tuphat

[Couldn't find appropriate existing thread. This is not a "shutdown."]

Has anyone had a situation where, a day or two after making a deposit of multiple MOs, the bank says that one is missing and they're adjusting your deposit for the "missing" item?

I recently deposited a batch of 12 MOs to my BofA checking account, as I have done numerous times over the years (although my batch size is usually around 6 instead of 12). As I normally do, I wrote the amount of each MO (most of them were for $999.12, mix of WU and MG) on the back of the deposit slip, totaled the numbers, made the deposit w/ a teller and got a receipt. I don't recall whether the teller scanned some or all of the deposited items.

Reviewing the deposit online several days later, I see the bank adjustment. There's an image of the deposit slip and images of 11 of the deposited items, but the 12th one is missing! I didn't get very far with BofA telephone customer service, they just kept repeating that they only received 11 items, etc. etc. Next step for me will likely be visit to the branch.

Above situation has prompted a few thoughts --

1. Having the MO stub & receipt does very little to solve the bank situation. They only really help (potentially) to stop payment w/ WU or MG, recover funds from them (after fees & wait).

2. Similarly, having a photocopy of all the items deposited doesn't solve the bank situation. How do you prove that the item was actually included in deposit?

3. The BofA teller receipt only has a total, along with the boilerplate on bank verification, etc. In contrast, the teller receipt I get at Wells Fargo has an itemization, listing the total number of checks deposited and the amount of each individual item being deposited. This would seem to be a far more useful receipt to have, in the situation I now find myself. I think I just persuaded myself to do future MO/MS banking at WFC.

Klemhuzzah

Ouch! $999 is quite the hit. Hope you can get it resolved.

worldtravels

Yes it has happened to me where an item has been lost in a deposit. In that case, treat it as a lost or stolen item. Go through the process of getting the issuer to provide a replacement for you.

Often1

Most BOA ATM's return a miniature image of each deposited item and then images are available online on the next full business day. Seems to be the easiest and best way to assure that a given item has been deposited.

Steve in Olympia

I disagree. Contact the issuer of the disputed money order and ask them (WU or MG) to confirm whether the check has cleared. If it has cleared, ask for a copy of the check---- it will have the BA deposit information on it, and you can use that to get BA to give you credit for the check.

Luvs2Sav12

I have had a similar issue with a different bank. I noticed it in time where they still had the drawer at the branch. I knew the number of the MO and they did find it in the drawer. Check with the branch directly and see if they still have the drawer that they can check.

tuphat

It seems highly unlikely that BofA would have presented the MO for payment, but still say that it's missing from the deposit. Their controls are better than that. More likely the item was lost/misplaced by BofA during internal processing, and MG is showing the item has unpaid. Which doesn't help resolve the deposit discrepancy w/ BofA. Hence, my statement about it only being useful in recovering funds from MG, after fees, ,paperwork, wait, etc. MG and WU have terrible customer service/policies for lost MOs.

Mamibear

If you did this, then you knew the total amount of MOs you were depositing. Did you not look at the receipt you got? I've had at least two situations where I noticed immediately that the total in my receipt didn't tally so I told teller the missing amount which was corrected right then. It took me longer at the drive thru, but it saved me a lot of time calling and/or going to the bank to fix it. I have made a habit of saying how many checks I'm depositing and glance at receipt to make sure they did it right before I take off. I have no control of what the teller does with a bunch of MOs. I do not make ATM deposits of MOs at any bank.

If, by chance, the receipt you got at the time had the correct deposit amount, this should be enough reasons for the bank to pay for any inconvinience for whatever is missing. They should put back the adjusted amount to your account. However, if the receipt you got already had an amount missing and you took off, that is where your issue is coming from now.

tuphat

@miamibear --

The receipt received from the teller AGREES with the total on the deposit slip. However, at BofA at least, the teller apparently doesn't verify the total on the deposit slip is correct, or that the quantity of items or dollar amounts agree with what's being received by the bank. They apparently just key in the same TOTAL that I wrote on the deposit slip, and print that amount on the receipt that has all the subject-to-verification boilerplate, which gives them the right to make the adjustment they're making.

Contrast this to the WFC teller procedure, where the amount of each MO is being keyed-in by the teller, and the receipt that I get shows the amount of each item being deposited ... far more useful in controlling against the situation I find myself in.

Mamibear

If it was me and I have the receipt given to me at the time of deposit which tallies with my record, I will contact the bank manager since the problem is clearly with the teller that received my deposit. IF, like you said YOUR bank does this,
I will reiterate the teller's job to count/tally and re-count/tally checks and/or cash deposits they receive instead of just relying on what customers write on deposit slips. On my part, I make sure to check the last 4 of acct number and deposit amount printed is correct before I leave. Once I notice a discrepancy, I let the teller know and ask for another receipt with the correct entry.

In OP's case, I will demand that whatever amount they clawed back should be re-added to my account. If not, I will file a report here and provide proof of my total deposit acknowledged by teller who received it. If, they cannot help, they usually forward complaints to another federal regulator that can assist.


If such situation happens to me, I will not file a lost MO with WU or MG and pay fees; I'll deal with the bank management until my case is resolved in my favor.

tuphat

@miami: Hard fact of life is that a teller receipt with just a total on it is not useful in this situation. Regardless of what you THINK the teller is supposed to do, the REALITY is at BofA -- they don't check your math, verify individual entries on the depositslip, etc. They basically hand you a caveat-laden receipt with YOUR total copied (transcribed) to it, and let the bank proof process balance the transaction, generate adjustments/exceptions, etc. Processes may differ at other banks (like WFC) but the BofA reality is as I described.

craz

All 4 of my banks arent a problem as the teller must run each check by itself, the main problem is that the MOs arent usually picked up by the electronic reading machine so they then have to go 1 by 1 to find which one belongs to which MO, which some tellers takes forever, mainly at 1 bank and branch so I try to avoid that place if possible or at least have 2 MOs of the same or similiar amount

I personally would never deposit via ATM or where the policy is like BofA, too great a chance of loss and 1 MO is 1 too many to have to eat

Hope you are able to work things out

shadow520

The fact that BoA didn't "verify" the deposit when you presented it in person is their problem, not yours. I would follow Mamibear's advice. You shouldn't have to eat fees because they lost the MO. You handed it over personally to them, what happens at that point it out of your control.

I've never deposited to BoA in person - I've always used the ATMs and get receipts with the check/MO images on them. In fact, I do this at most of my banks. Only my credit union ATM doesn't accept the MOs and I have to deposit there in person (PITA). Not sure what the reasoning is for avoiding the ATMs.

josh1573

Hello, Sorry to hear about your situation with BoFa; I had similar experiences with 2 banks WF and Associated bank, with WF they adjusted my balance without notifying me, I only found out about it by checking my balance online.
to solve it, this is what I did
1.- Open a case with the bank
2.- Identify the money order that the bank lost;
3.- Now if you keep the stub (moneygram) you can go to moneygram.com and get it reissue, that is what I did; MG charged me like 25 dollars and send me a check in the mail.
4.-I called WF with my case number and they agree to deposit the 25 dollars into my check account, I got this accomplished by talking to my local branch manager, she agreed upon checking my case and reviewing my written
communications with MG and the value of the check I got from MG to add the 25 dollar fee in my checking account.

Now with the other bank is a very similar story they "adjusted the balance" but send me a letter I went to the branch and after convincing the lady that depositing 4K worth of Monay Orders doesn;t indicate criminal activity on my part
they went to vault rescue my money order and agree to re adjust my balance..
BTW I still deposit MO on both banks but most of the time inside the bank with a teller.

Good Luck

Mamibear

Exactly! MOs were handed to a teller for manual count and inspection; had it been ATM deposit, it'll be a different story.

If a bank teller does not verify the totals that I write on my deposit slip(s), accepts it AS IS and gives me receipt that looks right to me, should there be missing funds later, problem is not mine; it is up to their Loss Prevention dept to deal with their teller. I will not accept a clawback days later just because they found a discrepancy several days after transaction occured. I've read of lots of horror stories about BoA so I don't do business with them. If a client is sure and they have proof, they can either stand their ground to make them whole OR if they have no receipt or lost it, they can just move on and deal with the MO processor(s) and pay the fees.