Consumer Fraud Is this bank fee legal? (Fee for Cashing their own checks )

I'm wondering if anyone knows if a Bank can charge a fee to someone cashing a check drawn on one of the banks accounts?
Example : I write a check that is drawn on my Wesbanco account to person 1. Can wesbanco legally charge person 1 for cashing it at a Webanco location?

I went in a US Bank location with a check for $287.78 yesterday. It was from my employer and was from a US Bank checking acct. THis was not a payroll check if it make s a difference,
I had proper ID. The check was made out to Me.

The teller told me their policy was to charge "NON CUSTOMERS" (I don't have a checking or saving acct at US Bank) a $7 fee to cash a check. I told her NO way, was I going to pay a fee to cash a US Bank check at a US Bank location.
I said Just get the manger if you are going to insist. I stated I didn't even think it could be legal to do charge a fee like that.

They gave in and said no fee,....then the head cashier told me this was a one time thing, I stated "NO it is NOT, If i have a check from this bank It either be honored for full face value or refused. nothing in between.

Yes, banks can & some (most) do charge a fee for non-customers of their bank. They don't even have to cash a check for non-customers. (no law says they do)

Betty3 said:

Yes, banks can & some (most) do charge a fee for non-customers of their bank. They don't even have to cash a check for non-customers. (no law says they do)

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I am shocked if that is true. What really surprises me is that this check was written on a US Bank act. It really should not matter about me being a "NON CUSTOMER"
To me all US Bank checks are not worth full face value then. My bank doesn't do this.

Nitecop said:

I'm wondering if anyone knows if a Bank can charge a fee to someone cashing a check drawn on one of the banks accounts?
Example : I write a check that is drawn on my Wesbanco account to person 1. Can wesbanco legally charge person 1 for cashing it at a Webanco location?

I went in a US Bank location with a check for $287.78 yesterday. It was from my employer and was from a US Bank checking acct. THis was not a payroll check if it make s a difference,
I had proper ID. The check was made out to Me.

The teller told me their policy was to charge "NON CUSTOMERS" (I don't have a checking or saving acct at US Bank) a $7 fee to cash a check. I told her NO way, was I going to pay a fee to cash a US Bank check at a US Bank location.
I said Just get the manger if you are going to insist. I stated I didn't even think it could be legal to do charge a fee like that.

They gave in and said no fee,....then the head cashier told me this was a one time thing, I stated "NO it is NOT, If i have a check from this bank It either be honored for full face value or refused. nothing in between.

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I understand your frustration, however, the bank is within its rights.

Sadly this country is devolving and regressing, rather than developing and progressing.

Yes, banks used to cash checks for non-customers if the check was drawn on their bank.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC, tackles this issue on its website, Answers About Cashing Checks.

It states, "There is no federal law or regulation that requires national banks to cash checks for noncustomers. Most banks have policies that allow check cashing services only for customers who have an account with them in order to protect both themselves and their customers from forgeries."

It goes on to say, "Also, if a national bank agrees to cash a check for a noncustomer, it may legally charge the presenter a fee."

The OCC charters, regulates and supervises all national banks and federal savings associations, as well as federal branches and agencies of foreign banks. It is an independent bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

http://www.helpwithmybank.gov/get-a...cks-cashing/faq-banking-check-cashing-05.html

army judge said:

I understand your frustration, however, the bank is within its rights.

Sadly this country is devolving and regressing, rather than developing and progressing.

.........

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thanks for your help. I now think any bank that does this are the lowest form of life. I will now refuse to take checks from this bank.

As far as the fee is legal what is keeping them from raising the fee to 20% of the check face value? 30%??

Fees like this are the perfect example of Corporate Greed run-a-muck.
There will be more if people do not stand up to them on fees like this.

Do you have a checking and/or savings acct. at a bank? You should have taken the check there - you are a customer there. My bank cashes other banks checks w/o charging a fee.

Nitecop said:

thanks for your help. I now think any bank that does this are the lowest form of life. I will now refuse to take checks from this bank.

As far as the fee is legal what is keeping them from raising the fee to 20% of the check face value? 30%??

Fees like this are the perfect example of Corporate Greed run-a-muck.
There will be more if people do not stand up to them on fees like this.

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Your government, you know the one that claims it helps the little guy, is in on this scam.
If you get a bank account, they can track you and your money.
That way, they have more tools to employ to make sure you can't cheat them.
Yeah, they care, about YOU AND YOUR MONEY. LOL

Nitecop said:

I will now refuse to take checks from this bank.

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You are certainly within your rights to refuse any payment not made in cash.
Again, they've suckered the unsuspecting masses in, as its rare day that I see people paying in cash.
When I practiced law FULL TIME, I would always require my clients to pay in cash.
Its impossible to collect on an NSF check from a person indicted for multiple felonies. LOL
I demanded to be paid in FULL in cash only, before I began any work on the case and issued the written retainer along with a receipt!

Like it or not, banks are a for-profit business. Many people retain the notion that a bank is some sort of service organization that should just give all their services away for free. I find that interesting in this day and age where people think nothing of spending sometimes hundreds of dollars a month for things like their cell phone plans but then will complain loud and long when a bank charges them a relatively small non-customer check cashing fee.

cynthiag said:

Like it or not, banks are a for-profit business. Many people retain the notion that a bank is some sort of service organization that should just give all their services away for free. I find that interesting in this day and age where people think nothing of spending sometimes hundreds of dollars a month for things like their cell phone plans but then will complain loud and long when a bank charges them a relatively small non-customer check cashing fee.

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You make a very valid point.
If banks raise their ATM access charge by 50 cents or a dollar, the hue and cry can be heard far and wise.
Yet, everyday all across this land, sales taxes are applied on almost everything you buy.
Heck, look at your latest paycheck to see who gets paid before you do.
Banks and insurance companies do anger many people, that's for sure.

Considering that banks can lend multiple time the amount people place in the accounts they have (based in fractional reserved lending) they are in no position to be charging anyone for anything. If anything the should be gratefully paying people for the privilege granted to them by people open accounts. They are absolute criminals. Not to mention banks are the one who fund wars all over the world and profit off of the death of millions.

This issue always gets me fired up because it is grossly misunderstood. Here's the thing:

Part I:
Banks are for-profit organizations that have retail locations (branches) like any other business. These branches maintain an inventory just like any other retail business, only theirs is in the form of cash. Just like any other product, there are costs involved with producing and distributing cash amongst the US Bureau of Printing and Engraving, armored couriers (Brinks, Dunbar, etc.), and the branches themselves.

Because of this, banks incur costs associated with ordering and maintaining the cash in the branch, and these costs are passed down to the final recipients of the inventory (cash), just like a retail store will markup merchandise in order to make a profit.

So to recap so far, the bank pays money to keep cash on hand, and the people receiving the cash pay money to receive it.

Part II:
Because a non-client does not have any sort of business relationship with a bank, there is no revenue generated by said person. By cashing a check for a non-client and not charging any fees, the bank takes a loss on that transaction.

However, clients who maintain accounts in any capacity with the bank will be sources of revenue from the business relationship that has been established. The bank will eliminate the fees associated with check cashing transactions because the client is generating money for the bank, effectively covering the costs incurred to cash a check.

Lets look at another type of business to compare. Take a grocery store for example. If you shop there regularly you probably have a membership card that gets you added discounts on the merchandise they sell. Without this card, you usually end up paying more than someone who does not commit to a membership. Yet, no one seems to have a problem with this business policy.

This is essentially the exact same thing that is happening with banks and their check cashing fees. When you commit to giving a bank more of your business by opening an account, you are entitled to waivers for the fees on many transactions. If not, the bank is going to pass along costs they incur to provide you with the service you requested. It's that simple.

In short, banks are not actively ADDING fees just because you don't bank with them, but rather they are REMOVING fees by committing to having an ongoing business relationship by opening an account. Any checks cashed without a fee are under special circumstances (e.g. discretionary waivers, internal agreements, etc.) that have given special consideration to the company's business policy, as this results in reduced revenue for the bank.

Source: 5+ years in the financial industry

You realize that this thread is from almost 2 years ago, right? And that it's unlikely that the OP is still coming back looking for new input?

Allieanderson, you have already had your posting privileges suspended once for this. If you do not want to have them removed again, stop posting to old threads. This thread is now more than three years old and the chances that the OP still needs an answer are pretty much nil.

Inlove said:

I just experienced this today and I understand your point however doesn't the bank already receive profit from it's customers?

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Yes, at least if the bank intends to stay in business it does make money from its customers. And if you are going there to cash a check, you are a customer too. There is no law that says the bank cannot charge you a fee for providing the service of cashing it for you.

This thread is now over 3 years old, and posting to old dead threads is disfavored on these forums. So please look at the date on the thread before posting replies in the future.