I have a friend who does not have a bank account. She gave me some cheques to deposit into my account, withdraw the money, and then give it to her. Simple, right?
The first time we did this, the cheque was returned (after I had withdrawn and handed over the money) because she had to sign it in the presence of a teller. (Third party cheque and all that.) Fine. So the person who wrote out the cheque wrote out another cheque to my name. I deposited it, and withdrew what part belonged to my friend. And then the check was returned as “Non-Sufficient Funds.” Now my bank account is seriously in the negative.
I got a letter from the bank saying that I need to replenish the funds or suffer having the account closed and being reported to a credit or collection agency.
The exact words are:
It will be difficult for me to muster than much money (about two and a half thousand) in two weeks. What can/should I do (other than get on my friend’s case)?
Put the entire situation in writing to your bank. Provide friend’s name/address as responsible party. They may or may not take action against them instead.
Meanwhile, get on friend’s case and consider small claims suit if they do not cough up the cash.
And never, ever, do this sort of favor for them again.
I’m a bank manager, and I’d say that if you just go to your bank and explain the situation and set up some sort of payment plan, then they probably won’t report you to ChexSystems. They just want their money, and if you make a good faith effort to try and repay them then they will work with you.
If you haven’t had a problem with them before and had very little overdraft activity I would ask them if they would be willing to give you a personal loan for the balance. It would get the bank off of you almost immediatly and would keep the bank from charging off your account… which is good for everyone.
Um, oooops. My bad. I meant to start a new new thread.
Anyway, I spoke with my friend, who confronted the person who wrote trhe cheque. There should be enough funds for me to resubmit the cheque, so all should be good.
But this is the last time this will happen, for sure.
All right, I’m too late, but dammit, I’m going to give my opinion anyway.
Take a personal loan for the amount and deposit the amount in your account. Chances are the rate for a personal loan is less than the overdraft fees and interest charge on the overdrawn account. See Ottoerortics advice.
Obviously you’ve already stated this, but don’t do it again. Wait until the cheque clears before withdrawing it or help your friend open an account. You’re probably already on the hook for an overdraft fee and an NSF fee, plus interest on the overdraft amount, so make sure that each of the parties involved know that you’ve taken a hit for their convenience to the tune of $xx.
Dude. I know everybody else has said it already, but there’s really no reason for a person not to be able to get a checking account. I mean, unless they’ve proven themselves without a shadow of a doubt to be amazingly unreliable, and even then I suspect a bank would give you an account if you also had a savings account there or ponied up a minimum deposit.
Actually, there is at least one very good reason. A friend of mine is married to a drug addict who moved across the country and left her and their small son in significant debt. She can’t get a checking or savings account because 1) all the debtors will have a fight over who gets to take money from it first; 2) the drug dealer will have a legal right to the account, since they’re still married, and 3) it will trigger a traceable paper trail for the drug dealer to get her home address and phone number (he does have several means of reaching her, in case you’re wondering, but she doesn’t want him showing up unexpectedly on her doorstep). You wouldn’t believe the trouble this poor woman goes through to get paid at her job, where they want everyone to do direct deposit.
This is what check cashing services are for. Or, if they want to avoid the fees, wait until the check clears before taking the money out.
Don’t take money out of your account trusting that a check will clear unless it’s from a party with unimpeachable credit. Even then, things can always go wrong, dangerous business.
Just curious, is the person who wrote the check local? If so, why isn’t he just giving your friend cash?
There’s actually one fairly good reason: the initial deposit for the account is a bad check. In that case, you look for a friend who’ll use her account.
That seems like a spectacularly bad idea- if it bounces again, it will be another fee on top of what you owe. You need to get your friend to give you the negative balance amount in CASH immediately and deposit it.
It bears repeating again, I think - friends and money don’t mix, unless you can afford to lose the friend. Take this to heart, sew a sampler, hang it over your computer. It’s one of the truths of life, like “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
Okay, what I should have said is “most reasons a person can’t get a checking account indicate that you shouldn’t be trusting them with yours”. If it’s a situation like bobkitty mentioned, one can do business in money orders if necessary without playing fast and loose with other people’s checking accounts.
If it’s a situation like bobkitty mentioned, one can do business in money orders if necessary without playing fast and loose with other people’s checking accounts.