What's with the banks in VA?

[Pin Wizard]

I can see I'll soon be changing to a third bank...if I can find a decent one! In FL I got my canceled checks back in my statement each month without a charge. I didn't even think to ask about it at the banks here, just figured it's like that all over. Ha! They charge $10 a month and only send COPIES of my canceled checks! They tell me they keep the originals. WHY? Makes no sense to me. Especially the important ones like the IRS, property taxes, etc. I want those for my files!! Guess I'll be calling banks to see who sends the originals back!

Sheesh! I hate to think that I'll never be closing my Florida accounts because they'll send them.

 

[Octoberbride03]

I don't know much about banks here considering i haven't lived here long. I just added my name onto my DH's wachovia account when i moved here. But in PA there were several local banks that kept original checks and just sent copies. And some accounts you didn't get them back at all.

Honestly, if you use a carbon checkbook and keep it up to date then you might never need to have the check. DH and i don't get our checks back. But he keeps such good records that if any one of them went missing or we needed it we could likely get the bank to send it to us. But on the whole I don't reccommend Wachovia and if it weren't such a pain to stop DH's direct deposit we would probably look for a new bank ourselves.

GL

 

[gdulaney]

Just a suggestion, but before you close your account, you may want to read up on Check 21 and how that will change the way folks get cancelled checks back. With Check 21, many banks will be changing what you get back with your statement.

Here are some sites that have info regarding Check 21:
http://www.consumersunion.org/finance/ckclear1002.htm
http://www.bankersonline.com/check21/

Ginny

 

[Pin Wizard]

OMG, Ginny! What a nightmare that's going to be!!

I think EVERY merchant, etc. should expect payments by debit card rather than go through this nightmare! Personal experience...My first checking account when I had my first job...A company cashed a $5 check I wrote as $55 which caused my check to my health insurance company to bounce and cancel my policy! After a bunch of red tape, they made my policy active again. NOT FUN! And having worked in Accounts Receivable for a cable TV company years ago, I know that whenever a customer complains that they paid a bill and we didn't show it, they had to send a copy of the front and back of the original check to us. Usually, it somehow was credited to the wrong account number. What proof do we have with this thing going into effect? NONE! It says that if the bank will even provide us with a copy of a check, it DOESN'T HAVE TO BE LEGIBLE. Great! Ha! Try and get your account credited properly with that! And they can determine how long the original checks are kept before "destroying" them!

Thanks for the links. Passing those along to others also. What a nightmare this will be. They're really pushing us towards that cashless society we've been hearing about for years.

 

[Pin Wizard]

Originally posted by gdulaney
Just a suggestion, but before you close your account, you may want to read up on Check 21 and how that will change the way folks get cancelled checks back. With Check 21, many banks will be changing what you get back with your statement.

Here are some sites that have info regarding Check 21:
http://www.consumersunion.org/finance/ckclear1002.htm
http://www.bankersonline.com/check21/

Ginny

So I may as well stay with the bank down the street instead of hunting down one who will currently return my checks but won't be by October.

I need the flaming smilie.

 

[gdulaney]

Sandy --

I'm sure that I didn't brighten your Monday....sorry for the Check 21 news... I work for a bank and trust me...we aren't looking forward to it either. Lots of clients want their checks back!!!! From a business standpoint, it does make sense...as it reduces the ability of some folks to "play the float game" and write bad checks.

Ginny

 

[Pin Wizard]

LOL! When I saw those links I thought...Ginny must work for a bank. This is not general info that's out there. No, it didn't brighten my day, but I think you've saved me from wasting time trying to find another bank. I'll just have to live with this.

You really wonder about the people that come up with these things.

 

[Pin Wizard]

P.S. The IRS does take payment by credit card these days, don't they? If so, that's the way I'm going! Again, payment by debit card.

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

I didn't think any bank actually sent the returned checks back to you. I haven't had a bank do that in years. I've been using the Virginia Credit Union for years b/c they charge no fees at all.

 

[Pin Wizard]

FL seems to be behind the times compared to the rest of the country on many things. However, this is one thing I'm glad they are behind on!

I find it frightening because if a place says they don't have your payment, it's up to you to provide proof that you did pay and they received it. And just because your statement says a check is paid does not mean they are the ones that received it and cashed it! That's happened where I worked also. Then what? You have to pay them again. If the checks are destroyed, you have no proof they received the payment...if they did. FRIGHTENING!!!!!

 

[zagafi]

Will Check 21 also apply to Credit Unions?

 

[my3kids]

I had never gotten checks back. We opened an account at a small, local bank and I got checks back in the mail. I had no clue what I was supposed to do. Seemed like a waste to me. I don't want them back. I think only one time in my 25 year check writing career have I actually needed a copy of a check. I just calle the bank and they sent me the information.

Why does one need the piece of paper?

 

[Pin Wizard]

I like the paper in my hand! LOL! I don't trust the post office, the banks, the companies to get it all correct. If I pay $1,200 in taxes, I want to be sure the IRS received it and credited it to MY SS number. If I pay a bill, I want to know it's properly credited. Suppose I pay a bill and send a $500 check but they say they haven't received it? I get a copy from the bank that is HOPEFULLY legible. Even on the originals, some of the printing on the back of the canceled check is so light. How can you read it on a copy? The company I paid won't credit my account unless they have proof. If I can't show proof, I owe them the money and am out of luck...ie, lost $500...because I don't know who did cash it. Ouch!

 

[gdulaney]

Here's some more info...

Check 21 creates a new legal document, called the "substitute check," which can be used for proof of payment or for any other reason that might require an original cancelled check.

At least with the bank where I work, our clients have the option, through internet banking, to view/print check copies online. The copies are very clear and available much quicker than waiting for your bank statement.

Here's another website with information:
http://www.federalreserve.gov

Another thing that you might want to read up on... Electronic Check Conversion. Electronic Check Conversion, while simiar to Check 21, is another check processing enhancement. These converted payments are different from check payments, in that they will appear on your bank statement as electronic payments rather than checks paid.

Happy Monday!!
Ginny

 

[my3kids]

The check thing that has freaked me out happened at Old Navy and The Gap. I wrote them checks which they took. A couple of seconds later they returned the check to me saying they had automatically debited my account instead of sending the check through the system. Weird. I should have just used my debit card.

 

[my3kids]

The check thing that has freaked me out happened at Old Navy and The Gap. I wrote them checks which they took. A couple of seconds later they returned the check to me saying they had automatically debited my account instead of sending the check through the system. Weird. I should have just used my debit card.

 

[Pin Wizard]

I'm with you, my3kids. That happened to me when I was at a car dealership for service. I told her that it would have been much easier to hand her my debit card than to write the check. She agreed.

Are banks, merchants planning on informing banking customers of this in an organized way? If it weren't for me posting this question and having the great luck of Ginny answering, I would never have a clue.

I read the parts pertaining to "substitute checks." None of my banks have mentioned this to me. I'm under the impression I would just be getting copies of my checks...apparently not proof of payment to anyone! I would think the bank should have mentioned receiving "substitute checks." Now I suppose I'll have to go in and specifically request that. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm...can't wait to see what they charge for that if plain old copies are $10 a month.

And it mentions about how to have any amounts recredited if a check is cashed twice , etc. They set a limit of $2,500 being recredited? If your check is written for more, they'll only recredit $2,500? I would think banks should be giving out written info on all this. And if they cash a check for the wrong amount, ie, the check of mine wriitten for $5 that was cashed for $55, they won't/might not recredit my account for the error unless I'm receiving "substitute checks"? Plus the 10 days to recredit!! Geez! I hate to think of what can bounce in the meantime.

"Consumers will get new rights for some electronically processed checks, but not for others. When a so-called "substitute check" is provided to a consumer, Check 21 gives the consumer a right to have funds of up to $2,500 recredited to the consumer's account in 10 business days if the check is paid twice, paid for the wrong amount, or otherwise paid in error. The statute is ambiguous about whether this new right applies when a paper substitute check is used in the processing of the check but is not returned to the consumer. The regulations restrict the right of recredit only to checks where the consumer was provided with a substitute check. If a check is processed electronically by all the banks it is routed through without the use of a substitute check and the consumer is not provided with a substitute check, then the check remains under state check law. In that case, the consumer does not receive a 10 day right of recredit even if the electronic image of the check is paid twice, paid for the wrong amount, or if both the electronic image and the paper check are paid."

I have to admit that the bills I pay first are those I can pay online at their web site. Used to pay all my FL utilities that way. Hmmm...I haven't seen that available for my utilities in VA yet. Guess I'll keep hunting! I'm surprised I can't pay my electric, gas, etc. that way. Don't think I want to sign up for bill paying through the bank...another charge!

 

[phamton]

My bank in Texas stopped giving us our checks back almost 3 years ago. We just get a paper that has a small xerox copy of each check (about 30 check per page.) If I need a copy of the check, I go online pull up that check and print both the front and the back of the check fullsize.

I liked it better that way, not having boxes full of old checks. This also cuts down on fraud as people were having their bank statments stolen from their mailboxes. Then the old checks were bleached and Voila! new checks for the thieves to use.

 

[Pin Wizard]

That's pretty neat, phamton. Thirty checks on a page! Wow! Must need a magnifying glass. Does your bank charge a fee for that?

 

[gdulaney]

Sandy-

Your bank will probably start notifying customers via "statement stuffers"... I got mine with my July statement.

Ginny