posted on May 4, 2001 07:16:06 AM new
Had a new user win an auction for an expensive (to me) item of about $127 plus shipping. He said he wanted to pay with a personal check, and I said that was perfectly OK, but it may be necessary to wait until the personal check cleared before shipment--if he required immediate shipment then please send a money order, blah blah.
Now, four or five days after we deposited his check he wants to know if I've shipped yet.
How in the heck do you find out if a check has cleared or not? Call my bank? They won't be able to tell me if a particular check has cleared, can they?
The reason I ask is that I seldom hold shipments on personal checks, but since he was brand new and the check was very low numbered, I decided to in this case.
[ edited by loosecannon on May 4, 2001 07:19 AM ]
posted on May 4, 2001 07:22:43 AM new
If you obtained the banking information off of his check, you could call his bank and verify if funds for that check have cleared.
Most checks have a bank telephone number on them... you'd need the numbers off of the bottom of his check, including the number on the check. (knowing the exact amount also helps).
I believe my husband used to verify personal checks clearing pretty regularly (we don't get them as much any more, since we've been using Paypal etc.) - and I think he actually called the bank for the account that the checks were deposited to verify if the funds written on the various checks had been honored by the banks they were written against.
Call you bank... ask a few questions, find out exactly how long it will take before they can verify that funds have been paid. (the check has actually cleared).
posted on May 4, 2001 08:05:30 AM new
One thing that I learned the hard way (for future reference) is to make a copy of all the check & money order items in each deposit. You can usually fit several on one page then put the same one back in and copy on the back if you have more.
It really came in handy once when the bank lost one of the money orders that I had deposited. I just gave them a copy of my copy showing all the items in that deposit.
posted on May 4, 2001 09:40:48 AM new
All my bank can (or will?) tell me is if the check has bounced or not. That lets you know a few days ahead of the mail, at least.
I've called the sender's bank a few times with good results...then I had the misfortune to deal with Fleet.
If you have no account with them, they want you to call a (very expensive) 900 number for the customer's account info. You know how long those things put you on hold, so I pitched a fit...talked to one supervisor after another...until I finally got one to give me the info (because I had a Fleet CC).
This must have taken a good 45 minutes, but I was determined. The check was almost $3,000...I just couldn't risk it. I've heard of checks bouncing a month after deposit. Can you imagine how happy my customer would have been with a wait like that for his merch?
I hasten to say that I haven't had any bouncers, so often I ship as soon as I get the check. Not going to do that with large amounts, though.
posted on May 4, 2001 11:25:13 AM new
I scan every payment along with the envelope that it came in. Gives me another level of control. Takes an extra minute per payment.
Check clearance is tough. Some checks takes up to 3 weeks before you get a notification. You should use a bank with online access. This will reduce the notification time if you view your account daily.
I posted this info in a thread back in March about checks being returned late, but I thought I'd resurrect my post since this info might be helpful.
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It's a very good idea to call the bank to verify funds. You can probably search for the bank name on the web (telephone directory assistance will cost you).
I'd like to expand on the advice given based on my years in banking (1981-1990) (Note: I worked in California, and I don't know if laws vary from state to state--I wouldn't think so since banks are federally regulated, but I can't be held responsible if this advice doesn't work for you.)
1. I know some of you have experienced late returns, but I believe the correct (legal?) policy is that checks MUST be returned no later than the day after they hit the bank. Delays might be caused in some of the following ways: (a) If your bank is small (interbank exchanges of paperwork might not get the priority that large banks do); (b) credit unions/small banks may have their work processed by a larger bank creating a "middleman" delay; (c) your bank/credit union may automatically redeposit items, which doubles the amount of time it takes to get a check back; (d) the USPS decides it doesn't like you.
2. It's fine to verify funds when you have the check in hand, but what REALLY matters is when it hits the bank. Make a copy of the check and call the bank again after a few days to see if the check has actually cleared.
Here's an example: You get a check from Susie Creamcheese drawn on ABC Bank. You deposit a check on March 12. On March 15, you call ABC Bank to see if the item has cleared Susie's account (provide account #, check # & dollar amount), and ASK WHAT DAY IT CLEARED!!!. ABC tells you that it cleared on March 14 (there were sufficient funds in the account). IMPORTANT NOTE--I believe that any time during March 15 (the day after the night it cleared), the check can be manually returned even if the computer says that the check was deducted from Susie's account!!! (There may have been sufficient funds, but a bank employee notices that the check was unsigned or forged, or another item may have rejected for some reason that the bank prefers to pay over YOUR check, etc.)
Here's the REALLY important info: If you had called on the 16th and they said that the check cleared on the 14th, make sure to ask them if there was by any chance a credit to Susie's account on the 15th in the exact amount of the check in question (this would indicate that the check was manually returned instead of being automatically rejected for a stop payment or insufficient funds). AS FAR AS I AM AWARE, THE BANK CANNOT RETURN THE ITEM AFTER THE 15TH (the day after the evening it posts to the customer's account) OR IT RISKS BEING CHARGED BACK WITH A LATE RETURN!!! If it takes you 30 days to get a check back from your bank I really believe it's not the fault of your customer's bank. (You could try disputing the check as a "late return," and I THINK the customer's bank would then have to prove that they returned it in a timely manner.) CAVEAT: If the bank returns it manually, they have to make up a deposit slip for the customer. If someone makes a mistake in encoding the account number on the deposit slip (putting the computer numbers on the bottom), it will reject and won't post for one or more days. You could always wait until the 10th day to call and then ask all of the above info.
Also, make sure to get the name of the person you speak to and the date and time you called. Keep this info with the auction in case you need it. If you hold shipping for 10 days, it wouldn't hurt to call the bank again before you mail out the package, just to be on the safe side.
Sorry this is a bit long, but I hope this clarifies some issues for those who are unfamiliar with the way banks work. If someone out there has any questions, just reply here (I'll turn e-mail on).
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If you didn't keep a copy of the check, there's no way to tell if it cleared unless the customer tells you his account number, check number, and bank name and phone number so that you can call yourself. (If you have doubts about his honesty, call the bank on a number that you find out from the web or directory assistance.) It sound like it's an odd dollar amount, so you can probably take his word on the account number and check number. If it were for $100 even, he could tell you ANY check he wrote for $100--the bank won't verify payees, just $ amount and check number.
posted on May 4, 2001 11:37:21 AM newToke, I apologize for getting ticked off the other day.
Thanks to all for the information. Honestly, I hardly ever hold shipments for personal checks. I mean, why bother? Upwards of 2000 transactions, only one bounced check and he made good on it, including my extra bank charges.
I guess I had a feeling that I should on this one, but I didn't think to record the check data.
Now the buyer is wanting his item, but sheesh, I told him that he could get immediate shipment with a money order. It was his choice.
posted on May 4, 2001 03:28:04 PM newloosecannon...
Forget it. My tact was nonexistent...
Anyway...my advice would be to wait at least 10 banking days...you know...Mon thru Fri...no holidays... Then call your bank...to see if any checks in that exact amount, have been returned. Then use your instincts...in lieu of all the check info you'll have next time.
As has been said before...scan (or photo) iffy checks...OR...write down their check #s, and all the acct numbers on the bottom of the check...plus their personal info at the top. I learned this junk the hard way, but got lucky...
I know this paranoia thing... So far, everything has been fine...
