Yesterday I received an unexpected surprise: a cashier's check for $87.50. It was for a gig I played almost a year ago, and I had since practically forgotten about it.
What was a bit unusual, though, was that the check didn't have a recent date on it. The date was in September of 2010. The check had gotten lost in the mail for over ten months.
So, I took it to our credit union to see if I could even cash the thing. Customer service looked at it, and asked if there was a stop payment put on the check. Since there wasn't, the lady said that there shouldn't be a problem cashing it, but also told me to check with the teller to make sure.
The teller takes a look at it, and gives me the definitive answer that it might go through. (Ha!) It could go through just fine, or the issuing bank could refuse it and I could be hit with a returned item charge of $10. Yay! I've always wanted to take a gamble when I deposit a check.
The better thing to do is to call up the issuing bank about the check. I was told that they'd be able to talk to me about it if I gave information about the check. I could then ask them if they'd honor the check. The teller at my credit union seemed hopeful, since all that really happened was that it got lost in the mail for a long time. Since it was a cashier's check, the money had already been withdrawn from my friend's account, so it's now in some account of the issuing bank.
Anyway, if you find a cashier's check in the bottom of a junk drawer, or in the mail like I did, and it's as old as the hills, call up the issuing bank before you deposit it.
I have a few checks laying around, that I haven’t deposited yet. They total an amount that’s not insignificant. They’ve been sitting here for a few months, but I’ll get them deposited soon:)
Anyway, if I ran across an old check as you did, I’d call the issuing bank. That’s a good tip you’re giving here, as nobody wants to get hit unexpectedly by fees.
This is a good tip, particularly for my husband. He has a tendancy to just let checks sit rather than depositing them. On the other hand, I rush to the bank the next day. I like depositing money.
Very interesting. I know that some regular checks can have a 90 day to 180 day to a max of one year expiry date, but calling the bank on a cashier’s check was probably a good idea. Who wants to pay $10 bucks to deposit a check that’s owed to you!?
I would go a little further and just cash it at the issuing bank, if they don’t charge you to do so. Having checks returned that you’ve deposited is no fun.
It’s funny–it takes me several weeks to put checks into the bank now as well. Everything is automatic, so going to a brick and mortar bank just seems like a hassle.
Great reminder about checks. My work reissued me a expense reimbursement check the end of last year because I lost the original and they wanted to get it off the books.
Other people won’t care!
I found a check when I cleaned out a junk pile. It clearly said that it was void after 6 months, and it was about 9 months old. Then, out of the blue, the company sent me a letter that I hadn’t cashed the check and they issued a new one! Now that is customer service. They did all of that unprompted by me.
Don’t you just love those “definitive” answers? What type of gig was this? Are you a musician, or are you using the term loosely?
I am a retired musician, so I’m always on the lookout for people who can play AND love finance!