Bluebird Pre-authorized Check Bounced
Apr 8, 2014, 9:28 am
#16
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,375
Lets be honest here. These prepaid companies don't care if you pay your mortgage, HOA, utilities, student loans, credit cards, auto loans. They make money when you swipe. Your not going to avoid a shutdown if BB drops the hammer. People have been doing this for over a year with no shutdowns. The problem is when you try to pay people that aren't in their system. Sure they might reimburse you for the fees and what not but what a headache. Your crazy if you think you are staying under the radar because your paying other bills besides credit cards. They clearly don't care at this point and must be making money.
Apr 8, 2014, 9:49 am
#17
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 519
Yes, I think this is the answer.
I wonder if your landlord tried to do an ACH pull based on the check? Some places will try to convert your check to an ACH pull and that won't work with BB. That might explain the account not found message. I have seen this as a possible explanation for other "rejected" BB checks reported on other forums (which interestingly enough were also rent checks).
Apr 8, 2014, 6:58 pm
#20
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 89
I've had a similar thing happen when paying my child's daycare tuition with a BB check. Same error about unable to locate account. I believe it was linked to the payment processing system that the provider was using. They do not actually take the checks and deposit them in the bank. Instead, they use an electronic check system where they enter in your routing and bank number, so I think it essentially is simulating an ACH pull which BB does not allow. Fortunately, I was not hit with any fees. Was this your first time paying rent with BB checks?
I'll confirm with the landlord that this is what happened and report back. Yes crapz1 this was my first time to use a BB check, due to Bill Pay issues.
Apr 8, 2014, 8:24 pm
#22
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: ATL F-Terminal
Programs: Hilton C, Marriott Pt, Delta Pt
Posts: 249
Why are people MSing? To pay rent/mortgage bills? Or to earn points/miles/CBs? If it's latter, just pay off the CC bills with Bluebird-BP.
And keep things simple:
1. Your paychecks -> traditional checking acct -> regular bills
2. MS CCs -> BB/MO/etc -> Pay off MS CCs
All this "creative" BP circus is nauseating.
Apr 10, 2014, 6:01 pm
#23
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 89
Seems like this is what occurred - an electronic deposit attempt instead of a physical one. The first BB manager I spoke to was sure that this is what happened. His manager had never heard of that though; yikes. That's why I didn't mention it in the OP. Incidentally, the first manager agreed that I wasn't at fault and that there should be warnings ON THE CHECK AND CLEARLY ON THEIR WEBSITE against this ACH pull, yet he couldn't reimburse my fees.
I'll confirm with the landlord that this is what happened and report back. Yes crapz1 this was my first time to use a BB check, due to Bill Pay issues.
I'll confirm with the landlord that this is what happened and report back. Yes crapz1 this was my first time to use a BB check, due to Bill Pay issues.
Apr 10, 2014, 6:30 pm
#24
Join Date: Jan 2011
Programs: UA S, Marriott P
Posts: 1,154
Ill just transfer money back and pay with normal check now.
Apr 10, 2014, 9:27 pm
#25
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 113
I've had a similar thing happen when paying my child's daycare tuition with a BB check. Same error about unable to locate account. I believe it was linked to the payment processing system that the provider was using. They do not actually take the checks and deposit them in the bank. Instead, they use an electronic check system where they enter in your routing and bank number, so I think it essentially is simulating an ACH pull which BB does not allow. Fortunately, I was not hit with any fees. Was this your first time paying rent with BB checks?
Apr 11, 2014, 4:17 am
#26
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: LIS/ATL/other
Programs: UA 1K, Avis PC, Hertz PC, Sixt Plat, Marriott Gold, HH Silver
Posts: 1,983
Shouldn't you be upset at your landlord? You gave the landlord a check. He decided to deposit the check electronically, not physically. That was his choice, not yours. Not fair that he would assess you fees for his choice. Unless your lease agreement explicitly states that he can do this, your landlord is the one shat screwed up.
Apr 11, 2014, 5:29 am
#27
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 71
Apr 11, 2014, 7:13 am
#28
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,036
The CC you used to fund your BB is going to be on there.
Last edited by ibleed0range; Apr 11, 2014 at 7:48 am
Apr 11, 2014, 7:56 am
#29
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,375
Why would you be disappointed in BB? They didn't make a mistake. It was your landlord that used the check in a way that is clearly outlined in the T&C of BB. This is an unfortunate situation b/c you had no idea that your landlord processed checks this way and I imagine that he had no way of knowing that your check didn't handle electronic fees. That fee should be easily reversed. If it was a late fee by your landlord, then they should be able to waive the issue once they understand how the check works and can directly deposit it or have you write a personal check for your bank. If it is a fee from the bank, having the landlord call the customer service to explain what happened should fix the issue (given the right CSR).
Apr 11, 2014, 8:16 am
#30
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 71
Let me give you an example. Our babysitter only accepts checks for payment. I buy a $500 GC at the grocery store on my Amex for 5% cash back. I load it into Bluebird. I write a check from BB to pay our babysitter. Therefore getting 5% cashback (minus the GC load fee) on childcare services that we can't get otherwise.
I guess a person could go the money order route, but if you prefer to write a check... What am I missing?
Last edited by traveltogo; Apr 11, 2014 at 8:26 am