Tweet^Hey AOM, I have a bank question for you. Often when I take an insurance check to my bank, they tell me "We have to put a 7 day hold on this check"..I'm talking a check from Allstate, Progressive, Geico, etc...My question is why? I mean, a check that says Allstate on it has to be pretty safe isnt it? The funny thing is, I usually get Pissed and tell the teller 'Well, I will just take it to my other bank, they dont have a stupid policy like you have!"...Then I will go back to the bank the next day to another teller and she will deposit the check with no hold. So it seems like some tellers are just more *****y about stuff like this...LOL..wtf???? Thanks!

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Originally Posted by Dzone

^Hey AOM, I have a bank question for you. Often when I take an insurance check to my bank, they tell me "We have to put a 7 day hold on this check"..I'm talking a check from Allstate, Progressive, Geico, etc...My question is why? I mean, a check that says Allstate on it has to be pretty safe isnt it? The funny thing is, I usually get Pissed and tell the teller 'Well, I will just take it to my other bank, they dont have a stupid policy like you have!"...Then I will go back to the bank the next day to another teller and she will deposit the check with no hold. So it seems like some tellers are just more *****y about stuff like this...LOL..wtf???? Thanks!

I'll give you the standard answer, then I'll give you the truthful answer (which you may not like..lol)
Each and every single bank in America has to follow bank regulations. No two ways around it. The "check hold" regulation is called "Regulation CC". The Government tells banks how long they are allowed to put a hold on a check for. So whether it's from an unknown such as "John Doe", or a popular company like Progressive or State Farm, Reg CC says the bank can place a on the check. And again, that is to protect the bank. Believe me, after 13 years in banking, I've seen fake Tax refund checks, fake State Farm checks, you name it. So Reg CC allows banks to protect themselves by placing check holds.
Now, remember I told you I'll tell you the truthful answer? Well, here goes. As of May 1, 2010, all checks get electronically cleared through one central clearing house. So the turn around time on a check to clear is now 1 day. 2 days max (according to the gov.) Mostly all tellers have the freedom to deposit a check with no hold. Some tellers follow policy for customers they don't particularly like. I see it all the time. There's one customer who comes in and thinks he/she's better than the whole world, and everyone is beneath him/her. They like to come in and raise their voice, make threats of leaving the bank, etc... They feel that they're doing you a favor by keeping their $1000 in your bank, so they want everything for free. No fees, no charges, no holds, etc...Those are the people the tellers like to piss off on purpose.I have no idea if you're one of those people, but that's what happens.
Then you can go into the same branch the very next day, get a different teller, and they may says "Mr Dzone is a nice guy. Here Mr Dzone, I deposited your check with no hold."

Consequently, I feel like saying to those douche bag people "Do you realize your behavior is comparative to someone walking into a restaurant and saying 'I'm doing you a favor by eating here. There's 1000 other restaurants out there who want my business, but I'm here. And because I'm here, I think you should feed me for free. I mean, I'm doing you a favor for being here!" What would the restaurant say? Go somewhere else please.

TweetThanks for the explanations AOM. That was a good read - I'm happy I have never been contacted by one of these scam artists. I'd be suspicious, and probably would not go through with it, but without knowing the ins-and-outs of check liability . . . I'm happy to have never been given that choice. LOL

A comment about the bank placing a hold on larger checks - it happens to me once in a while, and I always get pissed about it because the check is almost always from a known institution, and usually I need the funds soon! I usually don't argue with the bank about this stuff because it doesn't happen often, but we all know that computers have been around a while and they can clear a check as soon as they want to do it - I have always thought the reason for these holds is REALLY so that the bank can use my money to make more money for the bank, right? I know my check is nothing compared to the volume of assets that are handled each day, but a 3-7 day hold on all checks over $1k can really add up to a nice profit if the bank uses that money intelligently, right? It is just another way for the banks to make/take money (if you factor in the interest rate in a normal economy) from the customers without their knowledge. Don't mean to offend, AOM, but I hate the banks. After all the terrible things they've done in the recent past, the bad publicity they have suffered, and they still try to to screw their customers with all kinds of old and new fees, fine-print policies, and innovative new programs . . . ugh. No offense though, AOM.

TweetI hope you notified craigs list about this guy

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Originally Posted by Testify

Thanks for the explanations AOM. That was a good read - I'm happy I have never been contacted by one of these scam artists. I'd be suspicious, and probably would not go through with it, but without knowing the ins-and-outs of check liability . . . I'm happy to have never been given that choice. LOL

A comment about the bank placing a hold on larger checks - it happens to me once in a while, and I always get pissed about it because the check is almost always from a known institution, and usually I need the funds soon! I usually don't argue with the bank about this stuff because it doesn't happen often, but we all know that computers have been around a while and they can clear a check as soon as they want to do it - I have always thought the reason for these holds is REALLY so that the bank can use my money to make more money for the bank, right? I know my check is nothing compared to the volume of assets that are handled each day, but a 3-7 day hold on all checks over $1k can really add up to a nice profit if the bank uses that money intelligently, right? It is just another way for the banks to make/take money (if you factor in the interest rate in a normal economy) from the customers without their knowledge. Don't mean to offend, AOM, but I hate the banks. After all the terrible things they've done in the recent past, the bad publicity they have suffered, and they still try to to screw their customers with all kinds of old and new fees, fine-print policies, and innovative new programs . . . ugh. No offense though, AOM.

No offense taken at all. The hardest thing to explain to people is that a bank is a money making business. They're not a Non Profit Organization. Credit Unions are not for profit, but not banks. I do admit, some banks fee their customers for the dumbest things in the world. Like bringing strapped cash into the banks for deposit. Seriously? If I bring you $10,000 cash to deposit, and it's strapped, you're gonna charge me $.50??? However, in all fairness to the banks, there are people that work there. And they need to be paid for the job they do. So those minor fees that people get charged really are justified in most cases. Stop payment fees, bounced check fees, wire fees, all those things cost a bank money. And on top of costing the bank money, the bank also has to pay an employee to keep meticulous records as defined by the government. So there's a lot more behind the scenes stuff that people don't realize.

Tweetyea...i'm pretty happy with our bank. i've had our tellers actually tell me what you said AOM...about having it clear in a day or two. also, my teller told me, if i deposit a check through my atm, from anywhere, personal of whatever, it will clear automaticly the next morning. if i deposit, upto 5k before midnight, i can acess it after midnight...i love that, lol!!! my bank is tcf.


(and ofcourse we reported them to craiglist as well as ups for the account number)

TweetDave, my sincerest apologies. I have no idea how the thread got hijacked by me. I normally don't do that. So my apologies. However, Just one final note to everyone out there....... Doing little things for your bank tellers can go a loooooong way. Example, one day, bring a pizza in for your tellers. Or bring a few sandwiches in. Christmas, order them lunch. Whatever. That $12 you spend on them will probably save you more money in the future. Next time you need a check to clear quick, it just may happen. Or next time you need a $15 bank check, it might just be free. I tell everyone, "I just manage the money and profitability. My tellers are the ones who run the show".

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Originally Posted by angryoldman

Dave, my sincerest apologies. I have no idea how the thread got hijacked by me. I normally don't do that. So my apologies. However, Just one final note to everyone out there....... Doing little things for your bank tellers can go a loooooong way. Example, one day, bring a pizza in for your tellers. Or bring a few sandwiches in. Christmas, order them lunch. Whatever. That $12 you spend on them will probably save you more money in the future. Next time you need a check to clear quick, it just may happen. Or next time you need a $15 bank check, it might just be free. I tell everyone, "I just manage the money and profitability. My tellers are the ones who run the show".

just the natural flow of the conversation bro!!! i dont sweat that shyt, you know better!! lol....
i agree...i am polite, flirtatious (well...i'm like that with most chicks and i find that it suits me well, lol) and always try to be curtious. and i've had bank managers erase a shyt load of bounce check and over draft fee's from when i had my car lott!!! (not my personal account, but it was the same bank and they can charge it to the other account!!)....it was high hundreds in fees!!! being a good dude comes back to ya

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Originally Posted by daved150

just the natural flow of the conversation bro!!! i dont sweat that shyt, you know better!! lol....
i agree...i am polite, flirtatious (well...i'm like that with most chicks and i find that it suits me well, lol) and always try to be curtious. and i've had bank managers erase a shyt load of bounce check and over draft fee's from when i had my car lott!!! (not my personal account, but it was the same bank and they can charge it to the other account!!)....it was high hundreds in fees!!! being a good dude comes back to ya

Amen on that brotha! I should write a book on shit that goes on behind closed doors in the bank. This thread gave me a good idea! Anyone know a good publisher?