AboutJim Meadows Expertise I can respond to most questions concerning consumer and business relationships with US financial institutions. My expertise touches on deposit and loan issues and particularly on strategies to navigate through bank policies personell and practices. I have a degree in Economics, attended law school, Graduate Shool of Banking, and Commercial Lending and Compliance Schools.
Experience I have twenty years experience as a bank CEO. Most of those years were spent operating a bank focused primarly on serving consumer/retail needs. I helped pioneer deposit and loan products for low/moderate income individuals. I currently serve on multiple bank boards and am Chairman of a Commercial Bank in Atlanta.
Question My family placed an ad to rent out an apartment. A person from out-of-town answered and sent a check after some phone calls and emails. Now we realize that it was a scam! In any case, the "renter" send a check for $3995 and asked us to send $2000 of it to a "furniture rental company" for him.
I went to my JP Morgan Chase bank and asked, how do I know the check is good. The teller told me that if it clears then it is good. So I deposit the check on 4/12 and was told by the teller and the info on the deposit slip that it will clear on 4/18. Then I called the bank 3 time and asked 3 different people how do I know a check is good. All of them said if it clears on 4/18 then it is good.
So on 4/18, the full $3995 was credited to my account, we sent a western union to the "furniture rental company". Then on 4/20, the bank retracted the $3995 amount and said it was a bad check. Obviously, by then, the western union money was claimed already and we never heard from the "renter" again.
Now, the part about the bank is that I asked 4 different employees how I can tell the check is good. All told me if the check clears on 4/18 then it is good. So my decisions were based on the bank's advice. I feel they are responsible for the loss. Am I right? Is there anything I can do? The branch manager said I have no recourse. So do I need to go to court, write to FDIC? What are my chances?
Answer Clayton, Sorry, I don't have good news. The bank's story will be that when they said "good", they mean; when funds will normally be available. When an item is presented to the bank for deposit, your endorsement guaranties that check to the bank. The law is clear. Unless you have some some specific evidence that the bank knew the check was forged, I think you have no chance of recouping your loss. Jim
