Credit Union won't deposit my nicknamed check

August 12, 2016 7:14 PM

I was given a check by a client made out to my uncommon nickname. My credit union refused to allow me to deposit it "because it might be returned". They told me to get a new one written, but for various reasons it was really hard to get this one from the client in the first place. What would happen if I were to deposit the check in an ATM?

I was even depositing another check with FIRST NAME NICKNAME LASTNAME at the same time, but they wouldn't accept it. It took months to get the client to pay; I'd like to avoid trying to get them to write another. If I were to deposit it in the ATM with "for deposit only" on it would they just hold it and then eventually accept it after X days?

posted by oneirodynia to Work & Money (22 answers total)

Any chance you can cash it at the bank on which the check was written (your client's bank)? Or, 'way roundabout, open a savings account at that bank with DBA your nickname on the account, and deposit it there.
posted by BillMcMurdo at 7:21 PM on August 12, 2016 [5 favorites]

I can't speak for the processes at your CU. I know of one retail bank where ATM deposits are only reviewed when they are over a certain threshold (and I'm not sure what that amount is). If the check is reviewed and flagged, I'm not sure what would happen.

It could be that if you tried to deposit again at a different location with a different teller, they'd take it with no issues. You could also call the credit union's customer service number and explain the issue to them and see if they can help.

Having said all that, BillMcMurdo's suggestions seem sensible.
posted by bunderful at 7:33 PM on August 12, 2016 [4 favorites]

There's nothing improper about the check. It could be made out to "A Big SOB" and the teller could have a big laugh asking you "Are you 'A Big SOB'?" but the check is good. So it's fine to put it in the ATM if you'd like to try that.

BillMcMurdo's ideas are good too.
posted by JimN2TAW at 7:35 PM on August 12, 2016 [6 favorites]

Go for the ATM. If you can avoid it, don't count on the cash for 15 days.
posted by amanda at 7:35 PM on August 12, 2016 [4 favorites]

Before our organization's DBA went through, some of our CU's tellers refused checks made out to the sub-program, and others took them without objection.
posted by teremala at 7:36 PM on August 12, 2016

Checks are payable to intended recipients, even if the name isn't quite right, although banks have some discretion in not taking them. Often, you can double-endorse it on the back (with your nickname, and also your real name). I think there is a good chance that they will deposit it if it came through the ATM, as they don't always look at the names meticulously. It is common for banks to put checks on hold until the funds come through anyway, unless you have funds to cover it if it doesn't clear. If it clears (as you believe it should, as they intended it to go to you by that name), it alleviates their concern, I would think.
posted by SpacemanStix at 7:38 PM on August 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

Looks like you aren't the first person to have this issue.
posted by bunderful at 7:41 PM on August 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

I've double-endorsed checks and deposited them at an ATM without problems before (I think it was when I had Wells Fargo). I seem to recall reaching the conclusion that that was a reasonable course of action by scouring old AskMes, actually.
posted by hoyland at 7:54 PM on August 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

You probably got an inexperienced teller who was trying to cover their own ass and didn't know how to ask you for your bank number (instead of looking it up on the screen) or were afraid of being scammed and acted poorly instead of raising a supervisor.

If you threw it into the ATM, it would probably be processed as quickly as any other cheque. Financial transactions go through, they're only audited if someone complains.

If no one complains about a cheque written to a semi-/deformed recipient then there's no harm done.

If your credit union is *that* risk adverse, I'd be concerned being with them. Or Canadian banking regulations are more consumer friendly than the US ones.
posted by porpoise at 8:02 PM on August 12, 2016 [2 favorites]

I've routinely received checks written to my infant children, I just faked their signature, countersigned my own, then dropped it in the ATM or, even easier, used the mobile deposit app that sucks the routing codes off the check and does its magic. I've never had the machines complain.
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:14 PM on August 12, 2016 [8 favorites]

It could still get returned. I used to work as a bank teller and we pulled & totaled our ATM deposits by hand. Typically criminals use ATMs so depending on the amount these deposits are reviewed with even more scrutiny.
posted by Juliet Banana at 9:23 PM on August 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

I've had this same problem with my credit union, who are normally champs about everything.

One thing that worked for me once (and n/b, my bank at the time was Wells Fargo) was to endorse the check to myself on the back, using my correct name, and deposit it into my account at an ATM. YMM definitely V.
posted by missmobtown at 11:07 PM on August 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

I received a check made out to The Estate of My Brothers Name. The teller wouldn't take it because I didn't have a will stating I was the executor. The bank manager also said no. It was also from a small bank in a different state. I endorsed it and signed as the executor and then on a Friday afternoon late I made the deposit at an ATM. It went through. I would try the ATM.
posted by cairnoflore at 12:12 AM on August 13, 2016 [1 favorite]

At my CU, I had problems with a check made out to the estate of my father, from Wisconsin Dept. of Revenue (it was his tax return). Unlike cairnofiore, I had the proper paperwork, but it was third party endorsed, because Wisconsin likes to make things complex.

I had to meet with a banker and vow to not touch the funds for 21 days, to make sure it cleared. The banker I think also wrote something on the back of the check, indicating that they okayed it. But then, they let me deposit the check via ATM.

If your CU has bankers to sit down and talk with, that might be less risky than trying a different teller, or just putting it in the ATM. They can override the tellers, if the tellers still refuse.
posted by spinifex23 at 1:10 AM on August 13, 2016 [1 favorite]

Download the app for your bank if one exists, take a picture of the check and deposit it like that.
posted by fixedgear at 3:45 AM on August 13, 2016 [6 favorites]

I had exactly this problem (in Australia ) and used an atm but put my full legal name(middle names too), postal address and phone number on the back of the cheque and signed it underneath with my drivers licence number beside it (The most frequently used id here.) . Whilst the teller was a pain in the arse, the atm posed no challenge.
posted by taff at 4:04 AM on August 13, 2016

What fixedgear said. I am transgender, had a legal name change, and occasionally receive checks made out to my former name. It's never been a problem to deposit them via the app. I endorse with my [current] legal name, not the name on the check. Same thing happened when I got married - checks were made out to my pre-marriage name.
posted by AFABulous at 7:34 AM on August 13, 2016 [2 favorites]

Just mobile-deposit it if you have that, or otherwise use the ATM. I have deposited checks made out to my wife without problems. Just sign it and run it through.
posted by Slinga at 9:16 AM on August 13, 2016 [2 favorites]

Mobile app or ATM. My husband has this issue occasionally in that his legal name and nickname that he uses for his creative work are spelled differently, and sometimes clients make out the check to his nickname. He's never had a problem depositing these checks via our bank's mobile app.
posted by bedhead at 2:58 PM on August 13, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks for all the answers! Seems like trying the mobile app might be worthwhile. I'll give that a shot.
posted by oneirodynia at 7:09 PM on August 13, 2016

I have this problem. I sign the check as "nickname lastname" then immediately sign under it as "legalname lastname". You're signing it over to yourself. This double signature has worked without id.
posted by Ms Vegetable at 5:07 PM on August 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

I've had Ally Bank reject online deposits of checks with the wrong name. (Had my wife and I's first names only.)
posted by smackfu at 5:29 AM on August 15, 2016