How can I get another bank account, and not have to deal with BS?

I had a bank account with a local bank. It was my first time having a bank account, and I was excited to have one… as it can come in handy. However, I had to close my account because they made me mad.

Since I had an account there… I was taking my checks there to get them cashed. Everything was going fine. I cashed about 3 checks there, with absolutely no problem. The next time I tried to cash my check, they told me I couldn’t because I had no funds in my account, and that I needed the same amount or more than the check I was trying to cash. Well, I had never had funds in my account, besides the dollar I had to put in to keep my account open. They told me I didn’t have to put any cash in my account to cash checks, because I asked before I actually opened an account there… as some banks require you to put so much in your account to start one. They cashed my checks before with no problem…. so I didn’t understand what the problem was. When I brought that up to the lady who made my account, she said “Well, I don’t know who cashed it.” I was like, “This bank did!” … I was really frustrated.

Then, she started talking to me about the IRS and how I can get in trouble for not filing taxes. Number one, I’ve never filed taxes in my life, so I don’t know how. Number two, I don’t even make enough money to have to file taxes!

So, how can I get a bank account for free, without going through all of this crap? It’s ridiculous. I just want a bank account to cash my checks, and later on… store money in so it doesn’t get lost or stolen. Why is it so difficult?

Answer #1

That is very normal, my bank does the same, u must have the funds available to cash a check, if u don’t have enough u must deposit the check and wait for it to clear, I’m sure u will find that at many banks, I’m not sure how to avoid that problem

Answer #2

Well, when I asked the lady if I would have to do that before I even opened the account… she told me no. I just don’t get why I was able to cash some checks with no funds, but the next time I go it’s different. I would have had no problem waiting on the check to clear… that’s what they did before. However, they refused to do it that way that time. They simply told me I couldn’t cash it… and I’d have to go to another bank… even though I had an account there, not at another bank.

Answer #3

Seems kinda weird they wud do that, snds like someone didn’t know some policies to me, I wud have been mad to, but it does snd like u need another bank, and I wud double check next time, especially if it snd to good to b true, if I was told they cud cash a check without funds, I wud b concerned and ask the bank manager about that cuz it just doesn’t snd right, u know wat I mean

Answer #4

Yeah. I think they took advantage of me a bit, because they knew I didn’t know much about banks and how they worked…

Answer #5

i never had that problem with my bank. my bank is M&T Bank. checking accounts are free and all. i never had a problem cashing any type of checks.

Answer #6

Here is a tip, when opening any account get a cpoy of thr policies and make sure u thoroughly understand them and ask any questions u may need to b4 opening it, I’m sorry they did that to u and it does snd like they took advantage as u said urself

Answer #7

I used to work at IBC as a teller.. And i know from experience that the Sales (people that open your account) dont tell you everything.. Yes you need to have funds in your account to cash checks.. But when i was a teller i would still cash the checks for people because i would feel bad if i didnt.. and i hated getting bit*hed at if i said i couldnt do it.. and we could even get fired for doing it but i was nice :) .. but what some banks let you do it deposit half and the other half you can get.. then when it clears you can get it.. or you can use your debit card.. or you can deposit all of it and start using your debit card.. they are real helpful when you dont want to be dangling with cash in your pockets

Answer #8

Alot of it might depend on what type of cheque your were depositing. I worked at a bank in Canada, and every customer has a different “access to available funds”, which essentially means the amount they are allowed to have from a cheque before a hold is put on it. So, if your access is $500 and you were cashing a cheque for $700 from your BFF, you would be able to get $500 immediately and the remaining $200 would be placed into your account (on hold) until the cheque clears (they don’t check to see when the cheque is cleared, the hold is generally 5 business days). Now having said that, if you were to bring a payroll cheque in (from a well established business in your community) we would cash the whole thing up to $1,500 and the same with government cheques. These rules only apply to transactions done at the wicket, if you put your cheque through the ABM, and your access is lower than the cheque, regardless of the type of cheque, you will be limited to the access amount (since the ABM doesn’t know what your depositing). To duplicate what Ilyana said, I quite often broke the rules too, it’s much easier to give the customer the money and avoid being b*tched at. Probably any bank is going to operate under the same principles. Access to deposited funds is determined by credit rating and generally if you are younger and new to banking you will have $0.00 access. You can always have them review it, or, speak to the manager about exceptions with routine cheques you are depositing.

Answer #9

Then why couldn’t they just put the check on hold, until it cleared… and then let me withdraw it like they did the 3 times before? Why was it different the last time?

Answer #10

The first time around you probably got a teller like myself and Ilyana, who feel bad and just cash the cheque for the person (I know it sux, when you get the next person who follows the rules!).

Answer #11

Well, I still don’t understand why they couldn’t put it on hold… aren’t they supposed to do that if you don’t have the funds?

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