rent check did not clear,i'm confused.

[MamitaM]

i got my welfare check by direct deposit on the 1st of January,it may have been a little before actually. then a few days later i deposited 2 government checks. i took some cash out at the teller and also paid some bills with her and then later on line. then i gave my landlord a rent check a few days later. i noticed he didn't cash it yet, noticed this yesterday and called him about in case i made a mistake and didn't see the transaction. yesterday he showed up to tell me my check was sent back saying it didn't clear. he said the bank said the funds in my account hadn't cleared yet. i'm confused b/c there is money in the account and they never hold government checks, just personal ones. he believes me but he of course needs another check which i'll give him on monday once i see this check that was sent back. i called my bank but they have idea what happened as they have no record of it in my account. i have no clue why my funds didn't clear.

[BabyFireFly]

Have you called the welfare office? I am not familiar with the system - but they should be able to tell you what is going on....

[MamitaM]

I only found out about it last night around 7pm maybe when the LL came over to tell me. I don't think it's something to do with welfare, but my bank. It has to be a mistake on their part. I've had access to my money since the 1st and even now my balance is fine and I can pay bills on-line. So I have no clue as to why the check was sent back. The bank says they have no record of the check at all. I thought maybe I got confused and put January 2010 or something or forgot to sign it maybe, but the LL says all that info is there. At least he isn't angry and he and his believe me that I did mean to have it clear.

[BabyFireFly]

That's strange - but banks do some strange things! It's funny that you mentioned writing 2010 on a check - I realized after sending out 6 payments that I had written January 2010 on all of them! The only one that was rejected was one where the person went into the bank and tried to cash it, they were turned down and I had to write them another one. The rest were deposited into other checking accounts and they went through....

I would probably go to the bank and talk to them face to face - I never get anywhere with mine over the phone. You could also get a certified bank check while you are there to give to you landlord. I would make sure that they do not try to slap you with some returned check fee - if they confirm that the money was there at the time, and it was their mistake, they should not penalize you.

[MamitaM]

The LL's wife said they did charge them $25, so they he might ask me to pay for that. So I'm going to see what's up with the bank for sure b/c I really don't want to pay for that. My account wasn't charged anything though.

Since having my son I'm a little disorganized and I sometimes forget little things, so I could have put the wrong year. It happens, as you know first hand at the start of a new year pretty often even when you didn't just have a baby.

*** small update

The LL just came over with the check and I gave him a new one that should be ok to cash. He left and came back a few minutes later to say his wife double checked it and his last name is spelled wrong, so this might be why it didn't clear. His last name is Yu and I'd written Hu, which is not even that close really. I think I might have been writing the checks to Hu for a while though. I need to double check the previous checks. Either way I still have to ask the bank what happened.

[VisionaryMom]

I'm not familiar with the Canadian system. In the US, though, he could try to send that same check through again. I don't understand why he needs another check from you.

[Momsteader]

In the US, banks have a right to hold any check until it clears. Most don't for gov't and biz checks, but you never know. If they see an odd pattern of deposit or something, they may put the check in your account, but the funds won't be available for x days (5-10 biz days depending on their policy). They should tell you this when you deposit the check however. I would definitely head down to your bank with the check in hand and ask.

Also as a landlord, they don't charge on a return check unless I had written something that bounced. If I had my bounced checks automatically go to an agency like Checkwrite or similar collection agency, they would obviously charge for it. But, if a renter bounces a check to me and it's returned, I just get the check back. Your bank may charge YOU for the bounced check on their end, but I've never seen an automatic charge by the bank on the recipients end.

[MamitaM]

The bank stamped the check with a stamp that says "funds not cleared" or something and stapled a note to it with the date and stuff, so it's no longer a valid check. That's why he needed a new one.

Normally if bounce a check I will be charged, but I thin the person the check is for is also charged. I remember being really angry about this when someone gave me a check then told me they knew it would bounce. I don't know why my landlord was charged since this was not a bounced check.

I have no idea why or if there was a hold on one or both checks I took to the bank, I did give them to a teller and not to the machine that day. I guess I won't know until Monday.

[PenelopeJune]

At the bank I worked at, and every bank I've ever worked at, both people get charged for a bounced check. That's why grocery stores and such charge you for a bounced check, to cover their own fees.

[Momsteader]

Grocery stores, chains, restaurants, etc. actually charge a much higher fee, because they use a check service that also reports the user to a national database which can affect their ability to write checks anywhere.

Most credit unions, local banks, and some of the larger chains don't charge the recipient. It will be in their policies.

But, regardless, the 'funds not cleared' makes it sound like the checks were helds and the funds, while there, were not available for withdrawl.

[MamitaM]

I'll hopefully get to the bank tomorrow and find out. I just don't know why the checks would have been held since all 3 were government checks and I was also able to withdraw cash and pay bills the day I deposited 2 of them.

[Kyamo]

Originally Posted by MamitaM 

I'll hopefully get to the bank tomorrow and find out. I just don't know why the checks would have been held since all 3 were government checks and I was also able to withdraw cash and pay bills the day I deposited 2 of them.

Sometimes they put a percentage of the money on hold and the rest is available right away. But I would have thought no holding on gov't cheques as well. The bank would be able to tell you what the holds were.

[MamitaM]

I asked my bank today what happened. They said that the bank my landlord goes to didn't even process the check so it didn't have anything to do with what was in my account at all. She thought maybe it was b/c I put the wrong date on the check. It should have said Jan.1 2011 and I put 2010. I also put it was for Jan.2010 rent at the bottom. She says that b/c I made that mistake on both parts they didn't take the check. Their bank charged them $25 for this! My LL hasn't asked me for any money to cover this, but I really hope he can reverse the charge.

[VisionaryMom]

Originally Posted by CrunchyClark 

Also as a landlord, they don't charge on a return check unless I had written something that bounced. If I had my bounced checks automatically go to an agency like Checkwrite or similar collection agency, they would obviously charge for it. But, if a renter bounces a check to me and it's returned, I just get the check back. Your bank may charge YOU for the bounced check on their end, but I've never seen an automatic charge by the bank on the recipients end.

I've had 2 people write checks to me that cleared. Both of my banks charged me a fee for them bouncing a check to me, though I hadn't spent the money. It's pretty standard practice.

[BabyFireFly]

Don't feel bad about the 2010 thing - I wrote out a ton of checks to pay bills and later realized that I had done the same thing! All of the went through except one - the ones that went through were deposited into actual accounts (electric bill, phone bill,etc) and the only one that was an issue was one that I wrote to my SIL, that she tried to cash at my bank. The teller told her that she could not cash it due to the incorrect date, but just gave her the check back and I wrote a new one for her - no charges. When I reordered a supply of checks yesterday I made sure it was the kind with the year pre-printed on the date line, since I know this is bound to keep happening, at least until the "newness" of 2011 wears off.

[jeminijad]

Originally Posted by CrunchyClark 

I Your bank may charge YOU for the bounced check on their end, but I've never seen an automatic charge by the bank on the recipients end.

It is called a Returned Deposit Item fee, and it is very common.

$25 seems too high, though. My bank is $8.

[MamitaM]

I had the funds and they were not held since they were government checks. I don't know why they said that my funds hadn't cleared yet. My bank says they probably didn't cash it b/c of the dates.