Jolt Country

You pay someone twenty-five dollars by check, then discover or are told either the check was lost or never received. So what do you do about it, and why?

Just a simple thought experiment.


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Nothing.

Go online and see if the check posted to the account. If it did NOT, then place a hold on the current lost check and re-issue another. If the check cleared then the person is a lying bastard and is trying to scam you. See how it is when Mrs. AArdvark works at a bank? I absorb some of this procedural stuff.



THE
OSMOSIS
AARDVARK

I give people one check and the post office one chance. If either lose it I longer consider it my problem. If you want money from me in 2011 get a paypal account.

Agreed, you're just asking for trouble with checks. I did my taxes this year via some company and the state in which I live (mysterious!) sent me a check for the refund. The US government had no trouble with a direct deposit, but Wyoming (whoops) sent me a frigging paper check. What is this Russia?

Pinback had it right. "Nothing" is actually the correct answer. If you stop payment the bank will charge $35; if for some reason someone actually finds the check and can actually cash it, your loss is $25 and might be less.

Or you can make it less, if you have no outstanding checks, you could close the account, then the loss is only the cost of ordering a new box of checks - from someone other than your bank - for a new account, which might be less than $10.


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Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:Agreed, you're just asking for trouble with checks. I did my taxes this year via some company and the state in which I live (mysterious!) sent me a check for the refund. The US government had no trouble with a direct deposit, but Wyoming (whoops) sent me a frigging paper check. What is this Russia?

No, it's Wyoming. There's probably no Federal Reserve Bank there, so all checks have to be returned by courier. If you issue several million dollars a year, requiring 2 days extra float for checks to get returned might mean $40,000 a year, or someone's salary and benefits.


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Knuckles the CLown wrote:I give people one check and the post office one chance. If either lose it I longer consider it my problem. If you want money from me in 2011 get a paypal account.

Mrs. Knuckles: Uh, why is the electricity turned off?
Mr. Knuckles: Shut up, bitch! Fuckin' bastards at the electric company don't take Paypal and the Post Office lost the check!


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Back when I was single (a long time ago), I dealt with cash only. I lived in an apartment that included cable and electricity in the rent (it was the only way they could get people to live there). Once a month I stopped by the office and handed them my rent in cash. On that same day I'd swing by the loan company to make my car payment in cash, and every three months I'd stop by my insurance agency to make that payment in cash, too. I think those were the only bills I had -- this was pre-cell phone days, and I didn't have a home phone at the time.

Now I'm married and my wife does all the bills. I think she does them all online, but maybe she mails them in. Hell, I don't know. If something ever happens to her, I'm going to have to figure out how to start paying for all this shit with cash again.

Tdarcos wrote:

Knuckles the CLown wrote:I give people one check and the post office one chance. If either lose it I longer consider it my problem. If you want money from me in 2011 get a paypal account.

Mrs. Knuckles: Uh, why is the electricity turned off?
Mr. Knuckles: Shut up, bitch! Fuckin' bastards at the electric company don't take Paypal and the Post Office lost the check!

Well I was talking about individuals. For companies I obviously pay on-line through my debit card or bank routing number. I will not deal with a company if they do not take debit cards or some form of paying a bill paying on-line.

I have a funny story about a restaurant that opened up. They take cash only but don't advertise so. They do have a sign on the window that tells you they have an ATM. The place is a Nick Tahous rip off (local greasy spoon), hots and hamburgers etc. Anyhow you order your food they throw it on the grill and you pay while it is being made.

So I went in there the first time not knowing they were too cheap to accept debit cards. Ordered my food pull out my debit card and the owner was like "WHOA WE DON'T TAKE THOSE" so I said fine I'll be right back, drove to my bank and took $20 out and came back. But I was pissed I had to drive to the bank and how indignant this cheap fuck was and that fact someone had the audacity to try and pay with a card in 2010.

So a couple months later I drive by the place. Stop in order my food watch all of it be put on the grill. Time to pay and the owner is working again. He tells me the price and I whip out my debit card. He screams "we don't take those but there is an ATM in the corner" I asked him what the service charge was and he said $3. I told him that was too much and nevermind I'll go eat somewhere else where there isn't a $3 surcharge on a hamburger. He yelled "jesus fucking christ" glared at me and threw all the food he was cooking for me in the garbage.

I plan on doing this once or twice a year at this shithole. If you run a fucking business TAKE DEBIT OR CREDIT CARDS!

We got a hamburger stand here in Port Hadlock that pulls the same shit, so last time, I got cash before I went there, and then I went there, and I paid them cash, and they made me a hamburger, and I ate it.

I plan on doing this once or twice a week at this shithole.

A $3 ATM surcharge is pretty impressive. I think the only two I've seen higher than that are at our local Indian Casinos ($4) and on a cruise ship to Cozumel ($5). I actually didn't complain about the Cozumel one because when you're in the middle of the ocean and you run out of cash, $5 seems pretty reasonable. (Supply and demand, yo.) The $4 casino one pisses me off though because the only possible reason I could have for pulling cash out there is to put it back into their stupid slot machines. Across the street from the casino I go to is a 7-11 which (at least here) has NO ATM fees.

When I was in Chicago last week I saw multiple gas stations offering discounts for not paying at the pump with a credit card. At one place it was $3.69/gallon at the pump, or $3.64/gallon if you went inside and paid cash. I don't think they do that here in Oklahoma. If they do, I've never noticed. If they add gas pumps at the Indian Casino, they'll probably pull that shit.

Knuckles the CLown wrote:

Tdarcos wrote:

Knuckles the CLown wrote:I give people one check and the post office one chance. If either lose it I longer consider it my problem. If you want money from me in 2011 get a paypal account.

Mrs. Knuckles: Uh, why is the electricity turned off?
Mr. Knuckles: Shut up, bitch! Fuckin' bastards at the electric company don't take Paypal and the Post Office lost the check!

Well I was talking about individuals.

Yeah, you did say 'people'. I still thought it was funny.

Knuckles the CLown wrote: For companies I obviously pay on-line through my debit card or bank routing number. I will not deal with a company if they do not take debit cards or some form of paying a bill paying on-line.

I get the point, even I can take credit cards, which says something. (Well, not actually me, the corporation I operate.)

Knuckles the CLown wrote:So I went in there the first time not knowing they were too cheap to accept debit cards.

I plan on doing this once or twice a year at this shithole. If you run a fucking business TAKE DEBIT OR CREDIT CARDS!

The first time I went to a McD's and I saw they now took credit cards, I knew it was over. Quite clearly any place that takes cash is going to also have to take plastic; people are going to expect it.

Well, they may not get enough orders to justify it in their opinion or they don't want a paper trail because they're ducking taxes. It costs about $30 a month plus a phone line (unless their terminal is Internet enabled) plus 30c per transaction plus about 2-3% of the transaction. So for a $12 order it costs you about 70c plus your daily overhead.

Was the order for at least $10? Technically they're not supposed to set a minimum but some stores don't want to take a loss on the order and unless it's at least $10 they will lose money due to the fees.

Also I think some (really stupid) processors insist that you have a good credit rating and they may not qualify. Since anyone can now get CC processing from Paypal and Google Payments and they don't check anything, that doesn't make much sense.

If it wasn't for the fact Paypal and Google Payments don't bill you I could get the $100 rebate from PNC for getting a better deal from someone else by showing my current bill from my existing processor. Paypal and Google Payments provide credit card processing for around 3%+30c per transaction but don't charge a monthly fee. And like the others as your volume goes up your percentage goes down. Every bank charges about $30 monthly.


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Flack wrote:When I was in Chicago last week I saw multiple gas stations offering discounts for not paying at the pump with a credit card. At one place it was $3.69/gallon at the pump, or $3.64/gallon if you went inside and paid cash.

It is a very common practice around here especially, but some states prohibit giving a cash discount and for obvious reasons credit card companies don't like it and some may try to prohibit it in their merchant agreement.


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Flack wrote:Back when I was single (a long time ago), I dealt with cash only. I lived in an apartment that included cable and electricity in the rent (it was the only way they could get people to live there). Once a month I stopped by the office and handed them my rent in cash.

I could do that but my credit union issues free checks, I like the idea of not carrying cash other than the amounts I need for things I can't use a debit card or pay by check. Much safer that way. In fact, what I do is put money into my corporate checking account and use my corporate check card for anything I need to pay by credit card.

But I don't allow my Social Security Check to be deposited into my corporate account so I don't "intermingle" personal and corporate funds even though it would make it easier for me. That might break the separation between me and the corporation, make the corporation considered my alter ego, and allow "piercing the Corporate veil." (Legal speak for disregarding the corporation's existence and treating me and the corporation as one and the same.)

Flack wrote:On that same day I'd swing by the loan company to make my car payment in cash, and every three months I'd stop by my insurance agency to make that payment in cash, too. I think those were the only bills I had -- this was pre-cell phone days, and I didn't have a home phone at the time.

Now I'm married and my wife does all the bills. I think she does them all online, but maybe she mails them in. Hell, I don't know. If something ever happens to her, I'm going to have to figure out how to start paying for all this shit with cash again.

Why not find out how to use bill pay? If you have a checking account your bank probably offers bill pay on-line where they'll either transfer funds or they'll cut a check and mail it.


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pinback wrote:We got a hamburger stand here in Port Hadlock that pulls the same shit, so last time, I got cash before I went there, and then I went there, and I paid them cash, and they made me a hamburger, and I ate it.

I plan on doing this once or twice a week at this shithole.

I'm selling fists to face for $20 cash but I would glady take debit card payment if you want to stop by :)

Tdarcos wrote:Why not find out how to use bill pay?

Because my wife pays the bills and she's not dead yet. By the time she croaks I hope my kids are handling my bills for me. And if I croak first, well, problem still solved. Either way, all I need to know now is how to use PayPal, how to pay for things with a credit/debit card, and how to get cash out of the ATM when I need some. Life's simple, life's good.

Also I asked my wife about online payments and she said all of our bills are paid online except our PO Box.