Fed rejected my MO
Jan 18, 2019, 8:46 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: DUB-BOS
Programs: various
Posts: 3,690
Fed rejected my MO
Story so far:
Has this happened to anyone else here, and if so how did you resolve?
- Bought MO (499) with simon visa on 1st
- Deposit in local bank ATM on 2nd, all good money showing in my a/c the next day
- 2 weeks later bank reversed the deposit with transaction claiming it was a duplicate (I have not done any mobile deposits with MG MO's , so there is no way that I tried to deposit this twice)
- Called bank and they said that Federal Reserve rejected MO for being a duplicate
- Called MoneyGram tracking tool which says it was cashed on 4th (2 days after I had deposited it in the ATM)
- Waiting for bank to get back to me, but not super hopeful that this will get resolved without a lot of hassle.
Has this happened to anyone else here, and if so how did you resolve?
Jan 18, 2019, 8:59 am
#2
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,322
Wouldn't be surprised if this is a bank error, in the sense that they submitted the item twice for payment. Suggest getting image and/or back-of-check information from MG, which hopefully will show that your bank was indeed paid for the MO.
Jan 18, 2019, 9:06 am
#3
Join Date: Oct 2014
Programs: All of them
Posts: 1,664
It is a bank error, most likely they scanned it twice and forgot to record it somehow. I've had NSF errors on batches of MOs before, where a careless teller scans one check twice while completely forgetting one of the others. Usually I call them up and in the back office they find the missing check.
Jan 18, 2019, 8:04 pm
#4
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: PHL
Programs: AA Executive Platinum, Marriott LTT + Ambassador
Posts: 79
The Fed doesn't reject duplicate items. Bank's utilize 3rd party services that provide that validation - this is either a bank error as noted above or an issue with the 3rd party risk system the bank utilizes.
Jan 20, 2019, 1:46 pm
#6
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Window Seat
Programs: National Executive, HHonors Gold, IHG Platinum, Hyatt Visitor
Posts: 2,495
Or it really was a duplicate deposit... It could have been fraud on the part of the merchant who sold the money order. A fraudulent money order printed from illegitimate print stock, whoever sold the money order or someone with access to the security cameras at the seller took a picture of it and tried to deposit it on their own, etc. You have the money order receipt and stub so it is clear you were the buyer. Someone needs to push back on the place that sold you the money order because it is possible there is fraud taking place there.
Jan 20, 2019, 10:00 pm
#7
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 1,727
Most likely a bank error. But a little more "out there" idea:
Or it really was a duplicate deposit... It could have been fraud on the part of the merchant who sold the money order. A fraudulent money order printed from illegitimate print stock, whoever sold the money order or someone with access to the security cameras at the seller took a picture of it and tried to deposit it on their own, etc. You have the money order receipt and stub so it is clear you were the buyer. Someone needs to push back on the place that sold you the money order because it is possible there is fraud taking place there.
Or it really was a duplicate deposit... It could have been fraud on the part of the merchant who sold the money order. A fraudulent money order printed from illegitimate print stock, whoever sold the money order or someone with access to the security cameras at the seller took a picture of it and tried to deposit it on their own, etc. You have the money order receipt and stub so it is clear you were the buyer. Someone needs to push back on the place that sold you the money order because it is possible there is fraud taking place there.
Most common fraud is depositing check check via mobile then cashing it at a bank.
OP: does the item say “return to maker”? If so search that and you will learn exactly how to get your money back.
Jan 23, 2019, 7:35 am
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: DUB-BOS
Programs: various
Posts: 3,690
As expected, this is what it turned out to be. I called them again, this time armed with the information I had learned from my investigation. Took a lot of explaining (the agent was hung up with the idea that it was a MO rather than a check), but anyway they said they would open a case and a few days later I got a message saying the money had been restored to my account. No explanation of what happened or even an apology, but I am just happy it ended without me having to call MG and pay for a full trace of the MO's.
Just glad I still had my receipt stubs, so I could work out the timeline.
Just glad I still had my receipt stubs, so I could work out the timeline.
Last edited by soy; Jan 24, 2019 at 7:42 am
Jan 23, 2019, 10:10 pm
#9
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 1,727
WU doesn't make me pay. It's nice ur bank looked in their records w/o opening a request w/ MO. basically ur bank presented the MO electronically to clearing house & 2nd presentment was rejected for obv reasons. ur bank then said oh bad check as most do and place burden on u.
Jan 24, 2019, 7:41 am
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: DUB-BOS
Programs: various
Posts: 3,690
Are you sure about WU?
IIRC for a WU MO, the basic trace is free, but that just tells you when it was cashed and where (often a generic back office operation which is hard to identify).
If you want a full trace with exact details on a/c numbers etc, you have to pay a fee.
IIRC for a WU MO, the basic trace is free, but that just tells you when it was cashed and where (often a generic back office operation which is hard to identify).
If you want a full trace with exact details on a/c numbers etc, you have to pay a fee.
Jan 24, 2019, 12:11 pm
#11
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 1,727
Yes positive. I've done it many, many times. To clear it up with a bank generally doesn't require a full trace, but instead the reason why it wasn't accepted. Then the bank can research it. The bank could research it w/o this but wants to burden the customers.