it's a pretty big growth arena for V, MA and internet banking? I get checks all the time, and write checks all the time. I also have direct deposit. Some businesses won't accept bill pay for my monthly bills (local natural gas company, preschool, local groups etc). Others want unlimited access to my checking account (CitiMortgage..no thanks), and so I write checks. My business gets checks all the time as well. Checks are the easy way to pay invoices, send an invoice, receive a check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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