Comments on: The Weakonomist Gets His First (And Last) Returned Check Fee

By: Myfreepedia.com » Blog Archive » Star Money Articles and Carnivals for the Week of June 15

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 04:53:00 +0000

[...] The Weakonomist gets his first returned check fee. [...]

By: Star Money Articles and Carnivals for the Week of June 15 | Debt Management - Thecreditcardfiles.com

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:45:50 +0000

[...] The Weakonomist gets his first returned check fee. [...]

By: rawhide58

rawhide58 — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:55:08 +0000

Of course, if you’re taking a check to Wachovia, you also get charged to cash a check drawn against their bank if you don’t have an account.

By: How To Write Your Congressmen And Senators | Weakonomi¢s

How To Write Your Congressmen And Senators | Weakonomi¢s — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:00:51 +0000

[...] to the RSS feed for free updates from Weakonomics.com.Powered by WP Greet BoxEarlier today I shared my story about Returned Check Fees. The end result is that it’s a bogus fee banks charge simply because they can get away with [...]

By: No fault auto insurance | Auto Insurance Blog

No fault auto insurance | Auto Insurance Blog — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:05:08 +0000

[...] Returned Check Fees Are A Ripoff | Weakonomi¢sDave C. No Gravatar Said,. June 16th, 2009 @10:51 am. The thing is, I believe you CAN have your auto insurance rates increased, by being in accidents that were not your fault. In terms of insurance theory, you are an increased risk if for some reason your are un-lucky enough to … IIRC, the fault in the accident determines who will pay the bulk of the payouts, but if you are in Florida (No-Fault laws) if the accident causer has no insurance, your insurance company pays. … read more… [...]

By: Donnie

Donnie — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:14:48 +0000

Another reason that paper checks and money are a thing of the past.

Also, how are you so sure that it will be your last returned check fee?

By: The Happy Rock

The Happy Rock — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:08:35 +0000

@Weak – You just sign it, pop it in an envelope and mail it too them and it gets deposited. Same thing except they aren’t paying the cost to have a branch open. It does take an extra day or two though.
The Happy Rock´s last blog ..Cell Phones Contracts Are Debt, You Just Don’t Realize It

By: The Weakonomist

The Weakonomist — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:27:24 +0000

@happy I love ING Direct but the reason they don’t charge this fee is you can’t go down to the local ING Direct branch and deposit a check. If you could they’d have the fee.
@brewer it’s true we could take our checks to a local branch (of the bank on the check) and see if it’s good but that destroys the whole convenience of a check, especially if you don live near a branch. That’s what is grinding my gears.
@Dave that’s a great point. Sometimes no-fault claims still increase your premium, however it’s rare unless you have a ’spotty’ driving record according to my agent. This varies company to company.

By: Dave C.

Dave C. — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:51:44 +0000

The thing is, I believe you CAN have your auto insurance rates increased, by being in accidents that were not your fault. In terms of insurance theory, you are an increased risk if for some reason your are un-lucky enough to be in multiple accidents.

IIRC, the fault in the accident determines who will pay the bulk of the payouts, but if you are in Florida (No-Fault laws) if the accident causer has no insurance, your insurance company pays. So you see, your insurance company would have reason to raise rates on the victim.
Dave C.´s last blog ..Creditors Using Loophole To Grab Social Security Benefits

By: Philip Brewer

Philip Brewer — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:46:00 +0000

I’m with you.

Having said that, though, two points:

First, “endorsing” a check has it’s roots in the perfectly ordinary English word “endorse,” and means exactly the same thing as it does when you’re endorsing a product: you’re saying it’s good.

In banking law there’s actually a mechanism for handing on a check without making such a claim–a qualified endorsement: just write “without recourse” above your signature.

It won’t actually work with a bank that you’ve got a deposit relationship with, because they’re accepting it according to their “terms and conditions,” but that’s what it means: “I’m transferring ownership of this check to you without making any claim as to whether it’s good or not.” If you don’t write that (or similar language), signing it on the back means that you’re guaranteeing that it’s good–and that if it isn’t, you’re good for whatever sum the bank pays you in anticipation of cashing the check.

Second, there is one party that can be expected to know whether the check is good or not: the bank on which it is drawn. So, the right way to handle a dubious check is not to deposit it in your bank, but rather to present it to the bank on which it is drawn. If they refuse to honor it, then go back to the guy who wrote it and tell him his bank says he’s a deadbeat. (Both ordinary people and businesses hate this, and will usually–unless they meant to scam you from the beginning–make their check good one way or another.)

All the laws having to do with checks are a little odd, though, because they recognize that the customer relationship is between the guy who wrote the check and his bank. The bank has no obligation to you, just to their customer. But if the bank can’t or won’t follow their customer’s instructions (pay to the order of), then you’ve got recourse against the guy who wrote the check.

Admittedly, one doesn’t generally include checks from one’s employer in the category of “dubious” checks.

And, as I say–I’m with you. Banks don’t get to charge me a returned check fee more than once–if they don’t reverse it, I move my business to another bank.
Philip Brewer´s last blog ..Stuff will never make you organized