Comments on: Verify Funds on That Check Before You Cash It

By: Merchant-Fast501c3

Merchant-Fast501c3 — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 21:41:31 +0000

Chase does do check verification over the phone. They have a full listing of how to do it online. Here is the link: https://www.chase.com/online/services/document/chase_by_phone_03_23_09.pdf

I just verified a business check over the phone and they verified that the funds were not sufficient. Hope this helps!

By: sweetns

sweetns — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:50:02 +0000

bank of america will verify funds using the 800.432.1000 if you have check holders acct number and ss# it will say to enter your phone id just ignore that than enter the acct# than it will ask for the 9 didgt ss

By: Dorena

Dorena — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:27:26 +0000

This number worked for me. I tried to call the general information line first and the “telephone banker” I talked to said he was unable to verify funds since I wasn’t the account holder. I argued with him briefly, googled this site and argued some more. Then I let go and just did this. Worked fine – check verified.

By: Bank User

Bank User — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 06:33:55 +0000

Simple solution – don’t accept personal checks, accept only money orders or cashiers checks (already paid for). Greenbacks work too if the amount is not too large. When I was young and rented, I had one landlord who would only accept money orders for the monthly rent. Guess he had learned the hard way.

By: dennis

dennis — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 20:35:13 +0000

Not entirely correct, this will only verify the validity of the account. It will not at all verify any funds availability. So the account could be overdrawn or have $10,000 in it….it just tells you whether the account is valid…unless you’re a chase account holder and then you can verify funds availability.

By: Jen Taylor

Jen Taylor — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 23:57:55 +0000

I beg to differ, I just verified funds over the phone on the merchant verification line, if you have an account with Chase, they will allow you to verify funds of another account holder. The number to do that is 1-800-935-9935, option 4. If you do not have an account with Chase, they will verify that it is a valid account.

By: ctop

ctop — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 23:52:01 +0000

No one is allowed to verify funds in your account without your permission it is against the law. I called Wells Fargo and they do not verify funds to anyone.

By: cari

cari — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:32:54 +0000

us bank no longer does funds verification for third parties unless it a bank. at least not over the phone that is.

By: bella

bella — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 04:49:46 +0000

that 900# did not work

By: Ly

Ly — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 05:38:17 +0000

Not only did my credit union say I have to pay the bad checks written to me but also INS charges and if I don’t pay in a “timely” manner, it will be turned over to a collection agency and I” cannot open an account in any financial institution until it is paid” I guess they think I won’t last long enough to pay them. Poor things.

By: Ly

Ly — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 05:28:21 +0000

I wonder if I can go after the person who wrote the check. The funds were verified, but then he withdrew them and closed his account! My credit union says I have to pay them and now. I can’t, am on S.S. and can pay them $50. a month, but why do I have to pay? He wrote the checks, (yes more than one).

By: Jimmy Cracks Capricorns

Jimmy Cracks Capricorns — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 01:40:06 +0000

WTF isn’t this procedure MANDATORY? If I am in Texas and get a check from California and they say I have to bring the check to verify funds, HUH??? I called a bank the other day in Los Angeles and they refused to tell me anything other than the account number and the name on the account match up “To protect the account holder!”…..I got stuck with a $57,000 NSF check!!!

By: raymond

raymond — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 21:45:09 +0000

I too verified this week that bank of america does not verify over the phone, but does in person. Just a piece of advice. If you do go to a branch to verify funds, instead of cashing the check, at most banks you can exchange the check for a bank garanteed check on the spot . then you can deposit that check in to your account.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:52:03 +0000

True – but you have to not only enter the account number that the check is drawn on but your account number as well. And, if you don’t have an account with US Bank, they will hang up on you. I have not, however, tried to verify funds using the account number that the check was written on as if it was my account number in order to side-step the system. I would think that would lead to legal issues if you pretended that account was yours.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 18:20:16 +0000

I tried to call US Bank today (7-8-2011) and was told that they can verify funds in persona at the bank (which I have done but I am also a US Bank customer) but no longer over the phone.

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 19:04:29 +0000

Leslie,
The answer to your question is NO. The bank can not get the money back from you if you do not have an account with them. They should have NOT cashed the check in the first place if money wasn’t available. Seems to me that the issuer wrote some bad checks and their account was in the negative and the bank was trying to pull a fast one on you.

By: 4WeHelp Movers

4WeHelp Movers — Sat, 07 May 2011 20:54:43 +0000

Did you call their 800# or the local branch? You have to call the local branch.

By: John

John — Sat, 07 May 2011 16:23:26 +0000

5/2011
Just called BoA to verify funds on a rent check and they declined. Also refused to verify the account holder. Lame…

By: Janie

Janie — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 16:01:03 +0000

well, they can ask, lol. I am not sure if they can actually ‘charge or sue’ her for that money… though if she had deposited the checks in her bank account and this happened they would have taken the money back from her, like they did to us, leaving us with 100′s in overdraft fees, because bills had been paid on that money and it was like 4 days after supposedly ‘clearing’. UNREAL.

By: Janie

Janie — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:58:33 +0000

Well Fargo the same way with fee even if check drawn on that bank with an account holder there, AND they need two forms of ID, fishing license counts. unreal, so my pic and matching signature aren’t enough?! They say the privacy reasons are people could call asking about a check for 500 to see if you have that much money or not. and they don’t ‘really’ have a check. ugh. we have the same dilemma on a check we have tried cashing 6 times now. and the person is nowhere to be found, we lost out. I guess.

By: Janie

Janie — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:55:14 +0000

**screaming :)

By: mlh

mlh — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 01:52:53 +0000

FYI, Citibank will not verify funds availability on a personal or business check. Releasing any information about a client’s account would be violating the client’s confidentiality.

In any case, verifying if the money is available in an account AT THAT VERY SECOND is meaningless anyway, even if you try and deposit that check immediately. If you deposit a check written from Bank A into your account at Bank B, that money is not transferred between the banks immediately — it takes a couple of days for Bank B to verify that check at Bank A is good (unless the check is over $2500, in which case Bank B *must* verify within 24 hours, as per E.A.R.N.S.). Furthermore, transactions on accounts do not occur in strict time/chronological order. Traditionally, at the end of the business day, transactions are presented against the balance on the account as deposits/credits first, electronic debits second, service fees third, and checks last (either in order from largest/smallest or vice-versa, depending on bank policy).

You could call Bank A at 9:00 AM and verify funds on a check. Then walk down to the bank, deposit the check into your account at 10:00 AM. The person who has the account that check was written on then withdraws a bunch of money at 11:00 AM. Viola, account is overdrawn, and your deposited check is returned.

A better solution? Instead of writing personal checks, send out checks using your bank’s bill payment option. Bill payment checks are considered the same as official/cashier’s checks, are guaranteed funds, and also clear on the same/next business day (as opposed to personal checks that can take 2, 3, 4, or more days to fully clear).

By: 4WeHelp Movers

4WeHelp Movers — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 14:03:28 +0000

When we have our movers out doing a residential move and they think the customer may be passing a bad check (its easy to spot), they call into our office and we call our local PNC. The PNC tellers at the local banks always just looked it up right over the phone.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 15:18:32 +0000

You should call your banking commission and file a complaint about that one.

By: leslie

leslie — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 13:01:57 +0000

ok here is a weird sit. My friend worked for a hotel they paid her with checks fromt here banl of america account. she went to BoA and cashed them. yesterday she tried to cash her last check and they told her that the account didn’t have any money and she needed to pay back the amount for the two previous cashed checks plus bounced check fees. she doesn’t have an account with them. can they do this?

By: Jeanie Uhlik

Jeanie Uhlik — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 21:40:09 +0000

Sorry, Smitty, I guess “personal protection” has effected even writing rubber checks, I spoke with Wells Fargo just a few minutes ago. They advised me the account was active, but would not verify funds. The only way to tell is I went into Wells Fargo in person and actually cashed the check for CASH. Never deposit these kinds of checks for the obvious reasons. Thanks for your service.

Thanks, “Stung too many times in Fresno”

By: kristi

kristi — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 19:37:02 +0000

Wells Fargo does not verify funds, only accounts.

By: KAL

KAL — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 20:08:18 +0000

Hi,
Everybody’s comments have been very helpful. I was wondering if anybody had the actual 800-numbers for the banks that will verify funds over the phone. I work in real estate and have several rental properties and it would be very helpful if I was able to call and verify that the funds are there even though it is not a 100% guarantee,

By: Anjacea

Anjacea — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 01:12:46 +0000

Hello,

Do you have that number handy. I really need it.

Thank you

By: Monica Putka

Monica Putka — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 22:54:50 +0000

Hi, just thought you’d like to know that you need to cross US bank off of that list. They refused to verify the funds of a check drawn on their bank for “privacy reasons.” Also, they charge a $5 fee to cash checks OFF OF THEIR BANK if you don’t have an account!!! Their response to my complaint was that I could open a free checking account in order to cash those checks, which I refuse to do on principle!!!

By: Ashley

Ashley — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 17:42:14 +0000

I just tried to verify a check for nearly $1,000, through Chase, and the automated system could only verify that it is a VALID account. Since I am not a customer of Chase, it doesn’t allow to me to check the AMOUNT. Super big bummer- I’d like to just deposit into my account and forget about it. It’s been sitting in my wallet for two days (over the weekend), and it looks now as if I’ll have to wait another few days for it to clear? It seems like there has to be a better system…

By: Check Verification

Check Verification — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 15:40:00 +0000

I have used the universal 1-900-868-2995 number to verify checks and their validity. The number gives you the direct bank phone if the routing number is valid. If you have the person there giving you the check, you can have them call through to their bank with their 800# and when they enter in their Social Security number you can have them hand you the phone and check their actual balance yourself. All banks have this.

By: Tina

Tina — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 23:41:00 +0000

I recently received a personal check and the bank is Chase. I did try to call to verify funds on this check before I deposit it in my checking account, but they would not do so. My problem is there is no Chase Bank in my area, so what do I do??

By: antonio

antonio — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 03:33:52 +0000

US Bank does have an automated 1-800 number to verify funds on. I use it every day.

By: Travis Werner

Travis Werner — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 21:45:55 +0000

I was written a check by a person who banks at the same bank i bank with.I went the our bank and i cashed the check for the amount of 4500 dollars.The bank told me it would take a few minutes to verify the signature of the check and if the funds were available in the other persons acount.Every thing checked out and the bank cashed the check.I took half of it in cash and put the rest in my checking acount.Three days later the bank called me and told me they over drafted my acount and i needed to bring them the money back.I asked why and they said the person who wrote the check had passed away and thet closed the acount because the check was writen from a line of credit.Not anything i did wrong but they said they made a mistake and the check was cashed on good faith.Is that legal or should i persue the bank on the next level?
BTW
Its not a chase bank.My girl friend banks with you and loves the servise.I will be opening an acount with Chase as soon as my direct deposit comes good with my employer.Thanks for the 100 dollar coupon.

By: Christmasjones

Christmasjones — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:33:49 +0000

In case you get a check from BB&T, they have an automated funds verification system that is very easy to use. The number is 1-800-422-8010. Took less than a minute.

By: J

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 04:28:29 +0000

Check your state laws you may be better off depositing the check. If it bounces take out a warrant for the issuer’s arrest. It is fraud. Their attorney will call you when the bum gets thrown in jail asking how much you need to drop the charges.

By: JLH

JLH — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 13:36:27 +0000

Jenny: Could it be possible that Diana mistakenly left her ALL CAPS on? I overlooked it, just as I’m willing to overlook your misspelling “screaming.” Relax….life’s too short!

By: Jenny

Jenny — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 23:30:02 +0000

Diana Gonzales – THANKS FOR SCREEMING THAT TO ALL OF US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By: Kel

Kel — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 05:32:13 +0000

I was just informed by US Bank that they will not verify funds unless you are the account holder. This just bites when I need to see if the check is good to let these people who rented from me is good or not.

By: DIANA GONZALES

DIANA GONZALES — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:44:55 +0000

I WORK FOR AN ATTORNEY’S OFFICE IN SAN ANTONIO TEXAS. I CALLED WELLS FARGO BANK TO VERIFY FUNDS ON A CHECK WRITTEN TO OUR FIRM AND WAS TOLD THAT THEY DO NOT GIVE OUT THAT INFORMATION. THE ONLY INFO THEY GIVE YOU IS IF THE ACCOUNT IS ACTIVE OR NOT.

By: di5c0rd1a

di5c0rd1a — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 08:42:25 +0000

US Bank’s auto phone teller will only verify an account if the third party holds an account with USBank.

By: JAugust

JAugust — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:38:33 +0000

Wachovia will not verify funds either. I was told to go to a branch to do so. Um They are primarily an online bank and the closest branch is over an hour away. Sucks because I will not try to cash a $3000 check if I do not know that it is valid.
The laws really suck that we as consumers are no longer protected against this kind of stuff.

By: Mr Wood

Mr Wood — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:19:17 +0000

I to could not verify funds on a account drawn on Chase Bank.
I no longer accept checks from any client that has a bank THAT WILL NOT VERIFY FUNDS! It is now Cash Only!

By: Joe

Joe — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 03:44:37 +0000

I just went to a TCF Jewel Branch to cash two checks. They informed me that their limit is $250, unless I open an account with them. I politely declined to open an account, and asked them to verify funds. No luck there either, stating privacy concerns.

For a second I thought I was on candid camera.

On their website it states that they do verify funds for a third party (which by the way makes a lot of sense). As an apartment building manager I get my fair share of bounced checks.

By: Brit

Brit — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:25:48 +0000

Wells Fargo will only verify an account is valid they will not verify a check is good or has funds unless you take the check into the bank..

Prior to that Wells Fargo use to have a 900# pay per call line to verify funds but as most businesses and phones have 900 block and merchants complained they did a way with that and now offer no verification at all..

Welcome to the 21st Century Wells Fargo

By: Teri

Teri — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 02:25:35 +0000

I went to US Bank about two weeks ago to have them verify a rental deposit/first months rent check that I was going to cash on the spot (since the tenants wanted to move in on the 15th). They told me they could not verify it unless they tried to run it through, and since I wasn’t a US Bank customer, there was a $5 charge to do so. Same with Bank of America – $5 charge and they won’t verify without running it thru. Banks have started doing it this way because when they attempt to run it thru and the funds aren’t there, they still get to charge the check writer a bad check fee. And, you end up paying the $5 charge and may or may not walk out of there with any cash.

By: Nhut Truong

Nhut Truong — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:45:52 +0000

A credit union in Wisconsin also refused to verify fund over the telephone. The banker requested that I either came in in person or fax in a copy of the check. Didn’t they know that not all people would have a fax machine. I was over 50 miles away from the credit union physical location, so get there in person is not possible.

In my opinion, the credit union is responsible to protect their clients financial data, however, by refusing the verification of a check written in the name of their institution, the credit union is also unintentionally committed fraud as they are encouraging their clients to go ahead and issue bad checks as their clients are now known that the bad checks wouldn’t be verified.

You did great on this issue, please keep on doing what you have done.

Regards,

Nhut Truong

By: Chase BM

Chase BM — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:50:40 +0000

I am a branch manager at Chase and it is the bank’s policy not to verify funds on a check over the phone. However, like it is stated above, you can verify funds in person. You may have contacted a rogue branch or two that wasn’t familar with this policy. And like someone else said, if you always work with the same person on that branch then they may extend that courtesy to you on an exception basis.

By: Bailey

Bailey — Tue, 12 May 2009 19:18:18 +0000

Wells Fargo will NOT verify funds, only that the account is valid and open. Their policy regarding such is here: https://www.wellsfargo.com/biz/help/verification.