Would you put a stop payment on this check?

[npmommie]

I pay my car insurance by eft from an account at our credit union. Have been doing it like this for about 10+ years.
my payment for february got messed up by the credit union, they bounced it back to the insurance company saying customer does not authorize

I found out from a letter I got from the insurance company.
So I call my agent, and they tell me to send off the check to the insurance company and next month ( march )it will go back to the auto deductions from my account.

so anyway, I send the check it gets cashed, all is well, until march rolls around and they do not direct debit my account for the insurance payment
I got a bill instead, so I call and they say i have to sign the eft authorization card again, ok fine whatever,
so I send in my March payment along with the eft card signed.

they call me saying they did not get my march payment, but they got the eft card.
I say well, the check was in the envelope with the eft card

well they admit it was their error they lost my check. they have no idea what happened to it!

the insurance company insists that if it inadvertantly got left in the envelope that those are in trash that gets shredded because of the bar codes

So anyway, I just did the payment by phone, and now they assure me the eft payments will restart in april.

but I am mad the insurance company lost my check. its made out to the insurance company so no one else can cash it, but still , who knows where it is, and all that information on a check.

so would you put a stop on the check?
I am leaning towards not, because I don't want to pay the fee, and plus if it does end up cashed its the insurance anyway.

would you be upset over this too?

 

[JessicaR]

10+ years and one slip, I would let it go as a mistake that happened. I wouldnt stop payment on that check for same reasons you gave. Hope its all straightened out for April.

 

[terri01p]

 

[The Mystery Machine]

No I wouldn't however like a pp, I woould keep an eye on my checkbook.

 

[happygirl]

I would let my bank know what's going on. If someone get that check there is nothing to stop them taking all of your money out of your account. I would problaby close that accont and open another one.

 

[DrCavin]

I would let my bank know what's going on. If someone get that check there is nothing to stop them taking all of your money out of your account. I would problaby close that accont and open another one.

 

[Traveliz]

I would let my bank know what's going on. If someone get that check there is nothing to stop them taking all of your money out of your account. I would problaby close that accont and open another one.

Now what makes you think that? No one would ever cash a check anywhere ever if that was the case.

Liz

 

[npmommie]

I would let my bank know what's going on. If someone get that check there is nothing to stop them taking all of your money out of your account. I would problaby close that accont and open another one.

How would they withdraw all my money?
I have had this account for years, at least 7 years and direct dep goes into it, it would be a major hassel to open another account.
uggh.
I will call the bank and see what they say.

 

[happygirl]

Now what makes you think that? No one would ever cash a check anywhere ever if that was the case.

Liz

Wow, those checks also don't get lost and no one has any idea where they might have gone. You have no idea who has that check now.

 

[KAMLEM]

I would let my bank know what's going on. If someone get that check there is nothing to stop them taking all of your money out of your account. I would problaby close that accont and open another one.

The check is made out to the insurance company for a specific dollar amount. How in the world is this going to happen???

 

[FireDancer]

I would let my bank know what's going on. If someone get that check there is nothing to stop them taking all of your money out of your account. I would problaby close that accont and open another one.

No need to go to that extreme. Lost personal checks aren't normally washed and cashed any more.

If you have been a member in good standing for a while at the credit union you may be able to get the stop payment fee waived. Talk to the branch manager.

 

[happygirl]

The check is made out to the insurance company for a specific dollar amount. How in the world is this going to happen???

I don't think anyone is going to cash it, They can get your account number of the check.

 

[m&m's mom]

Well so could anyone that ever got one of your checks.
I definitely would not both placing a stop pay, much less close out the acct.
If it cashes I would sure take the cancelled check to the CU and have them credit you for that amount since their error.

 

[phillmolly]

I used to work for a bank and I see no reason at all for you to close your account. Chances are the insurance company shredded your check and even if they didn't, the check is made payable to them. It's not like you have a blank check out there floating around. And as far as your account info goes, every time you write a check all your info is out there, from the cashier at the store to who ever process the companys deposit. The only (and I stress only) time I would ever recommend for a customer to close there account is if both account info and ID were stolen at the same time, and even then only if the customer was really upset. If anything ask the credit union to put an alert on your account.

 

[KAMLEM]

I don't think anyone is going to cash it, They can get your account number of the check.

It's pretty easy for someone to get an account number. Anytime you write a check there are probably dozens of people who have access to it. I wouldn't worry about that issue.

 

[npmommie]

Thanks for all the input, I am just going to leave it, and if it gets cashed it will just be a double payment to my insurance. It is made out to them so hopefully no one else will try to cash it.

it still confuses me how they lost it, the envelope had 3 pieces of paper in it, the check , the bill pay coupon, and the EFT author. card.
and the bill pay coupon was what showed the address thru the envelope to mail it


I just can't understand the carelessness of people. I understand human error does happen, but if my job was opening envelopes I would make sure I got everything out of the envelope that was in there.

 

[scrapquitler]

Personally, I wouldn't do anything except make sure I have enough to cover that check 'just in case'. If somewhere along the way someone else cashes the check, that is fraud and the bank won't hold you liable. Maybe the insurance company will eventually find the check on someone's desk somewhere, and you'll just end up with a month's payment as a credit. I wouldn't stress about it.

 

[onyx8]

I would stop payment on it. It's only like $20 to stop payment and it will buy you peace of mind. Someone else could certainly cash that check.

 

[DrCavin]

I would stop payment on it. It's only like $20 to stop payment and it will buy you peace of mind. Someone else could certainly cash that check.

OP's insurance company is the only one who can cash it.