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Author Topic: Banks, Paychecks, Service Fees Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 08-17-2009 01:13 PM                    Does this strike anyone else as odd? I'm told that a lot of banks do this now. If an employee brings a pay check to the bank that the business is using, the employee gets charged a service fee to cash the check if they don't have an account there. So in other words, Brad hires Joe. Brad banks at First National Bank of Rockwall Texas. Brad pays Joe with a paycheck drawn on his account at First National Bank of Rockwall Texas. Joe goes to the First National Bank or Rockwall Texas to cash the check, and they tell him that it will cost him $5 to cash the check there because Joe doesn't have an account there. Does that make ANY sense at all? To me, if I have a check from bank "X" that says that it is worth $1,000, and when I get there they tell me that it is only worth $995, ... how is that not fraud?  |  IP: Logged Bill Enos Film God Posts: 2081 From: Richmond, Virginia, USA Registered: Apr 2000 posted 08-17-2009 03:34 PM                     Fees generate more revenue for banks than any other source. The bank this theatre deals with started charging a fee to count any cash deposit over $12. After the GM moved the account tyo another bank the manager of the branch that lost the account called and said he could waive the fee if the account was returned  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-17-2009 06:48 PM                        My wife works at a bank. They charge fees to cover the cost of all the services people demand for free: Checking accounts, checks, etc. They also have to cover the costs if, for example, Joe's check turns out to be a fake. Banks are for-profit businesses. You can avoid any fee a bank charges by simply not using that particular service. In this example, Joe could avoid the fee by going to his own bank. Like any other thing, it pays to shop around.  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 08-17-2009 08:29 PM                        In Kentucky, it is illegal to charge an employee to cash a pay check if the company has an account there (& has enough money). This goes back to the olden days where the owner of a business would write a short letter telling the bank to give Brad some money. Later, this letter became what we now know as a check; originally only businesses would do this. I have personally had BIG disagreements with bank managers who don't know better (Me: "Cash the check or I'm calling the police.") They call legal and then they explain it to the manager. "This guy is right!" Varies by state. Louis  |  IP: Logged Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 08-17-2009 08:46 PM                    That's good to know, Louis. And Mike, my wife works at a bank too. I'm all for a company making a buck, but the fact is that if your theater gives me a coupon that states that it is good for a free large popcorn when I turn it in to you, and then when I hand it in, you say that I have to give part of the popcorn in the bucket back to you in order to use said coupon - that at the very least is dishonest - or worse bait and switch, and at the very worst (and in the bank's case since it's specifically dealing with money) it's fraud. Prove me wrong. Somebody. Please.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-17-2009 09:42 PM                        I can't see the bank in question of course, but here's LIKELY proof: There's probably a sign in the bank saying that they'll charge you to cash a check if you're not a customer. quote: Mark J. Marshall bank "X" that says that it is worth $1,000, and when I get there they tell me that it is only worth $995 They aren't telling you that. They're telling you that it costs $5 to cash the check. It's still worth a thousand dollars; you're free to take it somewhere else to cash it if you don't like the fee.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 08-17-2009 10:56 PM                     Sounds to me like banks need a lot more regulation thrown at them. They have a payroll account at their bank...it is reasonable for employees to want the money they earned. The bank is not doing $5 of service to give the employee what they earned. I could understand if one went into neither the bank the check was drawn on or the bank that the employee used but not in going into the bank the check was drawn on. To charge a service fee is definitely theft. The employee does not have a choice in what bank the employer uses and may not have a bank account of their own. At best (or worse), it should be the employer that is charged a fee for the service of having a payroll account. At that point, the employer could take their business elsewhere. But again..this is something that should be regulated. I wonder if this has been tested to the supreme court. I don't think the banks would win unless some very incompetent lawyers went up against some very competent ones. Steve  |  IP: Logged Bill Enos Film God Posts: 2081 From: Richmond, Virginia, USA Registered: Apr 2000 posted 08-18-2009 09:40 AM                     Banks must have teams of people whose only job is to come up with more things to charge fees for. Banks really work hard at making the public hate them. If gas stations had the same mentality as banks they would charge a fee for using the driveway, then a fee for the pump, another for hose and nozzle use, and another for accepting payment.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-18-2009 11:27 AM                        Well Bill, they DO....it's all included in the mark up you pay for every single thing the store carries, including gas. quote: Steve Guttag To charge a service fee is definitely theft. Not if the fee is posted and/or explained to the customer. Then the customer has the option - pay the fee, or don't use the service. If I thought the way you guys do, the next time Mark G. comes to service my booth I would refuse to pay for his motel, meals and etc. After all, he's not working for me when he's sleeping!  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-18-2009 11:46 AM                        People actually still go into banks? I haven't been inside an actual bank branch since I was in college and needed quarters for laundry (for some reason, the college laundry had no change machine). Now, I just deposit checks by mail and withdraw cash from ATMs. This saves an incredible amount of time when compared with actually going to a bank, although it obviously would not help if I needed immediate access to the cash. My regular paychecks are direct-deposited and I keep some cash at home, which solves that issue. In principle, though, I agree that it should be possible to cash a paycheck without having a bank account and without paying a fee. When I was in high school, I worked one summer at a grocery store that allowed employees to cash their paychecks at the customer-service desk. I would think that this would be an acceptable approach for any cash-oriented business (retail, etc.).  |  IP: Logged Paul Mayer Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under! Posts: 3836 From: Albuquerque, NM Registered: Feb 2000 posted 08-18-2009 11:49 AM                        Things like some of the fees that banks charge these days are the reason I have never had a bank account. But I have been a member of three credit unions for all of my working life: Stage Employees Federal Credit Union (FCU) for members (and former members) of IATSE Local 720, Hughes Aircraft Employees FCU (now called Kinecta FCU), and Nevada FCU. Since the members of an FCU are also the shareholders, service fees tend to be low or non-existent. FCUs are definitely something to consider as an alternative to today's banks (says me, a former member of the board of directors for the Stage Employees FCU). Regarding Scott's comments, my last employer Allegiant Air doesn't even issue live paychecks anymore - a condition of employment there is you must have a banking account somewhere so that your pay can be direct deposited. My FCU handles that and has global network connections for ATMs. There was rarely a need for me to visit a branch office. Better living through electronics. The casinos here all cash paychecks - except their own generally. They have all kinds of promotions like double-your-paycheck drawings or prize wheel spins or free meals or free drinks, to entice locals to do so. No fees either, unless you choose to leave something behind on your way out, which is why they offer paycheck cashing.  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 08-18-2009 01:19 PM                        Thats what we need. . . . a casino in a bank! Louis  |  IP: Logged Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 08-18-2009 02:03 PM                    quote: If I thought the way you guys do, the next time Mark G. comes to service my booth I would refuse to pay for his motel, meals and etc. After all, he's not working for me when he's sleeping! With all due respect... what the hell are you talking about? It seems to me that if you presented Mark G. with a contract that said that you would pay him so much money, and then gave him a check for that amount, and when he took it to your bank to cash it he was only able to get the amount you promised him minus $5, one of you (either you or your bank) has committed fraud. Forget about there being other ways to cash the check that are free or cheaper. And don't assume that I automatically have $5 in my pocket to pay for cashing the check. That check is an official company document, which claims to be worth $X.00, which you traded for some amount of work. If that check turns out to be only worth some amount lower than that, well, my point is that that is fraud. Still waiting for someone to prove me wrong. Oh, and if it IS fraud, and you send it through the US mail, isn't that a felony?  |  IP: Logged Rick Raskin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1100 From: Manassas Virginia Registered: Jan 2003 posted 08-18-2009 02:29 PM                     No way is it fraud. No one is forcing you to cash the check at said bank. If you don't accept the fee then go elsewhere. How is the bank any different legally than the millions of check cashing services out there? I'll give you one better though: While doing some charity collections out of my home area, I was told at one bank that they would not make change for free unless I was a customer. I was trying to exchange small bills for larger ones. No problem though, the next bank was all to willing to accommodate my needs at no charge.  |  IP: Logged James. R. Deeter Film Handler Posts: 64 From: Belton, MO, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 08-18-2009 03:31 PM                     Forget the charges to cash a check, how about the "service charges" for coin business. Some of our own banks back charge us for buying a box of quarters, or pennies, etc. And some charged for even counting the daily deposits. We just went bank by bank, threatened to move to a competitor and were able to reduce many fees, but not all.  |  IP: Logged

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