my bank wasnt happy to take my pokerstars check

[zombies kill]

i withdraw $3180 via check from stars and got it about a week or so later. i took it to my bank to cash it, as i have more than enough funds to cover it. the woman looked at me funny, and asked where the check was from, if i got it from "selling something online". i said sort of.

she calls over another teller and she looks at the check funny too, and she calls over a manager. the manager looks at it funny also, and says "you got this from someone online?". i said that i got it from a major online company and that the check was definitely 100% good.

they still didnt seem thrilled, and didnt want to cash it. i told them fine, to just deposit it into my account because i didnt actually need the cash anyway. still, they insisted that they would have to put an "extended hold" of ten days on the check. they even gave me a form that goes online with the extended holds that said "We are placing the following check #xxx on hold because - We have reason to believe the check will not be honored". and i assume the reason for that was because the word "online" was mentioned.

my gf used to work in a bank and basically says the extended hold doesnt really mean much, and they were bsically just suspicious of the check because it had no individual name or address on it. so in the end, they took the check, but didnt like doing so. while its gonna work out ok for me, i could see someone with a bootleg banking situation getting screwed in some cases by some stubborn teller/management.

[djoyce003]

it's not that uncommon....just plan on the delay. The first one should be delayed, the second one shouldn't, assuming this clears. It's not that uncommon for banks to do this. Hell Wells Fargo won't honor payroll checks sometimes on new accounts and will hold those for a number of days, even if the check is from Exxon.

[nubs]

Strange, I deposited a check from UB to Wells fargo. The amount was almost double my balance and it cleared in less than 24hrs.

[flafishy]

Geez, am I the only one old enough to remember the days before electronic payment, when most all transactions were done by paper check? There's nothing unusual about the way the bank handled this, but people keep posting these kinds of stories over and over again like it's the end of civilation as we know it.

[Freakin]

[ QUOTE ]
Geez, am I the only one old enough to remember the days before electronic payment, when most all transactions were done by paper check? There's nothing unusual about the way the bank handled this, but people keep posting these kinds of stories over and over again like it's the end of civilation as we know it.

[/ QUOTE ]

it still happens to me occasionally with non poker related 5 figure checks. It's part of banking. A lot of merchants online say they won't ship your order till a check clears. A lot of classifieds ads won't take payment except by cash or cashiers check because checks are sketchy.

[Hopey]

Is there a particular reason that you deposited using a teller rather than an ATM? I'm genuinely curious...whenever I go into the bank, the only people using the tellers are old people.

I always cash my poker cheques through the ATM, and I've never had a hold placed on any of my transactions.

[bobbyi]

In these threads everyone always seems to be giving their checks to tellers. If I don't need the money right away, is there any reason to use a teller rather than depositing the check in an ATM?

[mikeroddick]

Hmm, my bank NEVER puts holds on ANY of my checks, even upwards of $100,000 personal checks. This is probably due to my large balances and long term relationship with my bank.

However, whenever I deposit thru the ATM, they ALWAYS seem to put a 5 business day hold on the check, regards of what type and amount. I think this has to do with the fact that it's a different department that balances the ATM and they don't know me.

[Nate tha\\\' Great]

[ QUOTE ]
In these threads everyone always seems to be giving their checks to tellers. If I don't need the money right away, is there any reason to use a teller rather than depositing the check in an ATM?

[/ QUOTE ]

I've wondered this too. I've deposited a couple of fairly large Bellagio checks in the ATM. Considering that you're going to hear from your bank anyway if there is any sort of problem, I guess I don't see any reason to go to a teller.

[MicroBob]

Most of the branches of my bank you can't deposit your checks via the ATM anymore.

i have no idea why this is. That is definitely my preferred method as well.