Ah. And where exactly do you park?
In my locked garage. 
Dude, how old are you? The OP describes a problem a 16 yo might have. Anyone older would have figured out several different ways to solve that problem.
What I find missing from Randy Seltzer’s comments here is any explanation for why such a system of “holds” should be necessary, or could be justified, in the present age. It’s not as if paper checks have to be physically transported to banks in other cities and exchanged for purses of bullion.
A lot of gas stations will let you pump gas w/ your debit card as long as you have SOME sort of positive balance in your account. Even $1. Not all gas stations will let you do this but I know most Shell stations do. You just have to tell the pump to process it as a Credit. I’ve had to do this more than once if my account is running low a day or two before payday. If my account is negative, it won’t work though.
**Jamie **- Was your account negative, or “almost zero”? Usually if your account is neg, they put tighter restrictions on when your funds are made available than if you have some funds in your account.
Actually, a non-insignificant percentage of checks still are manually processed. The following wikipedia entry claims it is 30%. You may find the following two items of interest.
Think: Credit Union.
jamiemcgarry, I feel your pain. It is really hard when crap happens and suddenly you are broke. (Hey I could tell you stories of all that has happened in the last year to me as legitimate emegencies that have depleted all my reserves, so yes crap happens)
First, take the advice here and get thee to the credit union. The good thing is that even though credit union themselves are small banks, they all have an agreement among themselves to allow you to use another credit union’s ATMs and be able to go into the bank for deposits and withdrawals. If you go into the credit union they will do what they can to allow your funds to be available.
Second, now is a good time to go to your employer and sign up for direct deposit. You won’t believe how happy you are. What will probably happen is that on your payday you will have the funds available at 12:01 am. Rainbows and unicorns will be flowing off of you from your happiness.
Good luck on getting your finances better in control and I hope crap quits happening to you.
Yeah, like call your sister and switch to a credit union. Which is what the OP did. BTW, he’s ~25, based upon an article written about him referenced in another thread, IIRC.
Originally Posted by Rand Rover
Dude, how old are you? The OP describes a problem a 16 yo might have. Anyone older would have figured out several different ways to solve that problem.
I’m 31. And the ability or inability to solve the problem, once that problem presented itself, WAS NEVER THE ISSUE! :smack: I started this thread to vent about the bullshit my bank put me through. NOT about how I couldn’t figure out what to do once I became stranded at the gas station. :rolleyes:
And one thing is nagging me; why can you go and cash a check and instantly get your money but if you deposit that check, the money is “held” for a certain amount of time before you can access it? Let’s say it was a weekday, during business hours, when I wanted to deposit that check. Rather than wanting to go inside and deal with the hassle, I simply deposited it through the ATM. Now, according to my bank, once they get and process that deposit, THEN they must hold it for an additional 24 hours before relinquishing those funds. But if I had simply gone into the bank and cashed the check, I would have had all the money instantaneously. So what exactly is the rationale behind this “hold” in a situation like this?
Most 31yr olds have figured out how to go through life without completely running out of all cash in their bank account & wallet with no checks, no credit cards, etc.
Basic money management skills. If you had 'em the problem never would have presented itself in the first place.
Re: cashing a check vs deposit - IIRC if the check is from the same bank, they can do a balance verification right then and there. If it’s from a *different *bank, my recollection is that they will only cash the check if you have funds in your account to cover the amount of the check. In other words - when they cash the check what they’re really doing is giving you money from your own account, then reimbursing you for the amount of the check when it clears. I think if you don’t have enough to cover the check, some banks might credit you with the first $100 or so but hold the rest - but even that would be up to the bank’s customer service policy, how long they know the client, how reliable the client is, etc.
But that’s all only IIRC - it’s been at least 10 years since I received a physical paper check.
Are we talking physical “cheques” here or electronic funds transfer? I don’t know of any businesses that still pay by cheques when EFT is available. (Of course two different systems, but I was wondering whether the use of “check” did include EFT).
That said, if it a physical cheque, I have known of the holding period for forty years and am surprised many others haven’t. Some pubs (for instance) may cash things like a dole cheque if they know you. Or they did.
Physical checks (or cheques, as it were).
Why anyone would specifically request checks instead of electronic transfer is beyond me.
Thanks DragonAsh.
Are cheques/ checks that common still? Over here I haven’t had a cheque book for over 10 years. I don’t think I know anyone who still has a personal cheque book.
UK here. I have a check book - got it when I opened my NatWest account - but have only written exactly ONE check the last two+ years, to a small charity.
Haven’t received a physical paycheck from my employer since 1994.
In the US, yes, although they’re finally starting to go the way of the dodo. In the rest of the world, well, we did have a thread recently about how they’re going, going, gone in the UK and I was completely stunned when I was filling the paperwork to request a Renfe Visa and it said to “look up your account number on your checkbook” - I’m still wondering why the heck did a Spanish bank get a US lawyer to write their paperwork and why do they think it’s a good idea (I’m refraining from asking until after I get the card, tho). My brother has worked in Finance for the last 11 years and in all that time he’s seen one (1) check. Spanish banks don’t even list checkbooks among the services they offer any more, maybe someone would be able to get one if they insisted a lot.
Note that UK banks are trying to get rid of cheques altogether (I think the last plan I saw abolished cheques by 2018?) but apparently are facing resistance from small business & charities.
Back to the topic at hand: There is zero excuse for any adult - particularly in the US - to show up at a gas station fully knowing he has zero funds in his bank account and wallet with no checks, credit card, or other means of payment. None.
DragonAsh, the OP had checked with his bank before going to the gas station and been told he did have funds.
Your response here is an excellent example of why so many people think you are an asshole. And yes, the fact that you were stranded at the gas station is precisely the problem. An adult who can manage his money properly would never put himself in such a situation. And I’ll ask again, why don’t you have a credit card, at least for emergencies?