As with any foreign canadian check, there is a good chance if its a large check, that it will go through that terrible thing called collections!! Well with bank of america there is no actual rules of thumb, one large check will be sent through collections and the same size check a year later will not, they will make it available the same day, wtfrig? Why are they doing this. I have been with them for 15 years or longer and I never know what they are going to do?. Then back to another large check stating it has to go through collections again, all from the same bank, most all the same amount. Although this one was larger. How can they get away with treating their customers like this, you never know what to expect from them!! And then there is the process itself, why does it take so frigging long? With todays computers and everything being done electronically why would it possibly take 45 working days? thats like 3 months!!! Now my brother has had the same bank and the exact same checks issued to him, yet his last check cleared immediatly but mine didnt, we both have been with b.o.a. for the same lenghth of time, me probably longer, yet he gets a different answer too each time!! Does anyone know of any banks who are more stable in what they do? I will try to get any future checks to be direct deposited or sent as a cashier check or something, but bank of america is out the door as far as im concerned. Im also praying since it has already been 11 working days , that it has already reached the foreign exchange market is at the highest its been in a very loooong time. If the market goes down before it gets through that exchange process, I will do everything in my power to sue them for putting me through this and causing me to lose a great deal of money. And one last thing, where does that money sit while going through this process, and is some bank making interest off of my money or do they give me the interest if it did sit in an interst bearing account? Is there anyone who understands any of this?
Sorry, but I’m confused as to what you’re asking.
This pertains to your website how?
He’s complaining about the clearing time for cheques he cashes, which are presumably revenues generated by his company.
Yes, the clearing times for foreign cheques can be annoying. However, the fact your cheques are being held in the first place may be a direct result of your level of activity (or lack thereof). We had holding times for our cheques under $xx,xxx removed long ago. If you’re only depositing $1000 a month and all of a sudden deposit a $10,000 cheque, the bank needs to make sure you’re not going to cash out that $10,000, leave your account at $0 and run out of the country.
With that being said, are you an American receiving Canadian cheques? If so, why not just get your customers to make you cheques in US funds so you’re not subject to currency fluctuations?
Incoherent post. Collections has nothing to do with foreign checks. Accounts are rated and that determines hold times. No checks are held for 45 days.
I don’t know why he said ‘collections’ but you can get the drift of what he’s saying.
45 days seems long, but 30 days is definitely quite common when cashing forex cheques.
Not at BofA for a Canadian check. I have banked with BofA for 10 years and have accepted plenty of checks in CAN. This is just a rant.
What do you mean you accepted the checks? are you a teller at boa? What im trying to say is that I am receiving the same exact amount of a canadian check, lets say 100,000 and it will be put through collections as they say that it is their policy to do that with such a large check, then the next time maybe 6-10 months later, I will again ask to deposit the same exact amount, from the same bank I got the last check from, and they tell me no problem we will send it right through and it will be available that day. Why do they do that? why do they put one through collections and told it will be held for 45 days and the next time say no problem it will be available for you immediatly!
I accepted them and deposited them to my account, with generally no hold whatsoever. Typically, banks will put a hold on a check if there is concern that it won’t be paid OR if they depositor is not trusted.
In some jurisdictions, the maximum allowable hold time is 45 days. In some, they can’t hold the check the once funds have been paid. It depends on the account type, age, who it’s titled to, etc. The new Check21 rules make it very, very, rare to have a 45 day hold unless the depositor is hugely suspect.
So it sounds to me like your bank doesn’t trust you. Do you maintain a very low balance? Do you bounce checks? Why do they accept my deposits but not yours? I’d be asking my myself that question if I were you, not complaining on some forum.
Well I will definatly have to do something like having the funds transferred directly into my account or have them put in as american funds as you suggested.
My cheif complaint is that BOA is not consistant in how they deal with my foreign check deposits. As I said the same exact amount is deposited each time. But this is a temporary thing due to a inheritance. but out of 3 checks all the same amount and issued from the same bank all were treated differently. One was put through collections the other put directly into my account along with an immediate exchange rate. Then the third put through collections again, why the discrepency? This also happened back when my parent was issuing us checks as gifts on a regular basis. the exact amount each time, issued from the exact same bank and yet each treated differently. its like each teller chooses when they want to give you the funds immediatly and the other doesnt. Am I making any sense here is anyone getting the drift? Oh and they told me it would be a 45 day waiting period for the check to clear. although from past experience it rarely takes that long, but it can take a while like a month or longer.
I have been with boa for over 20 years and never bounced a check, but i do occassionally allow my account to get low, but never did anything to give them a reason to mistrust me as i also took out a loan with them once and paid it in full. I think it has something to do with the tellers, some will allow checks to clear immediatly and some feel safer doing it by the book and putting in through collections. Thats why im so aggravated, as i never know what to expect from them or what they are going to do with my foreign checks. My brother who also has an account with them, sometimes goes through the same thing. and he maintains a much higher balance, yet some checks get cleared immediatly and some go through collections. Its just weird to me why they are like this.
With my bank it depends on how much I have in my account.
If I have $xxx I can cash a check for $xx but not $xxxx i.e. I need to have enough to cover it in case it bounces. If I don’t, I wait until the bamk gets the money first.
Your specific policy is probably buried somewhere and written in legalese, but it might explain what you’ve been experiencing.
ya well i didnt have the funds to cover the last check either but yet they cleared it immediatly, but the teller was familiar with me, unfortunatly they go through so many tellers its rare to get to know the tellers unless your in the bank every day. maybe this one just knew me and allowed it to go through. anyhow im just gonna let this go thank you everyone for your input and ill just try not to accept regular checks next time or do a direct deposit if possible.
The tellers don’t decide that - that’s what your account rating is.
A branch manager at BofA has the ability to override a hold in most cases, but not a teller. The teller simply runs the check against your rating and they get a hold time. The rating is pretty simple to estimate -it’s based on the age of your account, how much recent NSF or other negative activity you’ve had, and the most important factor: the average balance (not the current balance) as compared to the check your presenting. That is why in some cases you’ll have funds to cover the check but there will still be a hold - it’s your average moving balance that determines your rating and it’s been this way at all BofA branches since they finished merging up a few years ago.
So, it’s certainly possible that a branch manager shortened a hold time for you. But it’s unlikely that teller who knows you would offer a different hold time than one who doesn’t.
As in just about everything else n business, cash is king if you can maintain a sizable reserve in your checking account you don’t really have to think about these things. I keep a cash cushion equal to about 1.5 months average revenue in the account, and I haven’t had a hold now in years. The irony is that once you have a well capitalized business going, you don’t really care about hold times anymore.
yes i have a feeling it has something to do with how each teller works, they either can get the check right through or they see a hold on it for some reason, im just confused how one teller can run the same issued bank check through one time even if i dont have the funds to cover it, yet the next time they say they have to put a hold on it even if its comming from the same bank. I would think they woulkd have access to the issuer to see the funds are there and just run it through, but apparantly they cant do that. I have been very distraught over how it can be so different each time and it made me angry as my brother also gets treated differently each time, what i am thankful for is that this could be a blessing in disguise, in that the exchange rate is only going up each day which could be in my favor. I only hope that after 16 days it has gotten at least through the exchange process before it has a chance to drop again. I will leave this alone as I also know i may be fortunate that any other bank may never give me the oppportunity to clear a foreign check at any time. whereas at least boa can clear them on occassion, sorry for the anger i feel but i will be staying with boa and will try to have the next check i get run throufgh differently, so i dont continue to have this problem.
Well what is a rating and how does it work? If it has something to do with my lenghth of time with the bank, then that wouldnt make sense as I have been with them for over 15 years, and I dont remember bouncing any checks, the only thing I can see what might change my rating is the fact that my funds are unusually low right now and I have a tendancy to put a lot of money in and take it back out over a lenghth of time. Im just confused how one teller can run the same issued bank check through one time even if i dont have the funds to cover it, yet the next time they say they have to put a hold on it even if its comming from the same bank, for the same amount.
It was also a larger check than I usually get. I would think they would have access to the issuer to see the funds are there and just run it through, but apparantly they cant do that. I have been very distraught over how it can be so different each time and it made me angry as my brother also gets treated differently each time, and he got his exact same amount placed immediatly into his account where I didnt.(he is also with boa)
What I am thankful for is that this could be a blessing in disguise, in that the exchange rate is only going up each day which could be in my favor. I only hope that after 16 days it has gotten at least through the exchange process before it has a chance to drop again. Is there any way of knowing if it has gotten past the exchange process at least?I will leave this alone as I also know i may be fortunate that any other bank may never give me the oppportunity to clear a foreign check at any time. whereas at least boa can clear them on occassion, sorry for the anger i feel but i will be staying with boa and will try to have the next check i get run throufgh differently, so i dont continue to have this problem. I also expected these funds much earlier from the issuer and this is only causing me more financial stress as I was hoping to have the money available sooner for many things i need to take care of like a much needed surgery on my pet, and payoff of my car i had to buy and did not want to have to make any payments. and many other very important things thats counting on this money. But i do understand that you have a reason for mistrusting people as anyone could really cause you a major financial problem if they were decietful that way. so thank you for your responce and i will just pray it gets here in a reasonable amount of time
Have you actually tried asking someone at the bank why this is happening rather than a bunch of strangers on an Internet forum?
well duh, ya ive tried all the way from the teller to the bank manager and they say nothing except there not sure why one would go through and the other doesnt, that its all done by a score of some sort which apparantly, sometimes i pass and sometimes i fail!! whatever i give up bank to me is just another political system that gives you the run around and as long as my money is safe and i get it eventually then i dont care anymore. i give up
That is totally unbelievable, sorry. The bank manager isn’t sure how the holds on deposits are handled? Come on, now 
well it appears nobody seems to know why things happen the way they do they just have these round about answers as to why they do such as scores and such, but anyway there is nothing i can do but wait,
Yea I’m sure it was quite roundabout. 
Your account history doesn’t add up! You can believe that it’s mysterious if you like.