Lost Refund Check [SOLVED]

Svenne345

So my silly goose accidentally threw out a refund check from my University when I was tidying up yesterday. I was going to go deposit it today, and discovered it missing. I checked everywhere in my apartment, and discovered the trash men came this morning.

I went to my University's Bursar office to get the whole thing figured out. I asked for a stop payment on the first check and to be reissued a second one, but the secretary was less than intelligent and told me the only person in the place that could help was out to lunch. (For two hours. Where can I get a job like that?)

My instinct tells me they won't call me back right away, and I'm going to back down there in an hour and be as annoying as possible until someone puts any action towards it. If I don't get this money, I'm screwed.

So my question is this: Is there anything else I should be doing? Getting the stop payment and reissue is all I can think of. Do I tell my bank anything about it? I'm ignorant about most money handlings.

Esh

No. Just be patient (two hours is nothing) and go back there. Don't be annoying, it's your fault that this happened, not theirs.

Hevach

So let me make sure I got the details right:
1. Check is from the university to you
2. Check is gone
3. Need monies now

Question: Did you sign the back of the check yet? If you didn't, it's harder for anyone to do anything with it, but not impossible.

Nothing you can really tell your bank about - the check is tied to their account, not yours, and aside from not getting your money there's no other risk if it gets cashed - they can't find out your bank or account number, and colleges aren't supposed to be using social security numbers anymore. You'll have to deal with the university on this.

Be prepared to eat a fee. It generally costs $20-40 to stop payment on a check, which they'll probably take off the second one when you get it.

Bowen

It shouldn't cost anything, most people reissue the check if this doesn't become a habit. I've never had anyone charge me to stop payment and issue a new one.

Fantasma

The university would need to confirm first if the lost check has not been cashed yet, once they get this information from the bank, they could issue a new check to you. By the way, Esh is right in every bit here.

Svenne345

UPDATE: I went back to the office and they put a tracer on it. No one else cashed it (thank god), and I was given a stop payment for the first one. The second should be back at the bursar's office by the middle of next week.

I read Hevach's post about a fee, so I brought cash just in case, but I did not need it. This could have been ugly and detrimental, but thankfully it was neither. Perhaps I overreacted. (In the case of rent money or busting a lease, I was worried sick.)

Fun fact, as a thank you to the forum for helping me: The woman who took my info had not planned to call me until the check came. She planned to leave me in the dark, wondering where my money was for days. What a champ.