# Has anyone had a bank question or hold a check drawn on your account because of the signature? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 31, 2013, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969 "2013-01-31T23:09:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969/21 "2013-02-01T22:23:53Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I sign checks for tens of millions of dollars from time to time. Later the same day I often get a call from the bank asking me if I’ve signed a large check that day, and how much it was for. > > The last time, they said I needed to sign a new sample signature. Over the years I guess my signature has “eroded”. Princhester, Can you tell us what you do, or would you then have to kill all of us? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969/22 "2013-02-01T23:06:15Z")
> [@Iggins](#): > > I lost a checkbook one evening, and the person who found it wrote two checks at the store I was last at. While I believe she signed my name, it was written in large loopy letters that only resembled my name if I squinted. My credit union didn’t notice the different signature; I only noticed that I had lost the checks when they cleared my account. Thankfully, they were only for about $40 total, so I chalked it up to a charitable donation to a less fortunate soul… I should add: while in an ideal universe, the teller/cashier would check every signature, scan every bill, and seek approval from a higher-up for every transaction. In reality, noting would get done. So the chances are very low that a $40 transaction would get more than a glance at the signature. The loss is so small that the bank is willing to eat it, no problem. If they don’t look at the signature for a $5000 check, something’s wrong. But wait, you just ignored it, didn’t inform the bank? ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969/23 "2013-02-01T23:17:43Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I sign checks for tens of millions of dollars from time to time… Will you marry me? I promise not to cost you more than 10 Million $ lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969/24 "2013-02-01T23:38:08Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I sign checks for tens of millions of dollars from time to time… Will you marry me? I promise not to cost you more than 10 Million $ lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969/25 "2013-02-01T23:38:58Z")
My wage cheque was bounced as a forgery once. I was working for a disabled lady as an assistant, and I guess they just decided her signature had changed slightly, though they sent me a photocopy, and it looked perfectly normal to me. It was awful timing, I’d just gone to Europe for a summer holiday, and that was most of my holiday money… Luckily my boss was awesome, and paid it into my account for me in cash so I didn’t get stranded. It would have been for about £1000- not much to a bank, but quite a lot for me! ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969/26 "2013-02-01T23:43:57Z")
I’ve never had it happen to me, but when I was a bank CSR an eon ago, I put hold on at least two checks I can recall because I was concerned about the signature. In both cases they were very new accounts , as I’d have only been keeping personal watch on those. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969/27 "2013-02-02T10:23:26Z")
> [@Drum\_God](#): > > If I may ask, what sort of a business requires handwritten checks in such amounts? Wouldn’t it be better for all concerned if such enormous transactions were handled electronically? Lawyer. There are quite strict rules about how money can be paid out of our trust account, and checks (cheques) are how it happens. I’m not sure it’s even permissible to do it electronically. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969/28 "2013-02-02T14:21:09Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > Note quite the same but when I had my own business I used to stamp all the checks with a “For Deposit Only” stamp. One persons bank wouldn’t honor it when my bank presented to them saying it needed a signature not a stamp. Their reasoning was that anyone could make have a stamp made up. I explained that would take more time, effort and money then just signing my name especially since they didn’t know what my signature looked like. They didn’t care and I had to sign the check and resubmit it. There is supposed to be a signature accompanying the “For Deposit Only” stamp. The "for deposit only " is a safeguard to prevent someone from cashing the check if it is lost. That was something I learned from my dad…for example, whenever I got my paycheck at work I would write “for deposit only” and the account number on the back before I put it in my wallet, this was to protect me in case it got lost or stolen before I got to the bank. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2013, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969/29 "2013-02-04T05:15:38Z")
Just recently, something kinda like this happened. I was trying to cash a personal check from someone I occasionally do some work for. I was at a check cashing center I use frequently, and where I have cashed checks from this guy before. The clerk called the guy, (which is normal) and asked him what was the number on the check he had written me. (which they have never done before, but this was a new clerk.) Well, first of all, this guy doesn’t even keep a register of his checks; he’d have to go into the next room to get the checkbook to see what number the last check was – and he couldn’t do that because he was bedridden. She was very nice about it, and I had half-anticipated a problem because the amount was large. **But – the relevant part is, she told me that what first caught her attention was that the amount was written out in block print, and the signature was in cursive.** ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969/30 "2013-02-04T16:50:52Z")
… am I missing something, or is that just as unbelievably stupid as it sounds? ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2013, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969/31 "2013-02-04T17:09:49Z")
What? Taking a large check to a check cashing service instead of to the bank it was drawn on? I agree. ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969/32 "2013-02-04T19:58:04Z")
WRT a bank putting a hold on a check that worries them for some reason: I agree that it’s a perfectly reasonable thing for a bank to do. HOWEVER. I think it’s unconscionable that the bank never WARNS you they’re going to do this. It’s like they WANT you to assume the money is there and go spend it, thereby earning the bank a bunch of extra fees. Which, now that I think about it, shouldn’t be surprising at all and is probably actually bank policy, the bastards. (Yes, I know that the fine print on your account agreement says they MAY do this, and it’s only in your best interest to make sure money’s cleared your account before you spend it, and – to put it more cynically – it’s also in your best interest to start from the assumption that your bank is going to screw you any way it can. But FFS, what is so hard about a teller taking a look at a check for $10K-plus and saying, “um, Mr. Account Holder, just so you know, the bank is most likely going to put a hold on this, so don’t spend it until you know it’s available” anyway?) Hrmph. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969/33 "2013-02-04T20:19:57Z")
This was 10 years ago, but mine not only held a check because they thought the signature was forged, but called me at work and asked me if I had written the check! It turned out that, in the brief period where I was living in an apartment, the bank had put the wrong apartment number on my checks, and the person who lived at that apartment couldn’t put the checks inside the box for outgoing mail as they wouldn’t fit inside the slot, so they put the box on a small shelf next to the mailbox. Needless to say, the checks were stolen. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969/34 "2013-02-04T21:15:53Z")
> [@Chef\_Troy](#): > > WRT a bank putting a hold on a check that worries them for some reason: I agree that it’s a perfectly reasonable thing for a bank to do. > > HOWEVER. > > I think it’s unconscionable that the bank never WARNS you they’re going to do this. It’s like they WANT you to assume the money is there and go spend it, thereby earning the bank a bunch of extra fees. Which, now that I think about it, shouldn’t be surprising at all and is probably actually bank policy, the bastards. > > (Yes, I know that the fine print on your account agreement says they MAY do this, and it’s only in your best interest to make sure money’s cleared your account before you spend it, and – to put it more cynically – it’s also in your best interest to start from the assumption that your bank is going to screw you any way it can. But FFS, what is so hard about a teller taking a look at a check for $10K-plus and saying, “um, Mr. Account Holder, just so you know, the bank is most likely going to put a hold on this, so don’t spend it until you know it’s available” anyway?) > > Hrmph. What? Understandably, banks use fees, like overdraft, as a large part of your income. But I think it might go a little far to suggest holds are part of that conspiracy. Regulations are not arbitrary but [very explicitly stated](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedited_Funds_Availability_Act). Note “must.” It also says that ATMs print out the hold, something I wasn’t sure of before. Holds are also so very rare and usually occur because they bank think there is a higher than normal chance of the check not paying or being fraudulent. This is usually done because the check is unusual, and the person may be accepting a suspicious check, or the customer is suspicious, either a fraudster or else just not a good money manager. IOW banks do holds because they are _usually_ a good idea, and there are much easier methods to rack up fees. A separate issue is when you deposit a check late Friday, and it’s not available until Monday morning. In that case, it should not cause an overdraft either, as all credits will be first processed Monday followed by all debits. ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2013, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969/35 "2013-02-04T22:13:15Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > Note quite the same but when I had my own business I used to stamp all the checks with a “For Deposit Only” stamp. One persons bank wouldn’t honor it when my bank presented to them saying it needed a signature not a stamp. Their reasoning was that anyone could make have a stamp made up. I explained that would take more time, effort and money then just signing my name especially since they didn’t know what my signature looked like. They didn’t care and I had to sign the check and resubmit it. About 25 years ago I had a bank insist I buy a “For Deposit Only” rubber stamp. They refused to accept checks written to my business that were signed by me. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2013, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969/36 "2013-02-04T22:25:06Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > About 25 years ago I had a bank insist I buy a “For Deposit Only” rubber stamp. They refused to accept checks written to my business that were signed by me. That is a common requirement, but also easily solved by also adding your personal name, or a d/b/a etc. Not sure how easy those were to add/check 25 years ago, though. ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969/37 "2013-02-05T01:38:05Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > What? Understandably, banks use fees, like overdraft, as a large part of your income. But I think it might go a little far to suggest holds are part of that conspiracy. Regulations are not arbitrary but [very explicitly stated](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedited_Funds_Availability_Act). Note “must.” It also says that ATMs print out the hold, something I wasn’t sure of before. Holds are also so very rare and usually occur because they bank think there is a higher than normal chance of the check not paying or being fraudulent. This is usually done because the check is unusual, and the person may be accepting a suspicious check, or the customer is suspicious, either a fraudster or else just not a good money manager. IOW banks do holds because they are _usually_ a good idea, and there are much easier methods to rack up fees. > > A separate issue is when you deposit a check late Friday, and it’s not available until Monday morning. In that case, it should not cause an overdraft either, as all credits will be first processed Monday followed by all debits. The wikipedia page you cite says they must disclose their hold policies. (note that I already acknowledged this in my post.) It also says, > [@](#): > > Regulation CC stipulates four types of holds that a bank may place on a check deposit _ **at its discretion** _ (emphasis mine). So they may or may not place a hold on a check even if it meets certain criteria, e.g. a large deposit. There was a time when I was making semi-regular large deposits to my bank account, always from the same person, and sometimes they held it and sometimes they didn’t. It was very annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969/38 "2013-02-05T01:41:45Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Lawyer. There are quite strict rules about how money can be paid out of our trust account, and checks (cheques) are how it happens. I’m not sure it’s even permissible to do it electronically. I don’t think there are any rules against it here but I don’t think it would be a very good idea to set up electronic transfer capability to clients’ accounts. ---
**Author:** ![Terry\_Kennedy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@Terry\_Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terry_Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969/39 "2013-02-05T02:25:24Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I’ve tried to switch which bank branch my company is associated with, because our location changed, but they said it’d be too much of a hassle because my signature card is on file at the other branch. Or I’d have to close our accounts and re-open at the new branch or something. But somehow the signature cards come in to play! I ran into a situation in the early 80’s with a bank I’ll call MegaCorp in NYC. A friend wrote me a check for some smallish amount ($100 or so), drawn on his branch of MegaCorp. I went to my MegaCorp branch and tried to cash it. They declined because they couldn’t verify his signature. So I went across town to his branch, where they declined to cash it because they couldn’t verify my signature. On my way home, I said “what the heck” and stopped into a random MegaCorp branch neither of our accounts were associated with. They cashed it without any complaint. Some small number of years later, I had a business dealing where I was buying computer components for a customer and would assemble the system and charge him for my work. I didn’t have nearly enough money in my account to cover the cost of the components, so he wrote a check on his SnootyPrivateBank (henceforth SPB) account for a low 5-figure amount. I took the check and went to my MegaCorp (MC) branch, which happened to be about a block away from SPB. I took the check up to the MC teller and said “After I deposit this, how long will it take the funds to appear in my account?” MC teller: “A week to 10 days”. No good, I need to write checks to the computer manufacturers. So I go back to SPB and say “Can I have this certified, please?” SPB teller: “Certainly, sir.” I walk back to MC with the certified check and ask the teller “How long…” and get the “A week to 10 days” answer. Back to SPB. “Cashing this certified check, please.” SPB: “Certainly, sir. That’s a lot of money - where will you be going with it?” Me: “To deposit it at MC down the block”. SPB: “Would you like one of our guards to accompany you, sir?” Me: “Sure”. Guard and I schlep back to MC. Me: “Here’s cash. How long for this to appear in my account?” MC: “A week to 10 days”. Me: \ Guard and I walk back to SPB, where the festivities have raised a lot of interest among the staff. SPB manager comes up to me and asks me what the problem is, and I explain it. He offers “Would you like a private room and an assistant? You can request checks up to the total amount you have, we’ll issue them to the payees you designate, and you can take them with you.” Sounds good to me, but I realize I don’t have exact amounts, and inform SPB manager. He says “No problem, sir, we will bring you a telephone and you can call and inquire.” And they actually did bring me a phone - one of those 6-button jobs, trailing a very long 1/2" cord going back to who knows where. This, more than anything else, convinced me of the advantages of private banking, which I was able to take advantage of later in life. I wasn’t even SPB’s customer and received exemplary treatment… Of course, these days there are laws (which are enforced) regarding how long banks can play the float game for different classes of deposits. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969/40 "2013-02-05T03:18:08Z")
I was kind of nervous a couple times when I broke my right hand, and had to fill out and sign my checks lefty, Which looked like it was being forged by a clumsy 3 year old. But never had an issue at all, either in-line checks, or mailed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-had-a-bank-question-or-hold-a-check-drawn-on-your-account-because-of-the-signature/648969.md?page=3)