went to cash my paycheck today..

[toddzilla]

i recently filed bankruptcy so i can't use my bank account i've had for years. i go to the bank we get paid from.. (US Bank) and give the lady my paycheck with drivers license.. she asks for another form of ID, all i have is check card. as she's writing down my info, she stops and says...

"you do know there is a $10.00 fee for cashing this right?"

i'm not sure what i said, but i think it was something like..
"are you fucking kidding me?"

so i got my check back and i'll cash it at the grocery store for like 4 bucks..

i find it hard to belive that this is legal, isn't a check basically a marker good for face value if you bring it to the bank it is drafted from?..

WTF??

:argh:

[Heddi]

1. I don't know if it's legal

but it's a common practice, especially if you don't have an account at the bank, and super especially if in addition to not having an account at the bank, the check is from a bank DIFFERENT from that one---in fact, I think many banks won't cash checks (if you don't have an account) if it's not written off of one of their accounts.

And even if the check is written off of one of their accounts, a check is really only as good as the paper it's written on. US Bank has no idea if that account has the funds to cover it, or any other checks that may have been written on that account......

[meegbear]

2. $10 fee?

What bank is this?? You should NEVER be charged for cashing a check at their own bank.

[Cornus]

3. If you brought it to the bank...

...on which the check was drawn, my understanding is that it is on deposit there for you. All that is required is proper identification.

[Cheswick2.0]

4. love your name

I can't beleive they can charge that money, but I guess they can. This is the bank it was issued from? That's ridiculous, ask to speak to a manager next time. I could see a fee if you are cashing another banks check, but not one from a US Bank account. Stick with the grocery store otherwise.

[toddzilla]

5. yet another argument

for credit unions.. i've been with mine for over ten years.. i'm appalled every time i have to deal with a regular bank at what asshats they are..

[notadmblnd]

12. If you have a credit union account and you file bankruptcy

any and all accounts you have there are automatically frozen.

[CanuckAmok]

19. Agreed, Credit Unions rock...

Mine, however, is getting bigger, having merged with another Credit Union. Now you can't dial direct to the branch, it goes to a 'call centre'. That, for me, is a sign of Kafka-esque things to come...

[SoCalDem]

6. Most grocery stores do not charge a fee if you buy something

:)

[kixot]

7. Bankers are EVIL,

Evil right down to their cold black hearts which pump not blood like yours or mine, but rather a thick, vomitous oil that oozes through their rotten veins and clots in their pea-sized brains which becomes the cause of their Nazi-esque patterns of violent behavior. Do you understand?

[toddzilla]

8. the grocery store here

charges based on how much your check is.. minimum of 3, and i dont know what the max is... sucks cause i worked my ass off after my car wreck to get some money..

[The Backlash Cometh]

9. Welcome to the duplicity of our country...

where the less fortunate get charged more for EVERYTHING!

[Booberdawg]

10. What's to prevent you from opening another checking account

and depositing the check..

[Don_G]

11. It's Legal

Unfortunately, the banking regulations now call for 2 forms of "Picture ID."

Just one of those "little" things that slipped into the legal system that shipons the money off and out of those who can't afford it.

[FlashHarry]

13. They wanted to charge me for a withdrawal!

A buck to withdraw from my own account!!! I'm seriously thinking about switching banks. USbank sucks, big time!

[ProudGerman]

14. It really sucks when you think about it too

If you keep a certain balance on your account (think the kinds of balances relatively wealthy people have), they waive all kinds of fees. Most banks also know when their richer customers are calling, and forward them to a person. Us wothless peons get the machine. So, they charge us more the for the same services (exactly the same services becuase unless you hand them cash or they hand you cash, all they are handling is data), and they dump on us at every opportunity.

Stay away from all the national banks, they each will fuck you in their own unique way. I'd suggest a credit union, or at least a local bank.

[Sick of Bullshit]

15. A certain Delaware-based bank that I had done business with for years

informed me that I would have to pay a $10/month service charge if I couldn't maintain 2500 bucks in my account! Ye-owch!

[grasswire]

16. get out of this system

Don't participate in the banking-credit system. I stopped seven years ago, after getting sick of US bank and their uppity and greedy ways. I cash checks (and I get dozens of small ones each month from all over the world from my eBay trade) at a check cashing store. The staff is superb in customer service, friendly, and professional. They are happy to see me, happy to help me. Yes, I pay 3 percent for this service. But believe me, the difference in how I feel is worth it.

As for paying bills? I just get money orders. Life is much simpler.

[indigo32]

18. Those places are EXPENSIVE

as aremoney orders.

[grasswire]

22. not so

Money orders are free when cashing a check at a check cashing service.

[NicoleM]

17. USBank is evil

They'll take your money any way they can get it. I used to work there, and some people who had been there longer said that when they first made all of their employees switch to direct deposit, they took a fee out of every paycheck for direct-depositing it. Despite the fact that you had no choice, you HAD to have direct deposit. Evil.

[LynneSin]

20. Legal and very common in urban areas

I know this is a big issue here in Wilmington and many of these are geared towards hispanic neighborhoods where recent immigrants either have a distrust of bank or aren't legal to begin with. They know they can sucker em for money.

I personally think it's wrong!

[ArkDem]

21. .................................

I just got paid today,
got me a pocket full of change.
Said, black sheep, black, do you got some wool?
Yes, I do, man, my bag is full.
It's the root of evil and you know the rest
but it's way ahead of what's second best.

[grasswire]

23. the question is this

Where would you rather trade:

1. A bank that's part of a national conglomerate, which indulges in a caste-like system where richer and whiter people are treated with more courtesy and poorer people and those of color are treated with suspicion and rejection, and which indulges in business practices that border on piracy while they try to keep your money from you so they can earn interest on it?

2. A small check-cashing store, locally owned, where their profit is made through simple straightforward fees for service, and where the same service is cheerfully rendered no matter the economic status, appearance, or ethnic background of the customer?

I once was in a branch of BofA and watched an Indian (from India) woman try to open a bank account with $8,000 in cash. They refused to open the account because she had no prior banking history. That's what turned me away from banks for good.

[ArkDem]

24. What's that got to do with ZZ Top?

.

[amazona]

25. whoa...why they refused the $8000 in cash

I don't care if Dick Cheney himself came in with $8,000 in cash, if he did not provide state-issued picture ID when attempting to open a bank account with no banking history, then if the bank officer didn't want to risk going to federal prison -- by the way, sentences for banking/money laundering offenses are mandatory and there is no parole in federal prison -- then she would have no choice but to refuse the transaction.

I used to have to deal with cash all of the time as a part of my blackjack business. The rules are very strict. AND -- get this -- the teller, pit boss, etc. is NOT supposed to inform you of the law or to discuss the law with you. Or she can be prosecuted for giving advice on how to "structure" cash deposits.

So the poor bank officer has no choice but to look like a big bad blue meanie as she explains to this unknown person that she simply cannot accept her cash without proper identification and some way to track back this person's history and guarantee that she came by the money legally. But I don't think going to prison and also having the bank fined or even shut down temporarily or permanently is worth $8,000, do you?

Over 90 percent of U.S. currency is contaminated with traces of cocaine. Therefore, ALL U.S. currency tests positive as drug money.

How was the bank officer to know that "the lady from India" was not actually an undercover federal officer? There have been quite a few stings, with severe consequences for the victims of these stings.

If your friendly corner check cashing place is accepting huge cash transactions without following the proper guidelines, they ARE in violation of federal law, and they ARE guilty of structuring under the federal money laundering statutes. And they probably know perfectly well but are just assuming they're small enough not to get targeted by the fibbies or the DEA. Bank of America can't take that kind of chance.

[amazona]

26. what state is this?

I would file a complaint with the Attorney General.

I would also inform my boss.

Actually, the better half's boss's bank tried to do this -- once. When informed that the bank had tried to charge $4 to cash one of his paychecks, the boss called the bank and told them that he would be taking his business to another bank if they didn't waive this policy for his employees.

They agreed and apologized, and sent a letter in writing that the employees could show if need be. It never happened again.

This was in Louisiana. I'm fairly sure it was illegal but the bank thought it wouldn't get caught. Ha.

[geniph]

27. Banks are for-profit businesses

they are in business solely to make money for their shareholders. They do this any way they can. They're entitled to charge whatever fees they please for any silly-ass thing they want. Whatever the market will bear is the functional limit of their fees. People would have rioted twenty years ago over fees to see an actual teller - today, they shrug and pay the dollar. Same thing with ATMs - USBank is particularly egregious in charging non-customers to use their ATMs AND charging their own customers $2 per transaction for using ATMs other than theirs. I prefer credit unions, many of which are set up to benefit only their members (which is supposed to be anyone who has an account, NOT stockholders). The fees tend to be less, and lower, and the service more personalized.

It's a service. Comparison shop and find a better one.

[Yupster]

28. Get back at the bankers

You'll probably be getting credit card applications in the mail again soon. Run them up and then declare bankrupcy again and see how good the $ 10 fee does them then. Down with the money-lenders.

[Aristus]

29. I used to be in the banking business.

Then I got out of it and got my soul back. Credit Unions are better, but not by much. Most of them are trying harder and harder to BE banks. A local credit union here in Washington finally gave up the ruse and just switched over to being a bank. Lost a lot of customers, too, from what I understand.

I loved my customers, but I hated my bosses and their awful policies.