Would you cash a check for one cent?

[ultrarunner]

Jstpssng - some time bring your outboard motor. We'll put it on my 14' aluminum boat and troll for my monster bass.View attachment 586779 View off my front porch. Five acres - 80 feet deep.

Never know... one day I might just show up and if I don't get shot before I get the chance to introduce myself I would love to see the lake!

I've done that before with friends that I have standing invites... had an unscheduled layover in DC and a military friend that had said for years mi casa tu casa... so I just showed up at the door... it was a great visit... sometimes the impromptu thins are best.

 

[Howling]

Got a few small checks handling FIL estate. Life insurance company sent him a 2 cent premium refund check for last few days of the month he died. They must send out a lot of those small checks automatically.

 

[wngsprd]

If you really want to deposit it, and have a smartphone, you can use your bank's mobile banking app to take a photo of it and deposit it without going to the bank...takes seconds to do.

But why didn't Progressive just credit your new account for it?

Our electric coop used to send us a check for our annual capital credit (about enough to pay a full month's bill)...then got smart and saved all that expense by just applying it to the monthly bill.

 

[3Ts]

If you really want to deposit it, and have a smartphone, you can use your bank's mobile banking app to take a photo of it and deposit it without going to the bank...takes seconds to do.

When my kids introduced me to this I thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. But, then I received a check it wouldn't work on. The background of the check was highly figured in different tones of very dark brown. The writing was in black and the camera could not detect the difference between the back ground and the writing. Not enough contrast. Had to make a special trip into town to deposit it.

I've also received letters from professionals that have black ink on dark blue paper. The attempt is good, but if your customers can't read it then the implementation is poor.

 

[Richard]

I opened a college savings account at T. D Ameritrade about 20 years ago. Daughter graduate from college six years ago. Account had .01 cent in it after I made the last tuition payment. Tried to close the account, but they said I was not authorized???
They have been mailing me statements for the last six years because I was not authorized to close the account. Wonder how much that one cent cost them.

No disrespect meant....but what if I tried to close your bank account?

"not on your life", right?

You are correct.....it's yours and I don't have the right to do so. Likewise, your daughters account is (evidently) in her name so you can't close it.

Why not give her their phone number and have her call to close it?

Or, if you leave it as is.... maybe send the statements BACK to them, they will code the account as abandoned. After something like 4-5 years (don't know the time frame) they will ultimately turn the money over to the state (called Escheated)

So you can do this and essentially wash your hands of it.....BUT....here's the unintended consequenses.... 40 years from now, your daughter might discover she has "some funds" being held by the state of PA. She'll get excited. Dear Ole Dad won't be around to tell her it's only .01. She'll jump through some hoops to discover what it is (they won't just tell her until she offers them proof of who she is, heaven forbid she gets married in meantime and now has to also provide marriage certificate)....

So she goes through all this to discover she has a whopping .01 sitting there. She's going to stop & wonder why the heck didn't dad close this account? (presuming she doesn't know it's hers to close!!)

It just creates a mess for her later in life.


Do everyone a favor..... do whatever you need to do and get the account properly closed.


30+ years in the investment business and have dealt with this type stuff after the fact so I've seen the initial excitement it creates followed by the let down....followed by the "why the heck didn't they do that??" comments.....

Just get it done, one way or another.

 

[Richard]

And their ledgers are never going to balance...

I think a check is only valid for 12 months.... then it's automatically void (should your bank catch the date issue)

If it's never cashed, they will again, escheat the funds over to the state and you are creating another issue for someone later in life.

I know it's peanuts.....heck, it's not even peanut crumbs.....

But, if you got a notice that YOU had some "cash" at the State of your residence..... BAH! you say.... then you call and the State of your residence indeed, verifies that you DO have funds there.... but you have to jump through these hoops to get it.....

Just cash the stupid check. You are potentially just creating issues for you or someone else later on.

Now, sending the phone companies check back to them...... priceless!!

 

[Richard]

I read about an older couple who saved all of their change in their cellar. As they got older they decided to cash it in while they were still able to move the buckets. They had around $12,000. If a dollar weighs an ounce, that would be 750 lbs of change.

It happens.

I once had a conversation with a new client. Short story made longer, when he & his wife married, they had extra cash on a weekly basis. He built a wooden box with a slot in it BUT, the box was otherwise enclosed. There was no way to open the box without demolishing it.

So every week, he stuffed a $20, $50 or $100 into it.... life went on...

Something like 25/30 years later, she passes away. He's totally forgotten about this box which was placed somewhere in their house.

He remarries.

A time later, he & his new bride are going to sell the house & move.....when he comes across a box.

He immediately knew what the box was and what it contained. He just didn't know how much it contained.

As the story went, he called out to his new wife.... told her to sit down, he had a story to tell her and they commenced to open the box.

According to him, they had something like $150,000 in cash in the box.

He was now worried.....how is he going to get this deposited without looking like a drug dealer???

I told him I'd just take it to the bank and tell them the story. The story is plausible....AND.... (if he was telling the truth) all the bills should be dated accordingly.


I don't know how that ever played out.

 

[two_bit_score]

I was wondering when someone was going to bring up escheatment. There is a pretty simple resolution to all this.

SEC.gov | Escheatment Process


.

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^^
I was thinking about that this morning. How many people go to their state website to see if they have any unclaimed property?
I found my nephew's name listed there once; it was his last paycheck from a summer job he held at CVS pharmacy, and for some reason never picked up after he went back to school. He looked into it but decided it was too much of a hassle to get it for the money involved.((<$100) What I couldn't understand is that not only did it have his name; but also his address. Why didn't his employer just mail it to him?

 

[TheMan419]

To make our books balance we send out ANY amount of over payment on an account with us, yes even a penny. PLEASE for the love of god cash the check.... I mean unless you really want some kind of revenge on that company. They will have to do due diligence to confirm your address before they escheat the funds. Lots of work goes into doing that. Ugh.