# Depositing Endorsed Cheque into Bank Accont via ATM



## swoop_ds (Mar 2, 2010)

My buddy wants to pay back a debt he owes me by signing over his bonus cheque to me (endorsing it). On a side note, I've deposited cheques into my ATM that have my wife's name on them (pre-name change) with no problems at an ATM. This cheque would be for about $5K. . . would it be flagged? The biggest cheque that I've done this with before was about $1800 at an ATM. I bank with TD.


----------



## birdman (Feb 12, 2013)

Probably. By saying "flagged" I presume you mean will they put a hold on your account until the cheque clears. Normally they will for around 10 days unless you have significant business, including deposits, with them. Furthermore, the F/I cannot verify the signature of the person who endorsed the cheque and in this case they could well refuse it all together or put a hold on it for a longer period of time. To eliminate any chance of the latter occuring you are best to have him deposit the cheque at his F/I and then give you his personal cheque (preferably certified) , or better yet, a draft. I guess cash would also be an option. One other possibility is to get him to certify the cheque and then endorse it over to you.
I had the same experience when my son signed over his bonus cheque to me and they didn't want to accept it and I had plenty of $$ on deposit with them, including some term deposits going out several years in an amount 20 times greater than the cheque being deposited. I also have a very large unsecured and unused credit line more than enough to cover the cheque. I raised hec and finally they accepted it. To make matters worse, I also retired 12 years previously as the Pres and CEO of the F/I and yes, I was pissed. Unfortunately, it often seems employees lack the training or smarts or perhaps its the training, go figure.


----------



## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

I would take it into the branch and escalate if the teller refuses.


----------



## DayTek (Sep 26, 2013)

frase said:


> Probably. By saying "flagged" I presume you mean will they put a hold on your account until the cheque clears. Normally they will for around 10 days unless you have significant business, including deposits, with them. Furthermore, the F/I cannot verify the signature of the person who endorsed the cheque and in this case they could well refuse it all together or put a hold on it for a longer period of time. To eliminate any chance of the latter occuring you are best to have him deposit the cheque at his F/I and then give you his personal cheque (preferably certified) , or better yet, a draft. I guess cash would also be an option. One other possibility is to get him to certify the cheque and then endorse it over to you.


I was a recent bank teller of 8 years. I worked for 3 of the top 5. This is exactly correct.



frase said:


> I had the same experience when my son signed over his bonus cheque to me and they didn't want to accept it and I had plenty of $$ on deposit with them, including some term deposits going out several years in an amount 20 times greater than the cheque being deposited. I also have a very large unsecured and unused credit line more than enough to cover the cheque. I raised hec and finally they accepted it. To make matters worse, I also retired 12 years previously as the Pres and CEO of the F/I and yes, I was pissed. Unfortunately, it often seems employees lack the training or smarts or perhaps its the training, go figure.


I mean no disrespect, but the employees were not lacking smarts or training. They were doing their job. You used your position of authority to bend the rules, that is all. I would never accept an endorsed third party cheque if I could not verify the signature. It doesn't matter how much money they had with us or who they were. A good chunk of the training they drill into you as a bank teller is detecting fraud. Accepting an endorsed third party cheque without any validation of the signature is a risk, plain and simple. Clients that demanded third party cheques be accepted I would escalate to a manager and then it would be their responsibility and ownership of the consequences, not mine. 

Please do not undermine the intellect and capabilities of your previous co-workers, especially when you know the rules. Ideals like yours are the reason there is a disconnect between management and employees in the F/I sector.


----------



## scorpion_ca (Nov 3, 2014)

You followed the rules...that's why you worked as a bank teller around 8 years......if you would use common sense, you might become a manager.


----------



## wendi1 (Oct 2, 2013)

I don't know why any "buddy" would ask you to do this. Does he not have a chequing account? Is he trying to avoid paying taxes, or getting the bonus cheque garnisheed by a creditor, or having to pay child support or alimony?

Nowadays you can deposit cheques using your smartphone and send electronic deposits via email. But there are still scammers getting unsuspecting people to cash cheques for them.

I am afraid I would fail scorpion's test for common sense, too - this whole thing has the hairs on the back of my neck raising.


----------



## DayTek (Sep 26, 2013)

scorpion_ca said:


> You followed the rules...that's why you worked as a bank teller around 8 years......if you would use common sense, you might become a manager.


I can count on one hand how many times management gave in to a client's intimidation when it came to third party endorsements.

There is no common sense in jeopardizing my job or someone else's financial well-being (that being the third party cheque owner). When you endorse a cheque, you are giving permission for it to be cashed. It is not unreasonable or illogical to need proof of that permission to protect the third party payee. 
“This is someone else’s cash, but that’s their signature. Just take my word for it.” Fraud would be through the roof if tellers believed that.

I work in admin for the investment sector of the F/I now. Even here, due diligence is imperative.

Try being a victim of fraud and you’ll find your ‘common sense’ to be subjective when it comes to how bank tellers are instructed to perform their jobs. 

Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone was honest about where they get money from? You can believe that, but spend some time having to deal directly with other's everyday assets and the rose-coloured glasses come off pretty quick.

BTW, swoop_ds, I am not saying you are being dishonest in your inquiry. But it would probably be less hassle to go another route suggested than try to deposit the endorsed cheque. Your call.


----------



## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

frase said:


> ...
> I had the same experience when my son signed over his bonus cheque to me and they didn't want to accept it and I had plenty of $$ on deposit with them, including some term deposits going out several years in an amount 20 times greater than the cheque being deposited. I also have a very large unsecured and unused credit line more than enough to cover the cheque. I raised hec and finally they accepted it. To make matters worse, I also retired 12 years previously as the Pres and CEO of the F/I and yes, I was pissed.....


12 years ago you probably would have fired a teller in your employ for breaking corporate policy. Now you're pissed because they wouldn't break the rules for your convenience?


----------



## birdman (Feb 12, 2013)

Just to set the record straight:
1. Neither the teller nor the supervisor had any idea that I worked for the company many years previously and of course I did not mention it. I prefer it this way. 
2. The teller stated that because of the second endorsement she could not negotiate the cheque. A more appropriate response would be something like " . .as this is a second endorsement I am not allowed to cash it but let me talk to my supervisor". Instead she just said no. Corporate policy was that the item should have been referred and not saying "no".
3. The supervisor didn't seem to give it any thought and just said we don't cash 3rd party cheques. I knew this was incorrect and after I explained the situation and the lack of risk they agreed to cash it. Her initial response was incorrect. 
As mentioned previously, there was no risk to the institution due to funds I had on deposit with them, much was locked in for terms much longer than any date when the cheque would ever be returned. Some were 2-3 years out. 
The part that was really frustrating is that they, and in particular the supervisor, seemed to be looking for ways to not to negotiate the cheque as opposed to "should she approve it" The teller said "no" and then her supervisor initially said "no" without giving it any thought.
I talked to personal friend about what transpired and she happened to work for the same institution in a fairly senior branch administration position and without hesitation she stated that such items should be negotiated (by the supervisor) saying something to the effect that "depending on the amount, providing the customer is credit worthy and is an established known customer". She also said that there was no "policy" to refuse them at the supervisory level. This is what the supervisors job is, to make decisions based on their training and experience. 
As an aside I worked as a teller, supervisor, and pretty well every job in the F/S business. I agree and support that tellers not be allowed to cash third party cheques and they should be referred. This was not done initially and I had to request the matter be reviewed. The supervisor's initial response of "no"was also wrong. Yes, I was unhappy but certainly did not create a scene, raise my voice, etc. and was not really p . . .ed, just disappointed in the way it was handled.
As far as breaking corporate policy not everything can be covered by rules and regulations and I was a proponent of encouraging employees, particular those at a supervisory or higher position, to use their own judgement and experience in their day to day work and as long as they had good reason for doing what they did (within reason of course) and all would be good. I'm pleased to say it was seldom a problem and also taught the employee to think things through and allowed them to grow in their job. Furthermore, what the supervisor finally did was doing her job, she certainly didn't break any rules as she had the authority to approve negotiation of the item.
Quite frankly the issue was not really a big deal and was more of an irritant but the event seemed to be worthy of mention in support of the original post. 
Little would be gained by my debating the issue further and I am exiting this thread.


----------



## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

We had a problem with TD when I wanted to deposit a rental cheque written to both of us and I had DW endorse it so I could deposit it. They refused to accept it because it was not to a joint account. I mentioned that DW was also a TD account holder. No dice.

So DW went and we signed it together. The "new" supervisor at that time said she would have accepted the endorsed cheque. So the random interpretation of rules is really irritating. I know they are facing ever increasing fraud but their reluctance to take a chance is just irritating their 30 year clients.


----------



## fraser (May 15, 2010)

Who knows. It may depend on the bank and the branch team.

I had my account frozen while travelling on business. When I returned home I found out .....my blank cheques were at the branch waiting to be picked up.

Anyone who followed the Earl Jones ponzi case and the loosy goosey practices at the Royal Bank in Beaconsfield will understand why the bank settled the law suit so quickly. The banks at both ends apparently did not bother checking endorsements, signatures, or trust fund account operations, etc.


----------



## sags (May 15, 2010)

Often the bank will accept the cheque and it will show as a deposit immediately, but no cash withdrawals will be allowed until after the cheque clears the system.

Even after a cheque clears the system, it could come back fraudulent if it was a fake cheque from a company that didn't notice until they reconciled their accounts.

If people have adequate funds in their own accounts as security for the cheque, why do they need the cash right away ?

If they don't have adequate funds...........why should the bank trust the customer, the endorser and the issuer of the cheque ?


----------



## fraser (May 15, 2010)

Recently, my MIL told me that she had not received her bank statement for two months. It is a joint chequeing account with her husband who happens to be in a home ( Alzheimer's).

She called the bank. It seems that the FIL's son had called the bank and asked that the statements be sent to him. This is how sloppy and how unreliable some branches can be.

She asked to have the manager call her. He was of course very apologetic. The fact remains that the bank.sent the statement to an unauthorized person who had no access to the account. Does not matter the bank or branch, it could happen anywhere. 

I put it down to too many part timers, too little training, too little oversight, and possibly an overworked staff. Turns out the MIL did not have 'more money than you think'. She may be switching banks. Very sloppy branch management. Makes one wonder what else goes on unchecked.


----------

