10 Day "Hold"

[onthebottom]

This is a scam, they will have that check cleared within 24 hours, they're just playing the float game with you.

OTB

 

[Mencken]

This is a scam, they will have that check cleared within 24 hours, they're just playing the float game with you.

OTB

In the old days the float was a real thing...there was an actual delay in funds being there. Today I think it is different. When you deposit money they credit it immediately as far as interest, etc., and I'm sure they transfer it in at virtually the same time. The "hold" is, they say, to make sure everything clears (or is not "called back").

But by holding they also may have a bit more short term cash on hand - which may be part of the real reason for longer and more strict holds in the past year or so.

All I know is that if you deposit the cheque or draft from Nigeria...it takes a little while to "not clear", so at least they are trying to protect themselves from those sorts of things.

 

[great bear]

TBoy had some of the correct reasons for banks putting a hold on cheques that are deposited. One other reason is a number of corporations have had their cheques copied by forgers. The forgers will call up another company and order a product in the 10-15K range, and then send the company shipping the goods a forged cheque from the company which they have forged the cheque from.

Three or four days later the forgers contact the company shipping the goods and cancel the order. They then ask the company to send them a cheque to reimburse them the cost of the goods which they have piad for using the forged cheque. The company shipping the goods thinks its ok because they have cashed the forged cheque not knowing it is not good. They then send one of their cheques to the forgers to reimburse the forgers for the cancelled product.

The quality of the forged cheques is excellent and it usually takes two to three weeks for the company that had their cheques forged to catch on what has taken place. Banks only send out a statement once a month.

The people doing the forging are generally located in Europe. They employ "agents" in Canada with Canadian address and phone numbers. It is quite the scam.

 

[spankingman]

I deal with SCOTIABANK and have CASHBACK which is hooked up to my VISA Accounts on my account.I can deposit any cheque and withdraw the funds from a ABM no problem.

 

[fuji]

I deal with SCOTIABANK and have CASHBACK which is hooked up to my VISA Accounts on my account.I can deposit any cheque and withdraw the funds from a ABM no problem.

Well--what you are actually withdrawing in that case is a loan against your visa. Try depositing a cheque larger than your credit limit and see what happens--the part over your limit will be held for 10 days.

For people with "personal" sized cheques this may not be much of an issue but in a previous life I routinely had to deposit cheques in the $25k to $50k range as part of various business transactions and it was ALWAYS a hassle getting fast clearance from the banks.

If you want a real headache take a US origin cheque for $50k and deposit into a USD Canadian bank account--it'll get held for a month. The same cheque if you were to deposit it in a US based bank account would clear in around three days which is why if you really do that sort of business it's always worthwhile opening up an account with a US bank.

 

[SkyRider]

I spoke to a senior officer at the bank earlier this morning. She said that the 10 day hold is systems generated and only implemented since June 1. In practice, she said the hold can be lifted in 2-6 days or waived altogether depending on the circumstances and dollar amount. Yes, they also asked me whether the cheque I deposited is a personal or a corporate cheque.