Can you dispute fees for a bad check?

Submitted by NobodyNo7366 t3_zz0ufc in personalfinance

My mother wrote me a bad check as a Christmas gift and she sent it in the mail with a Christmas card. I cashed it at an ATM which I usually do with checks. Then a week later I got a message from my bank with a fee equalling the amount of the check plus $12. Can I dispute the fees? I've been a customer with this bank for 10+ years and I have quite a bit of money in my account. I have never had any issues with my bank in the past. This is the first time I've ever encountered a bad check.

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t-poke t1_j28r6zp wrote

You can call and ask, but don't get your hopes up. It's your responsibility to make sure checks you're depositing are good.

And the fee is $12. They withdrew the amount of the check because that money isn't in her account, so they can't give it to you. You will never see that again. The most they might do is refund the $12.

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NobodyNo7366 OP t1_j28v3n0 wrote

So if I'm reading this right, the fee for the value of the check essentially cancels out the initial check deposit and the fee is actually only $12?

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t-poke t1_j28vmpw wrote

Stop thinking of it as a fee. The bank is reversing the deposit because it was a bad check. They can't put that money in your account because it doesn't exist. So they reversed the deposit by withdrawing that amount from your account.

The $12 - that's the fee for depositing the bad check. That's all you'll get back if the bank decides to be nice and waive the fee.

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No_Tension_280 t1_j28vr6p wrote

The deposit didn't really happen , they just 'reversed' the deposit. The fee is the $12.

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NobodyNo7366 OP t1_j28x8ld wrote

Ok then that makes way more sense. I was getting worried. I got an email that was confusing and did not outline what was happening so clearly. It just said I was being charged this one big fee which includes the $12 for the bad check.

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PichaelSmith t1_j28r6ep wrote

You can try asking them as a courtesy to waive the fee. That’s about all you can do.

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Ruminant t1_j28ta6k wrote

You can absolutely ask, politely. They very well may waive the fee, especially if you've been a customer for a long time. But of course they have no obligation to waive the fee.

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93195 t1_j28uki3 wrote

You can ask for a fee waiver, but there’s nothing really to dispute. They have a fee for cashing a bad check. They charged you that fee.

Since you’re a good customer, possible they waive it, but if they say no, it is what it is. Nothing to dispute.

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lovemoonsaults t1_j28v273 wrote

You can always ask for an adjustment in fees. It's up to the institution to agree to or not.

Bigger lesson here, multiple bad checks can get your account closed. Be very careful about personal checks, that's why they're not accepted in a lot of places anymore.

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t-poke t1_j28vrn2 wrote

> Be very careful about personal checks, that's why they're not accepted in a lot of places anymore.

Unfortunately still too many places though.

*glares at the person in front of me who had to write a check at PetSmart while I was holding a 50 pound bag of dog food*

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lovemoonsaults t1_j28wb7v wrote

Those places run them as e-checks is why. They're just a paper debit card with the enhanced systems!

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aoechamp t1_j28wfe4 wrote

Most banks will give you a one time courtesy of waving a fee. Doesn’t hurt to call up and ask.

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BucketteHead t1_j29222w wrote

I had a snafu where I had insufficient funds in my bank account when a credit card bill hit. I called my credit union up, explained the situation (and that the funds were transferred would take a few days to get to the account) and they credited the over charge fees back to me.

I would call and ask.

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simonf75 t1_j299g9l wrote

Call them, they might waive it

Don't know until you try.

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