🚀 go-pugleaf

Although I don't normally respond to people who don't provide an email
address, since you also emailed this to me anonymously, I thought I
should.  I think you should reread my post.  Of course I understand that
a check would be honored if funds are available at the time it is
cashed.  The original person deposited the check in their checking
account at their own, non-Crestar bank.  It was returned due to
insufficent funds.  That means, at the exact time that the check was
delivered to Crestar, the Crestar account couldn't cover it.  The
individual then took it upon himself to try to cash it personally at
Crestar.  My problem with this is, if the check had just been rejected a
few days earlier by Crestar (through the other bank), why would an
individual believe that attempting to cash the check again would give
any more joy?  The only difference between cashing at the issuing bank,
and depositing it into your own account, is that you will know instantly
whether the check will clear by doing it at Crestar.  If the account 
(still) had insufficient funds to cover it, it would be rejected again.

Certainly, he could get lucky.  Maybe the check issuer made another
deposit.

But normally, when you get a bad check (and it's not a "really" bad
check - that is a forgery or closed account) - you call the check writer
back and ask for another one.

Jamie

C. wrote:
> ...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.