The Moneygram is too Large to Cash

[purplecat41877]

Yesterday, a customer came up to the service desk to receive a moneygram. Everything went fine up until she wanted to cash the moneygram check. Since it was a large amount, I checked with the assistant store director about cashing it and he vetoed it. I informed the customer that we couldn't cash the moneygram check and she mentioned that she really needed the money. She wouldn't accept that the moneygram check couldn't be cashed at the store since it was a large amount. I ended up paging the assistant store director to the service desk and he explained to her why the moneygram check couldn't be cashed in the store but gave her other alternatives like going to a bank to cash it.

[sarahj]

Is a moneygram like a check? "Gee, I just got this large amount of money sent to me in the form of a piece of paper. It has this bank name on it, and in fact I have something similar from my bank, but maybe I'll go down to the store and see if they'll give me my $1000 in cash." Is that the kind of thought process this customer went through?

[purplecat41877]

When receiving a moneygram, it can be received in the form of a check or it can be cashed as long as the amount isn't over the store limit. When sending a moneygram, the sender uses a special phone, comes over to the service desk with a slip that contains the confirmation number and the amount they wish to send along with a fee. The service desk employee puts the information through the moneygram machine and verifies the name of the sendee and amount with the customer. The customer pays for the moneygram, signs a slip, and receives the moneygram papers in a special jacket envelope.

[ominousoat]

I used to work at a teeny-tiny little grocery store that rarely, if ever, had $100 in the till. However, that never stopped people from coming to cash their payrolls with us. Everytime we'd get a sob-story about how all the banks were closed and they needed to pay something, and then they'd ask for the owner. Everyone in towns knew that the owner had absolutely no spine, so each and every time he'd clear out the tills and get something out of the safe to help them. I always wanted to scream at him and say "I AM FIFTEEN YEARS OLD AND I HAVE MORE GUTS THAN YOU! GROW SOME TOMATOS MAN!"

But no.

[SuperB]

I get the same. We dumped our ATM because people refused to grasp the concept of a limit. If I were sitting on thousands in cash every day would I still be there?
I had one girl want to cash a payroll check that she said the casinos wouldn't cash for her. No kidding! It looked fake.

Anymore, I refuse to cash anything (check/mo/payroll) unless it's from someone I know personally. I only take cash or credit with proper ID.

[BookstoreEscapee]

BN will cash employee paychecks but other than that, 3rd party checks are a big NO. Occasionally we'd get someone from another store wanting to cash their paycheck, then we'd ask for ID, but mostly it was our own employees on payday. Fridays we'd always hold off on doing cash pick-ups until we knew who wanted to cash their check. At one point we had pretty much the same crew on Fridays, and several people always cashed their checks, so I'd ask who wanted to cash, write them down and call them up as I got the money in my till. And a few people would just leave their check with me and I'd cash it whenever I could.

All the more reason why I like direct deposit.

[CrazedClerk]

I've run into this a couple of times and I just usually say that I don't have enough cash on hand to do it.

Also, I HATE walking around with large amounts of money on my person. I'd rather wait and take the check to a bank.

[sarahj]

Wow I had no idea so many people were given actual paychecks. Everyone I know gets direct deposit. If I need it in cash, I can go straight to an ATM or bank. I even got my tax return by direct deposit last year.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Wow I had no idea so many people were given actual paychecks. Everyone I know gets direct deposit. If I need it in cash, I can go straight to an ATM or bank. I even got my tax return by direct deposit last year.

hehe I don't remember the last time I went to my bank. I actually go to a credit union that had an office in the building where my parents worked, so usually I'd just send stuff with my mom or dad (my mom's name was on the account for that reason, too). They're retired now and the main branch is a 20 minute drive from my house. I used to live near there with my ex so it wasn't a problem, but now I think it's time to switch to a bank I can actually get to conveniently. I'm just waiting till I run out of checks My mom and I have the same name (well, my name is her middle name) so usually she doesn't have a problem cashing checks written to me so if necessary she can just cash a check for me at her bank. And Wawa always has free ATMs if I need cash.