Fees for getting a bounced check?

Here's something that's always puzzled me. Maybe someone who knows a thing or two about the banking industry can answer this. Why is it that when you try to cash a check that bounces on you that you end up getting hit with an insuffient funds fee? Shouldn't all the fees go toward the person who scratched you that rubber check? Is there even any possible way for you to verify that a check is NOT going to bounce when you cash it?

Or this only an issue because my bank is Bank of America. Hmmm....

My best guess is because banks are in business to make money and fees are very profitable for them. I know it doesn't make sense and isn't fair, and I completely disagree with the practice. If this doesn't happen very often and you are a good customer, I am sure you can get them to waive the fee. If they won't, I would be shopping for another bank. Isn't there a check verification service for merchants? Perhaps a safer way to go would be to require a cashier's check or money order.

There's a fee involved everywhere you go, probably just because its allowed in the banking industry, or maybe because they do expect you to know better or something and want to teach you a lesson for "inconveniencing them." (Maybe in the days when people cashed checks instead of computers doing all of it....) If you sue someone for payment after a bounced check, you're entitled to that fee as well. The SIZE of that fee in that sense varies drastically, with Wells Fargo and BofA being the worst. WaMu isn't much better for those fees, but other common ones they are less draconian about.

Most reasonable arrangements from credit unions!!

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Most reasonable arrangements from credit unions!!

You tell him, Pamela! I've been trying to get him to switch his bank account to a credit union.

I agree, this is so crazy. Banks feel they need to service charge their customers until they are blue in he face... I have inquired and at one point and was told by one bank agent, "we need to qualify and get better information on folks writing checks". That was the most lame-o excuse I have ever heard. That is truly irrelevant to the reasoning in getting a bank fee pinged back.

I just called my bank - they told me that it was merely an administrative fee for "our" bank to process. They did say that we have the right to charge the check writer a service charge fee to help absorb the bank fee (that policy would need to be noted in writing in your customer service policy (or at the cash register, invoices, statements etc).

Hope this helps!