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Jesus fucking christ (bounced rent check)

FatsFats Corvallis, ORRegistered User regular
edited September 2010 in Help / Advice Forum
The title pretty much sums it up, I'm retarded and due to my retarded method that requires me to move money from one bank to another each month so I can use up these old checks I've got, I bounced my rent check this month. Just fucking forgot to move the money over.

Anyway, I have the money to cover it, I plan to run down to the landlord's office first thing in the morning to give it to them. What I'm afraid of is a shitton of late fees, returned check fees, what have you. I honestly, truly, can't afford them at this point.

So, I'm curious if anyone else has experience here. What are the chances that I can talk my landlord and my bank into forgiving the fees? Is it possible at all? If I call the bank up and beg, pointing out how long I've been a member and how I've never given them trouble, might they reverse their $39 charge? I've been with the landlord for years, too, but they're more or less dicks who prey on college students, so I'm less optimistic about any compassion from them.

ARGH I'm just so angry at myself. :?

Fats on

Posts

  • DirtyDirtyVagrantDirtyDirtyVagrant Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    These things just happen sometimes, honestly. Maybe try talking to your landlord about it.

    Your bank is probably not interested in negotiating though.

    DirtyDirtyVagrant on
  • FiggyFiggy Fighter of the night man Champion of the sunRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I was unable to negotiate the last time something like this happened. I ended up in the hole something like $120 between NSF charges and charges with the utility company.

    Now, I pay a few dollars more each month for my bank fee but I have overdraft. The same thing happened again, but it cost me $5 for an overdraft handling fee instead.

    Figgy on
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  • Eat it You Nasty Pig.Eat it You Nasty Pig. tell homeland security 'we are the bomb'Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Something very similar to this happened to me, although in my situation it was the result of the bank honoring a check written to me that subsequently bounced, which left me without enough money.

    Has the check actually come back from the landlord yet, or did the bank just notify you that you were overdrawn? If it hasn't come back from the landlord, it's very possible that getting enough money into the account tomorrow will prevent it from ever being a thing. If the check already came back and made your rent late, there's probably nothing you can do other than hope the landlord cuts you a break.

    I would ask the bank to forgive the fine on the grounds that you're a long time customer and it was only an accounting error on your part that caused the problem, not actual irresponsible spending. In my case the bank actually did wipe out the charges, since I was able to transfer enough money into the account to cover the check within hours of finding out that it bounced. If the bank isn't willing to do this for you, I would threaten to switch banks, and if that didn't change their position I would do it.

    Eat it You Nasty Pig. on
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  • FatsFats Corvallis, ORRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Has the check actually come back from the landlord yet, or did the bank just notify you that you were overdrawn? If it hasn't come back from the landlord, it's very possible that getting enough money into the account tomorrow will prevent it from ever being a thing. If the check already came back and made your rent late, there's probably nothing you can do other than hope the landlord cuts you a break.

    Got an e-mail about 4 hours ago saying that there were insufficient funds to cover a recent transaction. Haven't seen the check or heard from my landlord or anything. I went and withdrew enough from my other account to cover my rent payment in cash, plus I put money into the overdrawn account to cover what the check would have been. I guess I can only hope that'll help.

    I appreciate the advice, I guess I partially just wanted to vent somewhere. Nothing to do now but wait until morning and see what happens, I suppose.

    Fats on
  • Eat it You Nasty Pig.Eat it You Nasty Pig. tell homeland security 'we are the bomb'Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Checks don't transfer money as instantly as you think they should.

    What will happen is the landlord will deposit the check in their bank, and the bank will say okay, great, +dollars. Then that bank will take a few days to verify the check with the the fed and with whatever bank you are with. A check only bounces after that verification gets returned and the bank of origin says "oh hey that jerk didn't have enough money."

    So if you got the money into your own account quickly, it is likely that the landlord will never notice the difference.

    Eat it You Nasty Pig. on
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    it was the smallest on the list but
    Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
  • baudattitudebaudattitude Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Your apartment is probably going to want a cashier's check or money order, and they may ask you to pay via that method from now on. That being said, if it's your first bounce and you have lived there for years, they'll probably give you a second bounce before they move you to CC/MO only status.

    If they mostly rent to students and you're a long-term resident, you might be able to talk your way out of their late fee (usually $75 or so) but you're probably screwed re: the bank. It doesn't hurt to ask, though.

    baudattitude on
  • khainkhain Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Checks don't transfer money as instantly as you think they should.

    What will happen is the landlord will deposit the check in their bank, and the bank will say okay, great, +dollars. Then that bank will take a few days to verify the check with the the fed and with whatever bank you are with. A check only bounces after that verification gets returned and the bank of origin says "oh hey that jerk didn't have enough money."

    So if you got the money into your own account quickly, it is likely that the landlord will never notice the difference.

    If he got the email from his bank then the check has already bounced since the other bank attempted to verify the funds and they weren't available. In my experience you can usually get banks to remove a single overdraft charge and I would assume the same applies to a bounced check charge though it seems stupid for a bank to charge you for something that doesn't affect them at all since it's not like they're loaning you money like they do with a overdraft. On the landlord side, if it's a person then you can probably talk them out of any charges if you have the money that day though I wouldn't attempt to pay with another check, if it's a company then you may be screwed though the person at the office may have the authority to waive the fee if you've been a good renter.

    khain on
  • Sir CarcassSir Carcass I have been shown the end of my world Round Rock, TXRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I've had this happen before (bank decided to pend a $1000 check we deposited for over a week). Landlord wouldn't cut us a break, so we had to pay like $250 in late fees (we didn't hear about it bouncing for over a week). I don't remember if we were able to get the bank to waive that particular overdraft fee, but I know at one point we just told them we were leaving and they waived a couple if we would stay.

    Sir Carcass on
  • DeebaserDeebaser on my way to work in a suit and a tie Ahhhh...come on fucking guyRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Good luck with getting the bank / landlord to reverse the fees.

    Since you're only doing this bizarre transfer thing to save checks, you might want to consider setting up an account with TD bank. They have $0 minimum for free checking and their bill pay allows you to send out a bank check automatically by mail for free. If you have to pay by check it is the way to go. :)

    Deebaser on
  • EshEsh Tending bar. FFXIV. Motorcycles. Portland, ORRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Checks don't transfer money as instantly as you think they should.

    What will happen is the landlord will deposit the check in their bank, and the bank will say okay, great, +dollars. Then that bank will take a few days to verify the check with the the fed and with whatever bank you are with. A check only bounces after that verification gets returned and the bank of origin says "oh hey that jerk didn't have enough money."

    So if you got the money into your own account quickly, it is likely that the landlord will never notice the difference.

    Not necessarily. My landlord got my rent check in the mail last Tuesday and the money was out of my account the following day.

    Esh on
  • SipexSipex Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Yeah, I would say since you got the notice the bank has already verified the cheque.

    I had to do this a couple months ago. You may just have to eat it.

    Sipex on
  • DoraBDoraB Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I offer that there really is nothing to lose by talking to your bank about it. Last year we had a medical emergency with our cat the lead to a 800$ vet bill the day before my husband and I both got paid. We had the funds... but that evening we got hit with like ten bucks from iTunes and our monthly fifteen dollar Netflix fee or whatever, and the bank charged us $35 apiece for NSF even though the money was there hours later.

    So I called Bank of America. I was polite, I said I knew it was our fault, I didn't demand anything, but said we'd had an emergency and explained that the funds (and then some) were in our account hours later. I pointed out that this had never happened before, we'd been customers for years, and said I understood if we were stuck with the fees but asked if there was any way they could be waived.

    I was really impressed; the lady didn't even hesitate. She pulled up our account and waived the fees right then. She was really nice about it, said she understood emergencies happened, and thanked us for being customers in good standing.

    I just think you should at least try calling. You might be stuck with the fees, but you never know, you might get lucky. All you can do is be polite and humble about it. I think banks get a lot of angry calls from people, and if you're nice to someone who's just doing their job, they're a lot more willing to do your a favour in return.

    DoraB on
  • HevachHevach Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Esh wrote: »
    Not necessarily. My landlord got my rent check in the mail last Tuesday and the money was out of my account the following day.

    It can be even faster, too, if they go directly to your bank to cash it, rather than theirs (or if you have the same bank). Some credit unions (not sure about banks) in an area typically have arrangements with each other to speed check cashing, too. If either of those is the situation, the check can clear or bounce in as little as a few minutes.

    Anyway, as for this bank setup you're using: How important is it to use up those old checks? Banks charge a lot for checks, I know, but you can get those mail order checks MUCH cheaper. I've seen plain checks as low as $7 a box, compared to $25 from my bank.

    Is it really worth the hassle (not to mention the potential for expensive mistakes like this one) to keep using them up rather than just destroying what's left and using a setup with less failure points?

    Hevach on
  • adytumadytum The Inevitable Rise And FallRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Banks will often waive one NSF fee per year if you're nice. It doesn't hurt to call and ask.

    Your landlord, however, will be charging you a returned item fee that you will have to pay.

    adytum on
  • FatsFats Corvallis, ORRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Hevach wrote: »
    Is it really worth the hassle (not to mention the potential for expensive mistakes like this one) to keep using them up rather than just destroying what's left and using a setup with less failure points?

    Nope! I learned that today. I felt weird about not using most of the box of checks, but I'm gonna go ahead and throw them in my parents' wood stove.

    I ended up paying $25 to the landlord for bouncing the check. I was afraid of the huge late fee that's in my lease, but they were super nice about it. Going to call the bank this afternoon and see if they can help me, but even if they can't I'm only out $60, so all in all, not too expensive a mistake.

    I really appreciate all the replies, they made me feel better about what seemed like a doom scenario last night. Problem solved, lesson learned.

    Fats on
  • DemerdarDemerdar Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Fats wrote: »
    Has the check actually come back from the landlord yet, or did the bank just notify you that you were overdrawn? If it hasn't come back from the landlord, it's very possible that getting enough money into the account tomorrow will prevent it from ever being a thing. If the check already came back and made your rent late, there's probably nothing you can do other than hope the landlord cuts you a break.

    Got an e-mail about 4 hours ago saying that there were insufficient funds to cover a recent transaction. Haven't seen the check or heard from my landlord or anything. I went and withdrew enough from my other account to cover my rent payment in cash, plus I put money into the overdrawn account to cover what the check would have been. I guess I can only hope that'll help.

    I appreciate the advice, I guess I partially just wanted to vent somewhere. Nothing to do now but wait until morning and see what happens, I suppose.

    Good, I was just about to suggest bringing your landlord physical cash to pay the rent after your check bounced, :lol:

    Demerdar on
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  • KotenkKotenk Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Wait, why are you moving money between accounts solely to use up old checks? Is there something I'm missing here?

    Kotenk on
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