(WSVN) - She paid a bank to stop payment on a check. They did, and then they didn’t, cashing the check with a stop payment order on it. Can a bank take money from your account after you pay them not to? Let’s check in to Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
The goal in life for many people is to sit down with a person like Carol.
Carol Sexton: “Correct, the American Dream.”
Carol is a title agent that handles the paperwork you sign when you buy your house or condo.
Carol Sexton: “I believe, if everybody plays their role and stays in their lane, that the deals go smooth.”
If the deal falls apart, Carol is the one who returns the deposit. Like last year, when she sent a client a check for $2,500.
Carol Sexton: “About a week after I released the checks, Mrs. Bernstein called me very upset, saying she didn’t receive her check, and she really needed the money.”
Carol had the solution.
Carol Sexton: “So I agreed to stop payment on that check, because she lives in California, and FedExed her another check.”
Carol paid the bank $27 and was notified the stop payment was successful.
Carol sent the woman a second check, and she cashed it.
Then a few months later, discovered the woman had also cashed the original check.
Carol Sexton: “The check that we stopped payment on cleared our account.”
Patrick Fraser: “Six months and a day?”
Carol Sexton: “Six months and a day.”
The woman wouldn’t return the second $2,500 payment.
Carol then called the bank to let them know they had cashed a check they had issued a stop payment on.
Carol Sexton: “And the bank told us ‘Sorry, Charlie, you’re out of luck. Stop payments are only valid for six months.”‘
Needless to say, Carol couldn’t believe a stop payment on a check was really a pause payment for six months on the check.
Carol Sexton: “I paid for a service to my bank, and my bank didn’t do their job. Like none of this makes sense to me. So how do you cancel a check?”
With the woman and the bank refusing to return Carol’s $2,500, guess who was stuck with the loss?
Carol Sexton: “I’m a small business owner. People go, ‘Oh, it’s $2,500. What’s your problem?’ Well, that means I have to put the $2,500 in out of my pocket that I worked hard for.”
Well, Howard, can a bank take money from your account after you pay them not to do that?
Howard Finkelstein, 7News legal expert: “Yes, and I was surprised by this. In the bank’s 15-page service agreement, it says a stop payment is only good for six months. Any bank will not cash a check that’s older than six months, but they are allowed to if they think it is legitimate. In this case, they should’ve realized it was not a legitimate check.”
Turns out the woman who had cashed the two checks has now passed away. Her apparent heirs would not return my call.
I contacted Synovus Bank. They wrote, “Thanks for reaching out about this. Unfortunately, we are unable to discuss client matters.”
That was on the 29th.
Patrick Fraser: “But then you heard from…”
Carol Sexton: “The next morning. The 30th.”
Patrick Fraser: “Really?”
Carol Sexton: “Really.”
Patrick Fraser: “And what did they say?”
Carol Sexton: “They said, ‘Check your account. We deposited the money in your account.'”
Synovus quickly returned Carol’s $2,500.
Carol Sexton: “I’m glad you’re there for the little people. You’re fighting for the little people, and we appreciate you. I knew you’d get it done. I couldn’t get it done, but I knew you’d get it done.”
Her money is back in the account of her title company, called TLC, and now we know what TLC stands for.
Carol Sexton: “TLC, before you, meant ‘Tough Luck, Chuck,’ when it came to the bank. Then I meet Patrick Fraser, and Patrick Fraser turns TLC to ‘They Love Channel 7.'”
Very clever, Carol. Very clever.
Now after the six month stop payment expires, you can renew a month at a time at some banks, but that’s ridiculous. The best way to make sure a check is never cashed? Close the account. That will do it.
No one to bank on to solve your problem? Deposit it with us. We’ll check into it to help you cash in. Carol probably could have done better.
With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.
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Email: helpmehoward@wsvn.com
Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
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