Good conversation on this thread, glad to be a part of it...
stef: Sorry to hear someone attemted to get you to fall for the scam and especially when the bank called the police. That is a common occurence though when these fraudulent checks try to be passed at a bank and unfortunetly the bank does not know if the person presenting the item is behind the scam or not and has to take every step to not only protect the bank and it's customers, but also assist in fighting crime. That scam seems to be the most popular to date, I could write you a book of other scams people try, some of them so stupid it would make you laugh, I know I did!
Mr. Johson: I totally understand where you are coming from and I agree with you it is not right for a bank to hold your money from you. Working in a branch for years and experienceing this situation numerous times, hopefully I can try to explain the method behind the madness. A bank really has no interest in keeping $30,000 or even $100,000 in cash from a customer, I mean, it sounds bad but, most banks we deal with are billion, even trillion dollar banks, even the smaller banks. Do you think your measley $30,000 - $100,000 is really going to make tht bank go out of business? Absolutely not! Withdrawaling $30,000 in cash is simply NOT a normal transaction and the suspision of a fraudulent withdrawal (meaning not the true account owner) is trying to perform this transaction. Banks can keep as much money in their vaults at one time as they would like, however for risk purposes, depending on the area, market and traffic you have, most branches will hold no more than $100,000 - $200,000 in cash in different denominations (the bulk being 20's). Keep in mind that amount goes up and down by $10,000 an hour, again, depending on area, market and traffic. There is nothing more embaressing for a bank then to have to tell it's customers "Sorry, we're out of money" It's like going to a restaurant and the waiter telling you "I'm sorry we don't have any food to serve you tonight!" Chances are, you won't be going back to that restaurant anymore (at least I wouldn't!!). So the number one reason is the availability of the cash for withdrawal. The second reason, which is most important to the teller performing the transaction. Is that if the teller does not follow proper procedure and/or performs the transaction and it turns out to be fraudulent, the teller will automatically lose their job and further, be investigated for being involved as an accomplice in the fraudulent transaction, which may subject him/her to legal hearings. The third reason is liability to the bank. Say when Mr. Customer makes his $30,000 withdrawal and Jon Doe at the teller window next to him sees the amount of cash he is putting in his pocket, then decides to follow Mr. Customer outside, bop him in the head and take all of his money, the bank is liable for what happens on their property. In turn, Mr. Customer can sue the bank for damages from being bopped in the head by Jon Doe and sue the bank for damages, including the amount of finacial loss accrued. This was a common scam years ago and still is attempted today. Bottome line, the bank has no problem giving you as much cash as you want as long as you give them notice. Almost everyone, mainly business people, who do request large amount of cash to be withdrawn, already know these measures and take steps to avoid both parties being inconvenienced. Alot of times when you see the angry person screaming at the teller, it is because they have been caught doing something possibly illegal.
I agree with you Mr. Johnson, you are doing the bank a favor by having your account with them, that's how they make money. Wether it be from fees they charge you on the account or if you have alot of money in the bank, the bank is investing the money you have and your money is earning the bank interest. That is why they want you to open accounts with them! Banks make money in 2 main ways 1. Fee income 2. Interest income (there is a whole other thread we could start on how banks make money, i'll keep it simple!)
I think calling banks leagalized loan sharks is a bit extreme, but I can't argue with it. Billions of people around the world have loans out from banks right now, so they must be doing something right! The government controls how high they can set their interest rates, who, what and how they can loan money also. The government, you may not know, is highly involved in the operations of banks. The reason for this is FDIC ... if a bank fails, each depositer is insured up to $100,000 correct? Who do you think pays that to the customer? The government does, not a bank!!! So the government does not like to see banks fail!
Gorella: Thanks for the input, I can tell you are the type of customer the bank enjoys waiting on. As apposed to the customer screaming and making a scene in the lobby simply because the bank employees are simply doing their job. TRUST ME, if it was up to the employess, they would just give everyone the money they want with no hassle, if it didn't mean they would lose their job, you can't beleive they actually enjoyed being screamed at all the time! Which is pretty much the main reason I got out of working in a branch, directly with the public.
The best piece of advise I can give is KNOW YOUR BANKERS! When you go into the same bank, and see the same teller(s) week in and week out, you begin to develop a relationship with those people. They begin to know your face, know your name and understand your banking habbits. When they see you coming in every Monday at 11:30 am, withdrawling $20,000 in cash and they haven't lost their job, after a while, my tellers made it a priority to have $20,000 in cash already waiting for the customer before they even came into the bank. This way they don't question you when you make transactions on your accounts, most will not even ask for ID because that relationship has been built! Not only does it help you when you're in the bank, it helps you more when you're NOT in the bank! When you have that relationship with the tellers, say someone steals your checks and decides to write themselves out a nice check to themselves and bring it into your bank, the teller(s) you have built that relationship with will look at that check and say "Hmmm, this does not seem like something Mr. Johnson would do, this doesn't even look like his signature" and stop the fraudulent transaction there and prevent Mr. Johnson from any loss of money. Or the alternative, the teller sees the check and says "Oh boy, this is that guy's account who yelled at me and bit my head off the other day, I better cash this check with no question or he will come in here and cause another scene" .. which would you rather have happen?