Dear Ben: I have a check from a mortgage company for more than $500. It expired a couple of years ago. Is there anything that I can do to deposit or cash this check?
Irwin, via e-mail
Dear Irwin: You can roll the dice and try depositing the check, but I suspect the bank (either yours or theirs) will jump on the chance to reject it, based on the age of the check. Your easiest and surest route to get what you’re owed leads back to the original issuer. According to Bill Starkey, Jr., president/CEO of Plano-based WR Starkey Mortgage: "Tell Irwin to go back to the mortgage company who wrote the original check and explain to them that he never cashed it–and ask them to issue a new check. They’ll be able to verify/confirm that it (the original check) never cleared their bank and shouldn’t have a problem re-issuing another check."I’ll second Bill’s suggestion and add one of my own: Be sure to make/keep a photocopy of the check, but enclose/staple the original to the explanation/new check request letter you’re about to write. Call their customer service number, explain your situation and ask them where you should mail your request. Most important–paper your trail and mail it via Certified Mail/Return Receipt Requested. By the way (since we’re on the subject of mortgages): My new 2004 Home Buyer’s Guide is now available on my website. I cover all the bases–buying, selling, re-financing, hiring movers, reverse mortgages for seniors, and even include archived TV segments–all invaluable insights for first-time home buyers, and all free for the taking: www.bendover.com/home.asp.
Dear Ben: I had to register my name, address, etc. on a web site and used a fake name, but my real address. I just received a check for 18 cents, made out to the fake name, along with a letter telling me I was being awarded this money because I was involved in a class action lawsuit against a credit card company. This is impossible–I don’t even have one of their cards in my real name, let alone my fake one! It was supposedly an award from a class action lawsuit for over-charged finance charges. How could this happen? Is this some kind of scam? The check looks legit, and there’s nothing on the letter (or check) that says anything will happen if I cash it.
Holly (my real name!), via e-mail
Dear Holly: It sounds to me like your original instincts that caused you to use a fake name were right on target in the first place. I’d like to know the actual address of the original website, because this deal screams scam alert, big time! The facts speak for themselves and hammer home why we’ve got to be extremely cautious (and stingy) whenever we’re asked to give up seemingly innocent–but personal–information.Would I deposit a check for 18 cents? No...but I would add it to my file with the other dozen-or-so other "settlement" checks for similarly silly sums. "Legitimate" class action settlements–a necessary "club" for consumers to whack Corporate America with occasionally–rarely deliver real value to you and me: Most of the time we end up with checks that wouldn’t cover a coffee at Starbuck’s (plus a fist-full of "valuable" coupons) while the attorneys walk off with millions for their time and trouble...you’ve gotta love America, huh?
In your case, I suspect a scam designed to get your banking information off the back of the deposited check. "Thrifty" consumers–motivated to deposit such unexplainable but paltry sums–are biting on what appears to be a come-on/set-up for the plentiful and larcenous bank scammers of the world. You cash the check, they read your bank account information off the back of the 18 cent check once it’s cleared the banking system, and then they turn around and hit your account with as many unauthorized drafts and debits as possible before you (or your bank) shut ’em down.
Dose of Dover For The Week: This last letter reminds me to remind you to reconcile your bank statement as soon as you receive it every month. If you fail to catch bank errors within 60 days of the statement date, you forfeit your right to recover any monies lost. Life isn’t fair–so check their work.
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