Citizens Bank Sux

[nightfighter]

Originally Posted by JohnnyD

Forgive me because I only have direct experience with BoA... Does any check written by someone with a Citizens Bank account have the fee deducted from the amount or is it only if someone cuts me a check from Citizens and I try to go to a Citizens branch to have it cashed?

If it's the former and you're charged the fee even if you just deposit the check and wait for it to clear, then that's completely unacceptable. If it is a "check cashing fee" for going into a branch to cash a check without an account, then I don't see the big deal (this is how BoA is).

It takes man-power, time and causes an inconvenience for actual customers of the bank. Quick example: I used to have to go into a local BoA branch every Friday for my company. It'd take 30 minutes to get through the line because at least half (if not more) of the people in line were there to simply cash their check and that's with all the teller stations open. If it weren't for all the people cashing their checks and leaving (people that are no value to the bank), they could have had 1 fewer teller (reduced expenses) and the line still would have moved quicker (increased experience for an actual customer).

Maybe I just don't understand why people *have* to physically cash their checks the second they receive them as opposed to depositing them into an ATM and waiting the 24 hours for the check to clear.

Johnny, you would be charged the $7 if you took your customer's check, written on their Citizen's account, and tried to cash it at a Citizen's branch, without having a Citizen's account yourself.
Manpower and an inconvenience to "actual" customers???? You've got to be kidding me..... That whole paragraph is pathetic thinking.
Only time I have been charged to cash a check at BoA is when it is a corporate check.
Your experience with lines is because it is on a Friday, the customary pay day for much of the working world. If issued a check, that person has every right to turn it into cash, or deposit it, or do as they please with it. In my cicumstances, it may be that I have already paid for materials and or my labor expenses. By getting cash, I know I can cover those outlays. I get checks from many customers issued from many banks. No way I can have an account at all of them. Nor should I be made to wait to know that funds are good on that check, if I am tight on paying myself. I'll wait in line if I feel I want to. You can too, without a bank charging me to cash their check. In terms of cashing a personal check, I am not aware of any other bank charging a fee like this, for not having an account, other than the thieves at Citizens Bank.

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by nightfighter

Johnny, you would be charged the $7 if you took your customer's check, written on their Citizen's account, and tried to cash it at a Citizen's branch, without having a Citizen's account yourself
....

I get checks from many customers issued from many banks. No way I can have an account at all of them. Nor should I be made to wait to know that funds are good on that check, if I am tight on paying myself. I'll wait in line if I feel I want to. You can too, without a bank charging me to cash their check. In terms of cashing a personal check, I am not aware of any other bank charging a fee like this, for not having an account, other than the thieves at Citizens Bank.

Like I said, I guess I can't fully understand not being able to deposit a check and wait until the next day for it to clear. Most of my jobs are done on extremely tight margins and utilizing subcontractors. I know all too well what it's like having a vendor looking for a $15k deposit and having to wait for my client to give me their deposit first.

As mentioned in my first post, as soon as the fees start having an effect on me, then I'll look at switching my ways. Until then, if the fees make the line shorter at my bank and charging people without accounts at the bank prevents me from paying any fees, then I'm all for it.

Checks are a service provided by the bank that provide convenience and security, but not a right. I have to pay a fee for accepting credit cards and I forward that convenience cost onto the customer, how are checks different?

[nightfighter]

You are not the issuer of the credit card....

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