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

[MoonChild2007]

Unforunately, we don't.

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.

See, the teller should have known better to deposit the check without checking the signatures and also, if checks are made payable to both you and your husband, you both have to sign it. Also, the government does not play around with their checks. If the check is forged, endorsed wrong, whatever, there is hell to pay. Believe me, I know.

[ColonelInTheKitchen]

"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. "

Because some people have been blackmarked by the bank and CANNOT open new accounts. I can't because a while ago (year or so I think), I put my sister in jail for stealing from my account (so much for trusting her) and my bank balance was much too high for me to pay. So it went unpaid and now Old National won't let me get an account ANYWHERE.

I know it's mostly my fault, but you really can't yell at everyone for not having an account. Sometimes it's not entirely within our control.

[MoonChild2007]

I see where you are coming from, ColonelInTheKitchen, but try telling that to our managers who will keep pressuring us to refer people to open accounts. I know its not your fault but sometimes checks will get returned for whatever reason and tellers get in trouble for it.

[Emrld]

I have an account that I set up in my name to put aside money for my Nephews and Niece. (They are under the age of 5) My family knows about this account and on occassion will add to it with checks of their own . . .like my b-i-l got a small bonus check and decided he wanted to add it to the account . . .so he endorsed it and deposited it to my account.

Also, on occassion with my work I will have a refund sent to me via check . . .so I in turn put the money back into the company account.

[Estil]

sAlso, 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?

In my case, it's because my wife (who's on disablity) cannot get a checking account in her own name (bad credit history) and thus has no choice but to sign the checks over to me so I can deposit them for her as it would be a physical/mental hardship for her to have to come to the bank with me each month (and the GRITS transportation would cost $4 round trip; essentially the same as if the bank charged $4 to deposit the check), so there ARE legitimate reasons why other people have to make the deposits.

[Estil]

I mean, couldn't a robber grab one of the officers and use them as a hostage?

With big brother (cameras), and all those witnesses (not to mention that exploding bag of pink money some places use)? I think the idea of committing a crime is not to get CAUGHT.

[Canarr]

I don't get the US account system, I'm afraid. Why should it be a problem to deposit money into an account that's not yours? I mean, you're putting money in, not withdrawing anything! Where's the problem?

[csdrone]

I don't get the US account system, I'm afraid. Why should it be a problem to deposit money into an account that's not yours? I mean, you're putting money in, not withdrawing anything! Where's the problem?

Identity theft. Thieves will bring in small deposits to access account information. Or verify the account. So banks will no longer take a deposit from anyone who is not on the account and does not have the account number.

[MoonChild2007]

I don't get the US account system, I'm afraid. Why should it be a problem to deposit money into an account that's not yours? I mean, you're putting money in, not withdrawing anything! Where's the problem?

Its not about that, its about putting somebody else's check into your account. How do we know that you didn't steal the check and sign your name on the bottom hoping nobody would notice? See, some people don't understand that stealing checks does exist and that those checks will be a loss to the bank if the person whose check was stolen and deposited into somebody else's account gets returned and the funds couldn't be collected cause the idiot spent it all.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

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?

That bank sounds similar to the one I use . . . Walk-All-Over-You.

My account is a joint account with my mom -both names are on the account. My mom's SSI check is direct desposited, as are my paychecks (thanks Kitty) and she also still receives a government check for my brother (whom she has guardianship over.) His check is still made out in her name for him, so therefore Walk-All-Over-You can accept that with no problem (it's also sent direct deposit.)


On occasion, we may receive a personal check from someone else made out to either one of us and we have no trouble putting that into the account. Just sign it and either cash it at the teller window and make a cash deposit at the ATM (cash deposits show automatically, while a check won't show until the next day) or just simply deposit the check.

Either way, there's no worries for us. But then, we've never experienced a situation where we were given a check made out to someone else. Maybe we're just weird that way