A Bank Teller's Ode to the Dumb (Sorry for the language)

[MoonChild2007]

Yesterday, I had a woman who wanted to cash a check for $40 which was made payable to both HER and her husband. He didn't sign it but she signed it. She wnated to cash it and I tell her that he needs to sign it cause its made payable to both parties. I tell her that and she says, "you won't give me $40?" . Look, just because something is a small amount that DOESN'T mean that I won't get in trouble for it. After getting BURNED too many times because these idiots don't give a crap about how the bank works and what a nasty supervisor I have, I am not playing around anymore.

I even had a customer who wanted to deposit 4 checks that didn't even belong to him to his account. Not to mention, I didn't KNOW any of these people. I told him no, but he gives me the BULLSHIT line, "I have been doing it for years". Yeah and this time its going to stop. I have been burned by people like you especially when it comes to GOVERNMENT CHECKS. One of the checks was for 1400 and was made payable to SOMEBODY ELSE. I have had TWO government checks come back because I was too damn stupid to just say no. Now really, how do i know that the guy didn't just pick up this check? What's the kicker is that if he had been doing this years, how come NONE of the checks EVER came back? I cashed a social security check 4 months ago and it came back. How the hell did this guy NOT get in trouble? I am DONE with this shit. If its NOT your check, i am not cashing nor depositing it. I don't care how long you have been at this bank, or how much money you have. I am sick of getting in trouble because of scum like you!

Also, can someone please explain to me why people let OTHER people deposit or cash THEIR hard earned money? Especially those who don't have ANY accounts with us? I mean, why? Why give somebody else YOUR money that YOU have no access to? ( I am talking payroll checks, government checks, etc) What if you need that money? How do you know that the person you given the check to won't SPEND it all and leave YOU with nothing? Never, never, will i give my payroll check to anybody, especially if I have NO access to it. They use the excuse that the person has no account. Why don't they open an account then? I mean, its not THAT difficult! Also, I am not around these customers 24/7 so I can't entirely understand how "they signed over to me" is good enough reason.

Its good these things happen to me cause now, I know NOBODY can be trusted. I don't care if they get offended if I question them anymore, if these assholes would stop screwing the bank, maybe we wouldn't have questioned you. I am done playing around.

Sorry for the rant but I HAVE to get this off my chest.

[Crazeyal]

Yeah... People always want "favors" but can't consider what happens to YOU if there's trouble. That's what rules and managers are for, just tell em no.. every time. Be like me, the madder and nastier they get, the happier you get. DRIVES EM CRAZY!!!

[Shengirl]

That's funny; I myself was wondering why people can put things in their account that aren't written out to them. For instance, my mom got a $10 refund check from the government because they temporarily upped the price of some vehicle fee, then reduced it again. She was basically too lazy to make a special trip to the bank for just $10, so she gave it to me.

"But it's not made out to me!"

"Just sign it. I deposit all kinds of things in my account."

And, lo and behold, the teller took it without a peep! I mean, my mom's name used to be on my account (I was too young to have one on my own at first), but it isn't on there any longer. She has no accounts at this bank at all, nowadays. So try not to be tooo mad at the customers (though rudeness is still never acceptable) - try being mad at the banks and tellers that do this stuff and make the SCs feel like they're in the right.

[Bright_Star]

IF someone signs over their payroll check to someone else to cash it for them & they end up spending it before the sucker gets it then it's the fault of the idiot giving their check to them. Who'd be stupid enough to do that?
Like you said, what's so hard about opening up your own account?

[MoonChild2007]

What upsets me the most is that certain teller would ALLOW certain customers to do it. I mean, they tell us not to do it but yet, they can bend the rules for them? Oh, cause they KNOW them? Do you really KNOW them cause just because the same customers come in that doesn't mean we actually KNOW them. Some customers will even get upset if we (aka the ones who actually FOLLOW the rules and are new) don't bend the rules for them. I don't care if so so knows you, I don't know YOU well enough to do anything i am not SUPPOSED TO DO.

try being mad at the banks and tellers that do this stuff and make the SCs feel like they're in the right.

Read above.

[Der Cute]

MC, are you saying that if a customer comes up to you with a check written to George Smith (let's say a payroll/official looking one) and GS signed on the back of the check to Customer Person....

That you cannot/ will not deposit into the account of Customer Person? Two party checks are authorized all over the place (bankwise) last time I looked!

Cutenoob

[BookstoreEscapee]

I often give checks to my mom to cash for me. Reason being, my accounts are currently at a credit union that was very convenient for me when I opened them, but no longer is since I moved out of my ex's place, and even less so since I changed jobs. One of these days I will open an account at a regular bank that has branches all over the place. So if all I want to do is cash a check, it's easier just to give it to my mom and she'll do it when she's out and about.

Other difference is, my mom's middle name is the same as my first name, and she goes by her middle name, therefore technically, a check written to me DOES have her name on it (depending on where the check comes from, eg a friend or a business, she might have a check written to her in either name). When I first opened the credit union account there was a branch in the building my parents worked in, and I would often give them checks and whatnot to deposit in my account. My mother's name was also on my account for that very reason.

If for some reason the teller refused to cash a check, however, my mother would just bring it home and tell me I have to do it myself. She's not an SC, you see... (most of the time, anyway).

[MoonChild2007]

Well, if the check says, "pay to the order of George Smith" and its made payable to let's say Linda Smith and george wants to cash it or deposit it its okay. I am only talking about the checks that are signed by both people.

That you cannot/ will not deposit into the account of Customer Person? Two party checks are authorized all over the place (bankwise) last time I looked!

Cutenoob

Not double endorsed checks.

[WorkAtBBuy]

Well I, my grandma, and my mom are all account holders at a bank called something along the lines of "Watchadoin'overthere-via". Since I don't have a car, I'll fill out the deposit slip and endorse my paycheck and ask my grandpa to take it to the bank for me. Is that kosher?

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Well people don't open bank accounts because sometimes the banks won't let them. I had the same checking account for 6 years in Santa Fe. I closed it when I moved, as it was at a small local bank. Now, when I was in college in Santa Fe, I'd had a savings account with Wells Fargo for a specific reason. I stopped using it after a while. I forgot that if the account had less than a hundred dollars in it that they would charge me a three dollar monthly fee. Being in college and preoccupied, I made the mistake of assuming they would just close it after a long time of inactivity. There was something like seven dollars in it when I abandoned it. I was too busy to go wait in line to have it closed. Not that that's an excuse, but that's what happened.

When I tried to open a checking account in Portland, I discovered that Wells Fargo had been charging me that three dollars a month for nearly a year before they closed the account. It now had a negative balance of around $75, so they sent it to collections and reported it to the credit bureaus. I could not find a bank in Portland who would let me open an account because this is listed on my credit report as bank account fraud. I have to wait five years, until it's purged from my record. I have to cash my paychecks at check cashing places, and they charge a lot for the privilege. So sometimes a friend of mine cashes my check in her checking account, then a day later she with draws the cash and gives it to me. ( I do sign it over to her, though. We know the tellers won't deposit it otherwise.)

I don't even have bad credit, other than this one ding, but because it's listed as 'bank account fraud', no bank will deal with me. I seriously doubt I'm the only one this has ever happened to.

[powerboy]

Well people don't open bank accounts because sometimes the banks won't let them.

I was about to say that.

[MoonChild2007]

Now That i could understand but I still wouldn't give somebody my check to cash or deposit. I don't care if I have to pay a fee if I cash it at a check cashing place. Nobody has proven to me that they could be trustworthy. If somebody gave me a check to cash for them, I would refuse.

[wagegoth]

I kept my last name when I got married. It ticks me off no end when dealing with businesses because they will accept stuff with a woman's name on it from a man, and vice versa, if it's the same last name, because they automatically assume it's a husband/wife situation, but I have to prove myself every time.

The one that really bugs was last summer. We received a tax refund check from the state made out to both of us (joint filers). Hubby signed it, then I deposited it in my account. Cleared without any problems. Two weeks later, I do the same thing with the federal tax refund. This time they held it up. No one called; they mailed it back to me, so I didn't know it hadn't cleared for a week. Happily, I hadn't written any checks on it, so no problems there, but I'd like some consistency.

We both went down to the bank, presented ID, resigned the check, and they put it through.

If they had notified me, or held up the state check, I would have known the requirements of the bank, but because each teller seems to make up their mind on the fly, I can't count on what will happen next.

I really like my bank; they normally make a genuine effort at good customer service, and have always been friendly and helpful, but they need to get some policies in place.

[MoonChild2007]

wagegoth, did you find out why the check was mailed back to you?

Oh, another great story. a woman wanted to cash her check (both of which were not on us checks. I tell her to present some ID, she then tells me that her account was on the back (like that matters?) I again told her to present some ID, she huffed and puffed about it. That dumb bitch wouldn't be huffing if somebody stole HER checks and cashed them.

but because each teller seems to make up their mind on the fly, I can't count on what will happen next.

This is where I could understand some customers (the HONEST ones) being frustrated if we don't something that they have been doing for a long time. Sometimes the best thing to do is to say NO the first time and we wouldn't have the problem. I tell customers right off the bat that I can't do it.

[wagegoth]

Moonchild:

They mailed it back because both our names were on it, and my husband was not on the account. The thing that ticked me off was that we had to both come down in person and resign the check and present ID. I specifically asked why I had to do that, as my signature was on file. But, no, we both had to come down.

BTW, do your teller stations have the thick, bullet-proof plexiglass? I always thought it was sort of odd, as the officers desk area wasn't the same. I mean, couldn't a robber grab one of the officers and use them as a hostage? And the teller supervisor comes out to the main area all the time, carrying her keys.