Received very strange check from Absolute
 

Sorry if this is the norm. On the 12th of February I requested a check from Absolute via FedEx. A week went by and I received nothing. I called Absolute and they told me the check had been sent and when I asked when I should expect to receive it the guy on the other end told me "yesterday." He told me to call back if I didn't receive it the next business day which would have been Tuesday the day after the holiday. He also said to email payments@absolutepoker.com because they might have more information. I emailed them and they told me 1-3 business days and because this wasn't supposed to take this long they refunded me the $25 fee. Well on the 4th business day I received the check through regular mail, not FedEx. It is the oddest looking check I have ever seen. The check is written from some bank out of Germany. It was mailed from Germany. Everything on the envelope is writeen in German. Although it does say a German bank name and New York branch underneath the German bank name. Just curious if anyone else received a check similar to this.

Re: Received very strange check from Absolute
 

This is news to me. I requested a check Jan. 18 and received it ~3 weeks later from Chexx Inc., from Canada and apparently drawn from U.S. Bank. This was the norm as far as I know. I think the check you received is something new, at least with respect to AP check withdrawals.

Re: Received very strange check from Absolute
 

What you describe is the same check i just got from Big Chip Poker an absolute skin.

Re: Received very strange check from Absolute
 

BTW i requested mine via regular mail because there was no fedex option. And i did so on the 13th.

Re: Received very strange check from Absolute
 

i received the same type of check today from UB.

Re: Received very strange check from Absolute
 

I received the same type of check yesterday. Mailed from Frankfurt, Germany via "Luftpost", which translates to Air Mail. It is drawn on the New York branch of Dresdner Bank and bears a US banking system routing coding with something that looks like a fraction printed next to the bank name.

What's so weird about this check? Have you never dealt with international banks before? Do you expect all checks to have pretty flowers or American flags all over them? The drive-thru teller at my branch (Bank of America) took it and didn't blink an eye.

Some of you guys are so paranoid.

Now, where's my WPX check? Been waiting a month for it! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Received very strange check from Absolute
 

OMG! You do business with an offshore company and they sent you a German check!!!1!!! DO NOT TAKE IT TO A BANK. They will arrest you for being a Nazi.

Re: Received very strange check from Absolute
 

[ QUOTE ]
OMG! You do business with an offshore company and they sent you a German check!!!1!!! DO NOT TAKE IT TO A BANK. They will arrest you for being a Nazi.

[/ QUOTE ]

My credit union and the Intrust down the street get all creeped out over international checks...really pisses me off

Re: Received very strange check from Absolute
 

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Have you never dealt with international banks before?

Some of you guys are so paranoid.


[/ QUOTE ]

I have never dealt with international banks before.
I'm not paranoid. I just thought it was an odd check.

Re: Received very strange check from Absolute
 

There are too many of these "my check looks funny" threads (keep in mind I say this having started one myself, so I am also to blame). Throw it in an ATM and wait. If problems arise, ask the bank why the check hasn't cleared or was rejected. Then, contact the poker room to find out what is going on. Find a new bank if you have to. What are we all so afraid of? These are legitimate checks. We are not criminals.

Ultimate Bet withdrawal short $25
 

I requested an amount over $2000 in order to get free courier service. I guess they are no longer doing this?

I also received a check from the German bank via snail mail, for $25 less than my cashout.

I have emailed UB, but have not had no response in the past to email correspondence, so I'm not holding my breath.

Re: Received very strange check from Absolute
 

I just got the same type of check from Absolute as well. My bank wouldn't cash it and told me I'd have to take it to collections which would be a fee of at least $100. Sounded like BS to me, but that's what they said. They said if I was in Germany I could cash it. I don't understand, don't international checks get processed daily? I don't know what to do and was hoping someone here would have some advice.

Re: Received very strange check from Absolute
 

[ QUOTE ]
I just got the same type of check from Absolute as well. My bank wouldn't cash it and told me I'd have to take it to collections which would be a fee of at least $100. Sounded like BS to me, but that's what they said. They said if I was in Germany I could cash it. I don't understand, don't international checks get processed daily? I don't know what to do and was hoping someone here would have some advice.

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Speak to a supervisor or get a new bank.

All, checks are checks. As long as it is from a legit bank in a first world country, it doesn't matter what country it comes from. This one even happens to have a branch in New York. A hold is one thing, refusal is ridiculous.

I suspect many of you look like kids trying to pull a fast one or at least that's what the teller sees. Don't be afraid. Get a supervisor, tell them it's a legitimate check from a legitimate business transaction and you want it deposited. Again, there may be a longer than normal hold but it should be taken.

Re: Received very strange check from Absolute
 

I've gotten the same thing for $5K...about 1 week ago, cashed it, and it already cleared.

Re: Received very strange check from Absolute
 

Sounds like no one is having a problem with these checks but me. The teller seemed like she didn't know what to do, so she brought over the supervisor...maybe she didn't like the look of me. I don't know.

Re: Received very strange check from Absolute
 

Check Information

Re: Received very strange check from Absolute
 

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[ QUOTE ]
I just got the same type of check from Absolute as well. My bank wouldn't cash it and told me I'd have to take it to collections which would be a fee of at least $100. Sounded like BS to me, but that's what they said. They said if I was in Germany I could cash it. I don't understand, don't international checks get processed daily? I don't know what to do and was hoping someone here would have some advice.

[/ QUOTE ]

Speak to a supervisor or get a new bank.

All, checks are checks. As long as it is from a legit bank in a first world country, it doesn't matter what country it comes from. This one even happens to have a branch in New York. A hold is one thing, refusal is ridiculous.

I suspect many of you look like kids trying to pull a fast one or at least that's what the teller sees. Don't be afraid. Get a supervisor, tell them it's a legitimate check from a legitimate business transaction and you want it deposited. Again, there may be a longer than normal hold but it should be taken.

[/ QUOTE ]

Collections is what a bank does for international checks. The bank sends check to forgien bank to be paid ie collected. Once the bank gets money from bank they give it to you. This is a standard banking practice and takes time. Not regulated by government as to time frame like US checks. This is why regs were written regarding time frames for US banks. Banks used to make funds availale when they felt like it.

Re: Received very strange check from Absolute
 

if these idiot tellers ask you what its from tell them its a commission check from a brokerage in europe, or from a trust account that your uncle handles for you...

these bank tellers are a fkn joke, its not their job to be giving funny looks at people and prying into where the money came from anyway... the checks the sites are sending out are all golden, just go into the bank with that attitude and your fine...

Re: Received very strange check from Absolute
 

I deposited mine at my local bank without any problems. I didn't get one of the regular tellers, there are only 3, I got one of the loan officers. It was around noon so I think some of the regular tellers were at lunch. Again, very small bank only one branch in a town of about 600 people I got greeted by my first name when I came.

Good Luck

Re: Received very strange check from Absolute
 

The teller I usually use at my local Credit Union is a younger blonde woman who actually plays very casually on Full Tilt. She knows that I am cashing checks form Poker sites and has never once gave me a hard time. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

She does always harass me about how I am doing online and if I will ever be on TV. WTF is up with everyone thinking that if you play online poker you are gonna be on TV someday?

-Brendan

Re: Received very strange check from Absolute
 

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WTF is up with everyone thinking that if you play online poker you are gonna be on TV someday?

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Because besides online and TV where else could you possibly play poker?
[img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Re: Received very strange check from Absolute
 

I went back to my bank and spoke with someone else. She was more informative and helpful, and explained to me that the reason they had to send for collections was that there were no routing numbers on the bottom of the check. Does anyone remember (or someone still have a check) if your check had routing numbers?

I even told her it was from an online poker site and she didn't blink an eye at that. I could tell that she was trying to gauge how nervous I was by saying things like "hmm, I got one of these foreign ones before and it was no good." But she didn't act like the collections thing was the end of the world like the first teller did.

Re: Ultimate Bet withdrawal short $25
 

[ QUOTE ]
I requested an amount over $2000 in order to get free courier service. I guess they are no longer doing this?

I also received a check from the German bank via snail mail, for $25 less than my cashout.

I have emailed UB, but have not had no response in the past to email correspondence, so I'm not holding my breath.

[/ QUOTE ]

I also got a check that I paid for the courier service but it came normal mail except that it took the exact same amount of time to get here as the last check I got which came via fedex....so whatever UB.

Also, they've always responded to my emails fairly quickly - maybe you're a criminal.

Re: Ultimate Bet withdrawal short $25
 

I requested a cashout from AP on the 11th and still havent received anything.

Re: Ultimate Bet withdrawal short $25
 

i received the same check in german, for 5k from AP. had no problems depositing it, but they did put a hold on it for a week. which is fine by me.

also to note, fedex wasnt an option, but i somehow still got the check in less than a week. i was surprised and pleased.

Re: Ultimate Bet withdrawal short $25
 

You guys who haven't had any trouble depositing/cashing these checks - what banks do you use?

Re: Ultimate Bet withdrawal short $25
 

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You guys who haven't had any trouble depositing/cashing these checks - what banks do you use?

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I use wells fargo.

I'm at an advantage I guess, cause my mom worked for them for 22 years as a teller (although different branch than the one I use, but a couple of the tellers have worked at both places)

Also been a customer since 1997 (I'm only 22, so yes, a good chunk of my life)

They even know it's from online poker, they don't play or anything, but they also aren't ZOMG IT'S ILLEGAL!!! They just cash it just like any other checks I deposit (like from my renters)

Re: Ultimate Bet withdrawal short $25
 

No, I'm not a criminal. I am happy to report that they did respond to my email within a reasonable time frame and refunded the $25.

Re: Received very strange check from Absolute
 

Yea, my mother still asks me that constantly.

Jeff