🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <341067BA.5865@digex.net>, jamie@digex.net says...
>
>
>Although not directly related to the discussion at hand, I'm a bit
>confused as to the situation here.
>
>Why should Crestar (as opposed to your bank) honor the check, if, as you
>said, it was rejected it due to insufficient funds?
>
>A bad check is a bad check.  I've never heard of anyone being able to
>cash a bad check simply going to the issuing bank personally.  The
>reason you couldn't cash it at your bank in the first place, is because
>Crestar themselves had rejected it due to insufficient funds.  Why would
>showing up there in person change that situation?
>
>Jamie

...obviously time for a lesson in bank operations. 

  When you walk into a bank and cash a cheque, the bank cashing the 
cheque has no idea at the time whether or not they cheque will clear. 
They can even call the other bank to verify funds in the account the 
cheque was drawn on, but this only means the cheque would be good AT THE 
TIME OF THE PHONE CALL. One big withdrawl and flush! the account is empty
and the cheque will bounce.
   The bank cashing the cheque gives you their *own* money expecting a 
settlement from the other institution for this amount; this settlement 
would debit the drawer's account and credit back the suspense account at 
the bank where you cashed the cheque. (Cashing cheques generates no 
revenue aside from any services charges incurred. They can actually cost 
banks money due to increased cash holdings this entails.)
 
  By taking a cheque to the bank it was DRAWN on (Crestar in this case), 
they can verify funds *immediately* to cash the cheque; this cannot be 
done at another institution.
 For example, if the cheque was NSF when it was made out, but a deposit 
had been made before you went to cash it, the cheque could clear. The 
payee would have to take the cheque to the bank it was drawn on to know 
this. Taking it to another bank puts the other bank in a potential loss 
situation as by the time the cheque gets sent out to clear, they account 
could be empty.
  The domicile institution can very often debit the account immediatley 
when you go in to cash a cheque drawn on them, so they are not often put 
in a potential loss situation. Also, account managers may at times 
authourize overdrafts on commercial accounts etc. that cannot be done in 
the clearing processes, also enabling you to cash the cheque.

  A bad cheque is not a 'bad cheque' as soon as there are sufficient 
funds in the account to cover it. It is not a matter of once a ...always 
a...

The payee has up to six months to redeem the cheque before it becomes 
stale-dated. As soon as funds are available the cheque can be cleared. 
Again, this is most effeciently done at the domicile institution as it 
prevents possible charge-back fees etc. etc. that may be incurred to the 
payee of the cheque.

  In general, cheques are ugly things. They create a huge paper trail, 
they are labour intensive, and require banks to constantly be putting 
themselves in potential loss situations,hence the insistance on 
providing ID.The issue, I beleive, is whether or not biometric 
information can be demanded.


 Cheques are not guaranteed funds. Insist that debtors use money orders 
or bank drafts to pay you, and you may get different reactions from 
banks. 

  Or just use cash.