Is this normal when opening a new bank account in the Charlotte area? (credit, how much)

[KansasChick]

I opened a bank account and the check I used to open the account - was larger ($3200) - and the said that there would be hold on the check/account for 11 business days. The check is from another state - in case that makes a difference, but from a larger well known bank.

And after talking to them (I don't want to mention any names) about future checks they said it would be awhile - at least 30 days - but when I pressed further (like several months), that this would be the case.

In today's electronic society - I don't really understand why this long of a hold is necessary? Am I missing something?? I can kind of understand with the first check, but with future checks I don't really understand why this is necessary. Since Charlotte is banking city - I am hoping someone can help me understand why this is and if it is standard.

Currently, I have 2 bank accounts and I would like to close my one back in the KC area as soon as possible to simplify things and avoid confusion on my part. I am curious how long I will have to take this into consideration with all my checks.

Thanks in advance!

[flyingscotsman]

There is so many fake checks around nowadays that it standard everywhere.

By law the checks have to be honored within a certain time, now banks are placing long term holds on some checks as a vast number have taken 2-3 months to be proved as fraudulent.

[brokensky]

Hey, KSChick!!! Things are different w/ holds the last few months - as compared to when we moved here in 2002. But even then, I had to do some shuffling around to make sure accounts were staying in the black b/c of moving money from my KS accounts to new acct. here.

My bank has started holding my business deposits, wh/ is so odd. I mean - some of these clients I am on retainer with - so my bank has seen the same checks for the same (or nearly the same) amounts coming in month after month for 7 years.

But evidently, w/ the banking fallout, they instituted a policy about out of state checks. I did call and didn't get a very clear answer - just that it takes a while to clear deposited checks.

Like you, I don't really "get it." My hubby has had a direct deposit for years and they are delaying it an extra day, too. So I guess they are just being conservative. Seeing as how we have never bounced a check we have written - nor have we received a check from anyone that has bounced - it made me feel some animosity about the whole thing.

I wasn't sure what you meant - they told you that in the future - until you had banked with them a while - there would be these very long holds on your deposited checks? That is really the pits. I hope someone else who has recently opened an account will tell you their experiences. For me, I did notice this delay that seems to be routine now - sometimes as long as five days, whereas it had never been more than 24 hours in the past.

[InformationPlease]

I had this happen with a larger (very large) bank a few years ago. I was working for a start up corporation who drew checks on a business account that was less than a year old and the bank would hold those checks for 10 days before depositing the money. They cited the newness of the business account and the amount of the check as being the reasons for the hold.

The issue wasn't resolved until the company started offering direct deposit after some of my staff quit because they weren't able to cash their paychecks each week.

My account and the company's account were held at the SAME bank!!!

Good luck getting it straight... I can only imagine how much worse it is now.

[KansasChick]

I can KIND OF understand the initial deposit check, but I came the other day with a $200 check and they said the couldn't cash it and said there would be an eleven day hold on it too. So that was when I asked about future checks and if this hold would always be placed on larger checks - so I could plan ahead knowing what to expect. It just surprises me with how quickly 'other' electronic information can be verified/etc but they (the banks) find it necessary to continue to put any check I deposit on a 11 day business hold -which translates to about 15 business days.

I just started working for myself, moved and now this is just stretching things a bit tight for my comfort at the moment. I don't expect them not to wait a 'reasonable' amount amount of time - but it just seems to me that 11 business days with the exchange of information electronically is crazy and unnecessary.

I bill people after the work is done as is -and they are usually 30 days net, so waitig 15 days approx for a check to clear once it gets issues and mailed to me just seem a little crazy!

Hi Ani! - hope all is well!

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Why not use an ATM card to pull the money from the KS bank and deposit it in the CLT bank?

[Barkingowl]

My checks clear the same day that they're deposited.

[chicagocubs]

The other option is to have enough in the acct or in the savings acct to cover the check that you are depositing, lest the deposited check bounces or is other wise not any good.

[lumbollo]

This is more about the bank getting some free use of your money rather than protecting themselves against a bad check. They could call your bank to see if the funds were there for example. You can get around this by getting a money order from your old bank to deposit in the new bank.

I highly recommend looking to see if you are eligible to join a Credit Union. These are non-profit so they are much nicer to their customers than the commercial banks.

[sophialee]

Why not transfer the funds from one account to the other online? That usually only takes two or three days.