07/01/2003
06/30/2003
Are the return time frames different for an altered check versus a counterfeit check?
06/24/2003
Question: We have been contacted by a pension fund to request a return of monies paid to an accountholder of the bank over a period of 16 months (April, 2000 through August, 2001)
04/14/2003
If a single owner account is not going to be probated I know we need file-stamped copy of Death Certificate , but what about the Will? If one exists, are we required to have a file-stamped copy? Do we honor named executor in Will or do we need something that names Administrator/s? What about Letters of Appointment? Can we do Chexsystems on Executors/Administrators?
11/18/2002
A customer reported a counterfeit check to us several weeks after receiving their statement. We attempt to return it to the bank of first deposit, but they refused payment. Isn't the bank of first deposit liable for the check since it did not "know its customer" and allowed the deposit? The counterfeiter used their own name and identification on a fake lookalike check with a forged maker's signature. We recredited our customer's account but were left with a $ 7,000 loss.
11/04/2002
Our customer issued a check and the person receiving it signed the back and lost it. The person finding the check took it to a local merchant and cashed it. The issuer had put a stop payment on it, but the bank failed to return within the 24 hrs. The merchant is now sending the issuer a letter for payment of this check. What should the bank do?
10/01/2002
By Dana Turner, Security Practitioner
08/12/2002
We are in the middle of a situation with one of our customers and our check vendor who supplies us with Cashier checks. One of our customers purchases a cashier check from us for $60,000.00. We have a contract with one of the big check vendors who supply us with our cashier checks that are drawn on their bank. A lot of banks do this. This is our situation. The customer purchases the check for $60,000 and had the check payable to a corporation to purchase a module home. After several months went by he received a phone call from the company looking for the deposit of $60,000. The customer came into the bank and asks us to see if the check was cashed. It turns out that the check was cashed. So we requested a photo copy of the check and found out that our customer gave the check to a business friend who was to deliver the check directly to the company. After reviewing the endorsement of the check, it turns out that the business friend took the check and went to his local bank and forged the name of the company on the back, signed his name and deposited directly into his personal account. WE have been dealing with our vendor to recovery the funds from the bank of first deposit for over 5 months. They keep telling us, our check vendor, that the bank of first deposit has a right to try to recovery the funds from their customer first. How long does the bank of first deposit have? Our customer thinks our bank should reimburse him? Who’s liable here? What are our customer’s legal rights? What are Mercantile responsibilities? Obviously the bank of first deposit should not have accepted the check double endorsed and deposited it into a personal account with out verifying that the corporation had signed over the check. It’s my understanding that all corporate checks have to be deposited into the company account first away and can not be signed over to another party. This looks very clear to me that the bank of first deposit is dragging their feet. Are we right on how we see this situation?
08/12/2002
In the BankersOnline InfoVault, I was just reading that a drawee bank (us, in this case) has no recourse if it pays a counterfeit check (please see <a href="http://www.bankersonline.com/operations/gurus_op1001b.html">"Counterfeit Check Reimbursement"</a>.) The Q and A appears to state the drawee bank may never send the item back to the bank of first deposit after the 24-hour deadline. Why shouldn't we send the item back to the bank of first deposit with an affidavit? They credited the payee on the check, and that payee signed the check. There is no reason to think the payee didn't knowingly perpetrate the fraud, as they were not a holder in due course, but the direct payee of the counterfeit check. The bank of first deposit has an account with a crook, and should be able to prosecute. In fact, there were two checks cashed at the same bank under two different names, but same "maker". The same article also at least implies that the account owner may also not be held accountable. This is a corporate customer, however, which uses a signature "stamp". The counterfeit includes the exact signature stamp, not reasonably distinguishable from the authorized stamp. We wouldn't have questioned the signature even had we examined the checks (they were under our threshhold.) Any further comment would be appreciated.
08/12/2002
A customer came in and singed an affidavit of unauthorized signatures. According by- laws can we return these checks. The checks were forged on 5-21-02 and 5-17-02 the affidavit was signed June 7th 2002. The checks were deposited in another bank. According can we return these checks? What is the time framed for signatures that are forged.