Stupid bank

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atblis

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I sold a handgun, and the buyer sent me a cashiers check. The bank didn't like it. They put a 15 day hold on it. I'll admit it was the most ghetto cashiers check I've evere seen. No dates anywhere on it. However, due to the FFL thing, I doubt it is fake (could be but...).

Do they really need that long to verify that the thing is real?

The guy's going to be miffed, but there's nothing I can do about it.
 
Under the current system in use by banks in the US, any typical check from a US bank deposited at another US bank will be "presented" and therefore either clear or bounce within 2 days, often by the next banking day.
 
Similarly, my bank initially took one day for an on-line electronic transfer, by me, from my savings to my checking account.......until I made it clear that I could take my business elsewhere. Now its instantaneous as it should be.
 
No, it is NOT excessive. There are two or three levels of "clearing." It is possible for a cashier's check to clear the first tier in a couple of days, at which time your bank gives you the go-ahead. You then release the merchandise, and a couple of weeks later the check bounces, your bank deducts it from your account, and you have neither the money nor the merchandise.
 
I hate banks sometimes...when I sold a property last year I recieved a certified check for $135,000. I deposited into my account and went about my business. I then tried to rwrite a deposit check for $25,000 the next day and the bank would not verify the funds because they places a 15day hold on the check. I then informed them that i thought a certified check was a s good as cash. they agreed but still held my funds for 15days. I then switched banks.
 
hmmm... any of y'all ever heard of a 419 scam? That's the Nigerian statute number for a particular type of fraud...

Usually goes like this: someone pays you for an item with a cashier's check for much more than the purchase price, and asks you to send them the difference. When the bank releases the funds to you, you send them the money and item. Up to a month later, it's discovered that the check is fraudulent. Merry Christmas, you're out the money and the item...

I seem to recall reading somewhere that, by FDIC guidlines, a bank can only hold a CC for 15 days, then they're required to release funds. However, it can take quite a bit of time before a fraudulent check is discovered...
 
As with most things, "It depends."

Most banks clear their check deposits either electroncally or physically thru the regional Automated Clearing House (ACH) in 24 hours, tho sometimes it takes two days, depending on the timing, but as noted, with some 'cashier's' or 'certified' checks, it takes longer to verify the 'bona fides' all the way thru.

A lot of the Nigerian-style foreign and e-bay scams count on the initial 'clearance' and timing to rip you off. You see "OK" after a couple of days and ship, but by the time things are fully cleared, you're scrod.

I agree that they're jerking your chain on the simple stuff, but with large and complex/foreign payments, let the 'system' work. Those who play in that sandbox understand how it works, I'd be very suspicious of someone who lacks patience.
 
It's best to insist on USPS money orders when receiving payment from an unknown person. You can go directly to the post office to cash them. They, being the issuer, can verify their authenticity on the spot, and give you cash.

Forged/fake bank money orders and cashier's checks are passed all the time, so they are not as "cash equivalent" as they used to be.
 
It's best to insist on USPS money orders when receiving payment from an unknown person. You can go directly to the post office to cash them. They, being the issuer, can verify their authenticity on the spot, and give you cash.
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Yeah, if the window clerk has enough cash in her drawer to pay. I took a couple of USPS money orders to the post office a few weeks ago and they didn't have enough to cover any of them, and the smallest was about $400.

Some banks won't even touch USPS money orders anymore unless you have a commercial account.
 
used to use South Trust Bank
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Not to mention their charming habit of debiting all of your days checks from your account BEFORE they credited any deposits. Make a deposit and write a check the same day and they'll sock you a NSF fee before turning around and honoring the check. :fire: :cuss: :cuss: :cuss:
 
File a complaint with the comptroller of the currency, and cc the bank on it.

15 days is way excessive. Even with a personal check they can call the bank the check is issued on verrify that the funds are in the account, and then have the other bank place a hold on the funds.

I'm sure that when a bank issues a cashiers check they immediately check the customers account and withdraw the money from that account and hold it in the banks clearing account till the check clears.

THEY DONT WRITE BAD CASHIERS CHECKS,if the money isnt there they dont issue a cashier's check. A call to the issuing bank will verrify if the check is a good one.

The bank will clear the check within 5 days at most, and more likely 24 hours if its any bank inside the USA. What your bank is doing is breaking the law, they are not allowed to hold your funds for 15 days, file a complaint.
 
Master Blaster, Banks don't write bad cashiers checks, but there are some excellent forgeries out there. I work at a check cashing agency, and I have seen some pretty convincing ones. Had a couple that even set up an 800 number verification. You would call to verify the check, and they would verify it for you, even though it is fake. :fire: :fire:

I have never been caught out that way, but it was close a couple of times.
 
A call to the issuing bank will verrify if the check is a good one.

They put serial numbers on them things, and I hear tell banks have tem newfangled computer dojiggies.

As far as the fake 800 number goes, banks have ABA numbers and there are lists and books put out by the ABA as to who to call which your bank will have and be aware of.

http://www.aba.com/Consumer+Connection/cashierscheckfraud.htm

from the FDIC:

Fake Cashier's Checks
A cashier's check—one where funds are already set aside in a special account at a bank—can be a safe way to receive payment for that used car you're selling or items you auction over the Internet. Unfortunately, FDIC fraud investigators are reporting that fake cashier's checks are getting easier for crooks to produce on personal computers. In one example recently reported to the FDIC, an individual lost a classic car worth $41,000 to a thief who used a counterfeit cashier's check. How can you protect yourself?

"First, insist on a cashier's check drawn on a local bank or a bank that has a local branch," says FDIC fraud investigator Gene Seitz. "That way you can take the check to that bank to ensure it's valid." If you can't get a cashier's check from a bank with a local office, Seitz says, confirm that the out-of-town cashier's check is good by calling the bank.

Use the phone number from a reliable source, such as directory assistance. "Don't depend on the phone number given to you by the buyer," he warns, "because if this is a fraud, that phone number could just put you in touch with a partner in crime." If you're not sure where the bank is located or if it is legitimate, check the FDIC's "Institution Directory" on the Internet at

http://www2.fdic.gov/idasp/
 
Cashiers checks

The people at my credit union tell me there have been a lot of counterfeit cashiers checks of late. Oddly enough they tell me there are more counterfeit cashier's checks around than counterfeit money orders. I don't know why the diff.

You don't have have a counterfeit to get dinged. A guy in Europe bought a gun off me. he wired the money to my account and the New York branch of his French bank siphoned off $25, we never did get an explanation. (All charges were supposedly prepaid when it left his bank in France.)
 
Use wire transfers

We have a business buying/selling surplus, overstock and closeout merchandise. No one (including us) gives credit terms, everything must be paid for before taking possession/shipping. Virtually all of our transactions are done via wire transfer. With a wire, the money is usually in the recipients bank account within 2 hours (during normal business hours). There's NO chance for "hanky-panky", forged checks, bounced checks, etc.

Some banks charge for the outgoing transaction ($20), so it might add a significant amount to some firearms transactions...We're usually dealing with thousands of dollars, so it's not such a big deal. But this is THE safest, as well as fastest, way to send or receive money.
 
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