Bank Of America Charges You To Cash Its Own Checks If You're Not A Customer
Bank of America doesn't think cashing checks drawn on its own accounts is a service that should be free to no-name people who come in off the streets—they want $6 for that privilege, one reader recently discovered.
Here's what Kerry wrote to BoA about the incident:
I wanted to share with you my experience today and tell you what kind of an effect it had on me.
I had a check that was drawn on B.O.A. from my employer. I decided to simply cash it at B.O.A. rather than mess around with my account since it was only an $18.00 check. I was told there would be a $6.00 fee to cash this check. I left the bank rather surprised since it was DRAWN on a B.O.A. account. I then left and went down the street to cash it. The fee to cash it was $1.80 and I was fine with that fee as it was reasonable. I paid it without a second thought.
Okay guys, lets cut to the chase here, I know times are tough, and I know that any of you couldn't care less what someone thinks about your banks, especially since you can fail and fail and the government will force us tax payers to save your behinds. Let me tell you though, the vast majority of people are fed up with bogus fees and poor service.
People now are looking for real quality and value, and I know from reading so many articles on the Consumerist.com that B.O.A. often drops the ball on both issues. It would seem to me that in an effort to drum up some new business or at least keep the business you already have, you may want to reconsider such unreasonable and unnecessary fees.
I know that if things would have gone a bit differently today I might be inclined to defend B.O.A. the next time they appear on the pages of the Consumerist...(and we all know that B.O.A will again grace the pages of the Consumerist.) I might even be inclined to do business with B.O.A. at some point.
I can only hope that someday, the tax payers will not be forced to keep you in business and at that time you will be forced to care, maybe at such time B.O.A. executives will remember the countless emails and comments regarding customer service and implement a more caring, nicer, friendly, and less hostile B.O.A. in the future.
We couldn't have put it better ourselves, and sadly it isn't just Bank of America that tries to screw over non-customers. You'd think when a non-customer presents a check drawn on that bank at a branch location, it would be a perfect opportunity to show that customer how awesome the bank is, and maybe even (shudder) attempt to upsell the customer. At BoA, however, even non-customers are punished, just for walking in the door.
(Photo: TheTruthAbout...)
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I think that's OK. You don't use their services all the time, you pay more. It's like paying money to get in an airport frequent-flyer club lounge because you're not a member cardholder.
$6 to cash a check? $1.60 to cash a check???
I don't find either of those acceptable. Heck, I don't think I have every paid anything to cash a check. Open a free account somewhere and cash checks there. Simple enough. (I have accounts at 3 credit unions, and 1 bank in my area - plenty of choices.)
Tell your employer to add an additional $6 to all checks to cover the cost of cashing them.
my place of employment uses wells fargo as their bank.
i bank with wells fargo, so it makes it easy for me.
if you aren't a wells fargo employee and you DO NOT HAVE your employee ID they will charge you a fee. otherwise, you can show your work ID to get the check cashed for free.
The OP hit the nail on the head when he said that it does not matter if the bank fails because the taxpayers will be forced to pay for bailouts. They can do anything they want to us and know that they will stay in business. This kind of treatment has made me glad that I don't do any business with BofA and since they are a zombie bank I will never will. This fee is worse than a payday lender.
HSBC started doing this too. I'm moving my account elsewhere, but for other reasons (namely screwing up my account such as to strand me without money while out of the country.)
I have multiple accounts at my local credit union and I know I can walk in to any branch and cash a check without giving them my account number, pretty sure any non-member may be allowed to do this so long as the check was cut from them and they present photo id. I have no idea why BoA is still in business, I quit them when I was 12 and they charged me for not keeping a certain minimum balance in a checking account. I didn't even know I had a checking account, turns out they opened one for me and said they were able to do so because my mom was cosigned on that account. That was 15 years ago.
@Artagnan:
About the jetfuel thing, you do know that airlines buy in fuel in bulk?
You're telling me that if you bought 100 barrels of oil at $90, then price drops down to $45, you're going sell that oil at $45?
I agree the charge is too much, especially when you can go down a block and get a better price. But your other points are flawed.
A fee for an extra bag or if it weighs too much is reasonable. People way over pack on small trips. I've seen people on three day trips carry three large bags. If everyone does that, it's valid to charge for bags.
And the fuel fee, yeah that's lame, but fuel being cheaper? Airlines buy fuel in advance on contracts. Fuel cheaper today doesn't mean cheaper flight today, but maybe a year down the line.
Just saying your logic is flawed. But I agree.
I had to pay check cashing places to cash my checks for 3+ years because Chase refused to cash checks drawn on their accounts under any circumstance. I had a bogus blot on my credit history that amounted to $5 which I had much trouble getting removed. No bank in NY would give me an account because of this and Chase refused to cash my paychecks, even at the very branch they were drawn off of. I was told "We aren't in the check cashing business".
So arrogant.
Meh. This is pretty standard. $6 is pretty hefty, but most banks are going to charge you for the convenience of cashing their checks if you're a non-customer. I think most banks do make exceptions for payroll checks though.
Key Bank also charges individuals to cash a personal check drawn on it's accounts. They will let you cash an electronic check drawn on a business account, but you must leave a thumb print on the check!
@Bearded Rapper: You're kidding, right? Let's say I have a BofA check and I deposit it into my checking account at another bank. Do you think my bank would take that crap if BofA said, "oh, we charge $6.00 to process the check" ?? Of course not. BofA is kicking the little guy because they can.
A check is a negotiable instrument, supposed to be payable upon demand to the institution the funds are drawn on. If a 3rd party check-cashing store wants to charge a fee, that's their decision. But the issuing bank shouldn't charge a fee to non-account holders.
Most banks charge a fee. The bank I work at charges a $5 fee for non-customers for cashing an on-us check over $50, and requires 2 forms of ID and a thumbprint. You can sign up for a free checking account and not deal with the hassle, or you can realize that these measures are in place to prevent fraud and just cash your check at your own bank for free (or Wal-mart for a lesser fee) next time. These measures have been in place for years, and are due to extensive fraud and counterfeiting issues.
Flame away if you will but Walmart cashes checks for much less than $6 - every Friday there's a huge line of people cashing checks who either get paid under the table or don't have a ssn# to set up a bank account.....oh wait BoA sets up bank accounts without socials too.
Wachovia does this as well. It's $5 per check there, even if drawn on one of their accounts.
I didn't realize there was an expectation that banks cash checks if you aren't an account holder. It seems like it makes sense for them to charge you a large fee for cashing a check there since they have no way of tracking you down if the check turns out to be a forgery or stolen. Even if the account is there, they won't know this stuff right away.
I'm just curious how much of a hassle it is for the OP to deposit a check that it's worth paying a 10% fee. Just go to the bank whenever you get a chance. When I worked at a grocery store we charged 1% and if it was under $100, we usually didn't even charge that.
BofA has been doing this for years. I remember back in 2004 taking a paycheck drawn on a BofA account to BofA to cash it and being charged $5 for the privilege.
This isn't new. I used to work for a lot of theatrical companies in the Los Angeles area, and a few of them wrote me bogus checks. I got into the habit of cashing the check at their bank, and then depositing the cash in my bank. I paid the fee to cash them, but it was worth it to me to not have to worry about whether or not the check was going to bounce.
Hey, they have been doing this in Canada for years.
I have never even tried to do anything at a bank I don't have an account at. Maybe ask them to notarize something, but that is about it.
Honestly, it wouldn't even occur to me to try to cash a check at a bank just because the account is based at that bank. Usually I deposit checks at an ATM, so I don't even interact with a teller for that. If I want cash, I grab that from the ATM at the same time.
I refuse to bank at Bank of America because they are complicit in identity theft by allowing illegals to bank there no questions asked.
They should be shut down for that reason alone.
Bank of America is not only being ridiculous here, they may be violating the terms of their agreement with their depositor. A check is a negotiable instrument that is payable on demand. The bank which maintains the account upon which it drawn must pay it upon presentment.
Generally speaking, refusing to cash a properly payable check drawn upon an account containing sufficient funds for the full face value of the instrument is a wrongful dishonor, and the bank is liable for all damages resulting from this dishonor.
Unfortunately, there's not much precedent for them being liable in the way of anything with regard to the payee of the dishonored check, just the customer who wrote it.
Even more unfortunately, banks can charge this fee (a "convenience fee") without risk of wrongful dishonor as long as it is specifically and explicitly listed in their agreement with the holder of the account against which the check is drafted.
This is ridiculous, but I have been through the exact same thing with Wells Fargo. I don't remember the fee, but I had a $25 check drawn by their bank and they wouldn't cash it for me.
I didn't have my own bank account so I regrettably opened one specifically to cash the check without taking a substantial (percentage) hit to the amount I'd receive after cashing it. What a joke.
@bones11:
Wal-mart is good for that. BofA only gives mortgages to people without a SSN not a checking account. (End Sarcasm)
@Artagnan: A few years ago, sometime in 2004 they did the same thing to me, so this fee is not new. That was the first time I dealt with BoA and the last. I could not believe that while other banks cashed checks from me when they were drawn from their own banks for Free, felt inclined to charge me.
Like I said.. First and last time I dealt with BoA, that was enough reason to never do any business with them. Schwab Bank FTW!
@lotussix: That's odd. I cashed my employer's check at Wells Fargo just a couple weeks ago and they didn't charge me a nickel. They even asked if I wanted to open a Wells Fargo account. I didn't take them up on it, but that's how banks should handle such a situation.
@coan_net: I am confused as well why the OP didn't want to "mess around with" their bank account. Don't most banks cash checks for free, as long as you have an account there? Or do I live in some special world? I mean, I've had accounts at 3 different banks and one credit union over the years, never had to pay to cash a check....
Of course I can understand the check-cashing fee if you're a non-customer. When you cash (as opposed to deposit) a check, the bank gives you the money only if you have enough in your bank account to cover the amount. The check could have bounced and then BoA would have no way to get the money back...well aside from charging the check writer a nice NSF fee but they'd lose their double dipping and wouldn't be able to charge the returned check fee.
@lotussix:
That's not correct. If the check is drawn on Wells Fargo, they do not charge a fee.
(They will try to get you to open an account, however.)
GET A BANK ACCOUNT YOU HILLBILLY
All of the big banks do this. I worked for 5/3 bank.
Their idea was that we are taking time away from our customers to help a non-customer. :/
AND they thought it was a good way to force a customer into a new account.
"You know, we have a free account that only takes a couple minutes to open, that way you don't have to pay the fee ever."
They make money off the account-holder. They make money off the person cashing the check. To me thats double-dipping and it's scummy. Banks and Insurance companies are the scurge of this world.
@chocolate1234: The bank that issued a check are the people (and the only people) who can cash it without any risk that the bank it's eventually routed to will reject it for lack of funds (or a bogus account number, or whatever other reason).
In short, they're a party (and the only party) who can reasonably be expected to cash it for free -- not on account of their relationship with the individual presenting the check, but on account of their relationship with the account holder and their unique firsthand knowledge of the status of that account. If any fee is charged at all, it should be far less than that charged by any entity incurring greater risk.
@snowmoon: Key Bank charges $10! I found this out when my grandparents gave me a check for my birthday on a Key Bank check and I decided to walk down the street to cash it rather than drive to my bank.
After laughing in the tellers face, I ended up driving to my bank.
I didn't even realize you could do something like this...I really don't see a problem with charging a small fee (although 6 dollars is insane) if you don't have an account there. How hard is it to put the check in an ATM (one near me even prints an image of the check on the receipt) anyway without any fees? It was only for a few dollars anyway and the OP obviously didn't need the money immediately.
@eelmonger: A fraudster would need to have massive balls to choose to try to present a fake check at the bank it's drawn on -- doing so means routing tricks (like those Frank Abignale pioneered) are completely useless, accounts lacking funds are immediately recognized (so there's much less certainty a fake check will be accepted, unless one knows the state of its issuing account), flags against an account are immediately visible to the teller, and the legitimate phone number of the account owner (rather than any fake number which might be printed on a fraudulent check) is visible to the teller and ready to be called for verification.
The issuing bank is better able to recognize a legitimate check drawn against their accounts than anyone else could possibly be, and they certainly don't charge $6.00 (or even $1.50) when another bank passes a check their way. How could it possibly be reasonable and legitimate to present that kind of charge to a consumer?
My brother had a similar problem. He had a regular rent check due at the same time every month. One time he was running really close to 0 on his account. They did not clear the check he gave to the landlord until, maybe, 10 days after the landlord cashed it into their bank. If he were not more savvy, then he might have though that there was a lot more money in his account than he actually had, thereby encouraging him to spend more, and then slapping him with the overage charges. Mind you, he was a sophomore in college, typically a free spender as far as the bank was concerned. Wow, who ever though that the banks are where my money feels least safe?
This is bullshit.
Banks CANNOT refuse to cash or charge a fee to cash a check that is drawn that bank.
If it is issued by that bank they are required by law to cash it with no fees.
They are allowed to charge a fee if you dont have an account there AND the check isnt from them.
Any bank refusing to perform this service is in violation of federal banking statutes.
@corsec67: There's an outstanding reason to present checks at the bank they're drawn on:
If other creditors are presenting checks remotely and you're presenting yours directly at the issuing bank, guess who gets screwed if they're issuing more checks than they have cash for?
I've been there: when a former employer with millions of dollars in debts suddenly was known to have a positive balance in the account my final paycheck was drawn on, I made damned sure to get to a branch of the issuing bank as fast as I possibly could -- and then called my (former) coworkers to make sure they knew too.
@fatcop: Is one required to be a citizen of the United States to have a checking account in the country?
@jswilson64: You're using their time and services without them receiving anything in return. Why in the world shouldn't they charge you a fee?
@TFA:
...sadly it isn't just Bank of America that tries to screw over non-customers.
Listen, business is business. If you're not a customer, no company should bend over backwards for you because you're too inconvenienced to go elsewhere. People are in business to provide goods and services to other people who pay for them, not provide charity to anybody who walks in. It's not "screwing people over."
That's weird. I cashed a $20 BOA check at a local BOA branch and I wasn't charged a fee.
@JiminyChristmas: I believe the Patriot Act now requires that you have to provide that information for any new bank account. I could be way off base, but I remember that from somewhere.
@JiminyChristmas: Some financial institutions run credit checks prior to setting up an account to determine if you are a risk and will end up costing them money in the long run.
BofA is being absolutely ridiculous here. Honestly, charging a fee for this is as ridiculous as charging me to check my baggage on a plane or pay a "fuel surcharge" to the airlines when the real price of jet fuel is lower than it has been when there was no such thing.
This is why banks have become known as some of the least customer-friendly institutions anywhere.