Bank Unwilling to Cash Check from Gold Sale

What is worse is the bank that refuses to cash the check by the non-customer, with the payee producing necessary documents. This happened to me a couple of times. If you need cash for business activity later in the day or tomorrow, you may need funds that would not be available for several days in some cases. I.e. a check deposited on Saturday in your account will not be available until Tuesday; so if you want to go to a coin show or flea market and the dealers will take only cash, you are out of luck. Why won't they take checks? It is a felony to knowingly write a bad check over a certain amount.

I can understand if someone were to be a convict or without proper documentation; and I can understand levels of $10K or more where the bank does not have green cash available, they are probably trying to thwart bank robberies. I can understand a need for proper SS# tracking in cases of fraud, child support, illegal drugs, other criminal activity, taxes, etc.. I cannot understand the stonewalling without reasons given with innocent people.

 

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LOL...hopefully it helps me out. I was fortunate to take some business classes when I was doing my undergrad. I also spent a year working at a bank where I learned a ton about business...a lot more than I expected. I think it's really going to be useful knowledge down the road.

 

This lady did and IT WAS HER MONEY, NOT THE BANKS!

After allowing for REASONABLE delays due to withdrawal size and paperwork, the bank effectively STOLE her money.

If it were me. I'd file criminal charges with the appropriate LAW ENFORCEMENT personnel.

 

Banks have no obligation to cash checks for non customers UNLESS it is a demand note (ie Check) drafted on THEIR bank. They really have no other obligation to make your life more convenient. Cashing a check on another bank is a service to THEIR CUSTOMERS as is cashing the demand note. They are not charities providing free services.

 

Do you mean when a person walks into my bank with a check I have written to them, say for $500? The payee does not have an account at Bank of America but wants to cash the check for whatever reason. "Demand note" is a new one on me--is that a special kind of check, a cashier's check or money order drawn on that bank?

 

Demand note=promissory note=check.

I think he thoguht you were talking about writing a check on your bank and trying to cash at another one.

 

Of course that would be dumb, how would the bank know if it was any good?


Here was another critical comment on the story by a former Bank of America, banker:

"Because the whole story is made up and used as a crude tool by Gary North, and/or whatever "book" was being hawked to scare and frighten the stupid and ignorant.

"Additionally, if she took the check to any branch of any bank, other than the branch where the payor has their account, she is not going to get her money immediately, they (and her) are going to have to wait until the check clears.

"Also, the author of the "story" is clueless as to how branch banking works and is under the impression that each and every branch has huge stacks of money lying about and if they don't it is because of some "ebil gummint" plot - which is complete and total horsesh*t.

"Branches have enough cash on hand for normal, everyday activities and depending on the volume of that business, some branches may have more than others. Additionally, the headquarters for the bank determines what is the appropriate level of cash for a particular branch to have and there are procedures in place if a branch exceeds those limits (FYI - each line teller also has limits as to how much they can have in their cash truck).

"So, if a branch normally needs/uses $300,000 in cash and coin in a week, they are unlikely to have more than that on hand, and will get it replenished weekly, so if someone comes in and wants to cash a huge check, especially at a small activity branch, then it may take a day or three to get the money - part of which involves the transportation of the cash by armored transport.

"Thus I repeat, the "story" is bullsh*t, likely woven out of whole cloth, by someone who is clueless to how branch banks work, and so presents the "story" to do nothing more than con the rubes into buying whatever cr*p he is peddling.

"And yes, I have worked for the "evilest" of banks and was intimately familiar with teller limits, vault limits, and the shipping and receiving of cash at a branch level. The 82% Rule: 82% of the people in the world are total idiots, 13% have a vague idea of what is going on and 5% are truly aware."

 

Actually the branch point was a very good point. I forgot. In some states the banks are allowed to treat each branch as a separate bank in effect, therefor not instantly transferring funds from an account at that bank, if the account is not at that branch. Other states do not allow this, and make them treat all branches as part of the whole.

This could have affected this story as well. I have no idea on how Texas treats bank branches concerning this issue.

 

Another comment on this transaction:

"I've heard real life stories of this (obviously nowhere near $673k, though). People think that they can walk into any bank to cash a check and the bank is obligated to do so. And when you explain to them that if the check bounces the bank'd be lucky to recoup it's losses, their attitude is "not my problem." Um, yeah, it is your problem because they won't let you cash the check. - some people tend to forget that banks are really businesses who are trying to make a profit.

"Anyways, with a check that large it's unreasonable to think you can simply walk into the bank and cash it. A check is really just an IOU from the account holder to the recipient. If she was unable to cash the check then the check is considered invalid and he needs to find another way to get her the money - like arranging a withdrawal with his bank and giving her the cash. - except that then he would technically have to complete a Large Currency Transaction Report when he gives her the money.

"Also, I contest the "fact" that she wasn't senile or something because only someone lacking wits would want to walk around with $673k. ***** was going to get rolled the second she stepped out of the bank because rumors of a 90 year old cashing out that much money was going to spread all over town by the time they were done counting it. - she might not even make it out of the bank."

 

I think that many of you have the wrong idea about what exactly a bnak is.

It is NOT a public shop set up for your personal convenience; it IS a business which handles financial transactions of several types. They entice individuals and businesses to deposit monies so that those same monies can be loaned out to other individuals and businesses at a profit, by charging inerest.

Like any business they have their own expenses. I'll make up a few numbers here - the building in which they operate cost maybe $300,000 to build and furnish. To build they had to obtain a loan on which they are now paying mortgage payments. Or, they may have rented space in an existing building. Either way, they are paying mortgage/rent of maybe $2500 per month. On top of that there are utilities of maybe $2000 per month. Then there are salaries for 20, or so, employees at an average of around $25,000 per year. When you add this all up, you get an operating budget of $554,000 per year, or almost $11,000 per week.

That's $11,000 each week that has nothing directly to do with the money you have in the bank. In order to make up that $11,000 and just to stay even, they have to assure that the interesst received on loans they are making (less the interest paid out on various accounts) is greater than the weekly operating costs.

Since they are not offering a product on which profits can be built in, and they have to stay competitive on their interest charges and payouts, the only way they can assure profitability is to charge fees on some of their transactions. It used to be that savings accounts paid as high as (in my experience) 7%. Because of higher operating costs this amount has dropped gradually to under 1% in some cases. This, in effect, was an invisible fee. Most other fees are more visible - check charging fees, teller access fees, ATM transaction fees.

If a grocery store sells Cereal for $2.50 a box and finds that their profit margins are falling, they simply increase the cost of a box of cereal to $2.60 (a $0.10 fee) or, same thing - reduce the amount of product in the box by a few percent, and life goes on. You may grumble but soon adjust. It's the same with banks. They have to earn enough money to remain in operation and to do so they have to charge fees beyond the interest charges. You may grumble about it but life goes on.

As far as cash availability, go back to the grocery store in response to an ad for cereal and tell them you want 2000 boxes of cereal. If they only have 500 boxes on hand, there's no way you can get 2000 boxes until they arrange with their warehouse to send them out, which may take at least several days. If they don't have it on hand, you simply can't get it. Plus, they are within their rights to limit the amount they will sell to you so that they can service their other customers who might also want cereal.

Same with the bank. You might have a check for $250,000, or even have that amount in your account, but if the bank doesn't have that amount of cash on hand, plus enough left over to service other accounts, there is simply no way that you can withdraw that amount on the spot. You MUST wait until the funds can be made available. Most banks order money one day a week (usually Monday) and have it delivered once a week (Friday). So, if you present your demand on, say Tuesday, it will be Friday of the following week before your cash is available.

Many banks failed in the past because depositers were demanding more money back than the banks were worth. Real deposits of cash were made and loaned out, leaving the banks cash-poor

Finally, as others have stated, there are various other hoops to jump through to satisfy Homeland Security, the IRS and other agencies who think that they need to know your business. It's an unfortunate fact of life that you can't do transactions of large size without some agency wanting to know what you're up to. Exercise your power to vote and in some multiple of four years maybe there will be a change made.

 

This is a flabberghasting response. Did you even read the article? Is so, then stop and read it again. It said she offered to put the check in her safe deposit box while they gave her $50,000/week. She never offered to deposit it into her account. You are assuming something that wasn't said. Once you start making assumptions, then it's easy to fault the bank.

There is isn't a matter of opinion. It's clearly stated in the article what she tried to do and depositing the check was not one of them. As I said several times now, if she simply deposited the check or the gold buyer wired the money, there would be absolutely no issues.

 

It took me two days to get 10K to use for personal items.
BOW.
Pep

 

Az, I get what you're saying, but the lady offered to fill out whatever forms necessary so that shouldn't be an issue. The fact that they weren't even willing to give her rules by which she could withdraw the money is outlandish.

Cloud, what is irrational about wanting your own money out of the bank? The article said she was of sound mind and was acting on the instruction of her son, a knowledgable investor.

This scenario is an outright moral hazard. There is no other way to paint it.

 

There is two things here that are left out though. First, the fact that the check was drawn on another bank makes it impossible that the bank will make it all available that day. I know they called the other bank and verified the funds...but it still won't happen. A lot of things could happen to the money in the other bank's account before the check is processed and funds transferred. $673K is a lot of money for a bank to lose. Secondly, as I already said...bank branches don't have an extra $673K sitting around in their vault for just such an emergency. So, even if they were willing to cash out the check that day...they wouldn't have been able to.

First off, I don't believe this story. It might have a thread of truth...but it has been spun a million different ways.

Here is exactly how this could be done and how a bank would do it. Bank customer comes in and wants to cash $673K check drawn off another bank...customer is a male/female of any adult age (doesn't matter). Because of the size of the check, banker calls bank it's drawn from to verify check is good. Once confirmed, banker would explain to customer that they cannot cash the check due to the amount. Check will need to be deposited and held for a couple weeks until it clears and the funds are transferred. Once that occurs, and the money is safely in the account of customer it can be withdrawn. If the customer chooses to withdraw that volume of cash at one time, prior arrangement with her branch needs to be made 7-10 business days in advance. Bank branches simply don't keep that extra volume of cash lying around and thus it would needed to be special ordered. This is the only way the bank would do this.

Now, if the check was drawn off the same bank...there would be no hold for funds but the 7-10 business days to order the money would be required. The bank would also contact the issuer of the check to ensure it's valid.

 

Camaro, thanks for that clarification as it does make a world of difference whether the bank is the one you deposited your money into originally or not. In the case of the latter, the bank would certainly be justified.

 

Heh. Almost exactly six tons. "Be a dear and help me carry these out to my truck, would you please?"

 

I would have agreed with you until a little bit ago when I found this new info. Apparently this was changed in the Dodd-Frank Act.

http://www.fdic.gov/deposit/deposits/changes.html

 

That's interesting...what I wonder is, who holds any kind of account that offers no interest at all? Honestly, if one was banking 250k or more, surely they'd be putting it somewhere drawing interest. Me, I'm wondering who the heck the provision is actually for? Under 250 wasn't at risk anyway. And more if the accounts are titled differently..

Just me thinkin' out loud..

Lucy

 

Most of us these days. :rolling:

 

You are being facetious, I think. Who would store any significant amount of money in a non-interest bearing account? I truly was/am not aware of the fact that there exists a bank account offering NO interest of any kind. Wow! Next thing you know, and I'll be paying a fee to store my money in the bank..