Legal Question in Consumer Law in Georgia

I just moved and when I did, I closed my account at "home" and was given a cashier's check. I wouldn't have thought of getting one but the representative suggested it and at the time I didn't know that would be the worst "yes" I have said in my life. I wish he wouldn't have suggested it! I moved to a new state and had already opened a new account therefore, when we arrived here again, the bank cards were waiting for us at the post office. We deposited two checks into the account, one being the cashiers check the other being my paycheck (government check). I was able to use the card for one day then all of a sudden neither my card nor my husband's worked. I thought it would have been something simple like I forgot to sign one of the checks or something. After spending the next two days on the phone trying to verify the checks, I'm then told that there is a 5 business day hold on these investigations and there is nothing they can do. My bank of 20 years had called them and verified the funds and faxed them but they still insisted that there is no working around this five day hold - I calculated today to be the 5th business or tomorrow, depending on if they counted the day they deposited the checks or not. Today they're telling me the fifth business day is Thursday and that I could call Friday to verify! My issue is we just moved and I have a rental, which is costing us an additional $100 a day because our jeep is at the airport and we have no funds to pick up the jeep and drop off the truck - no funds to return and pay for the rental - the new bank has all our funds! And I can't borrow that kind of money because we're borrowing that for the hotel. We don't have this kind of money on a normal day, let alone after moving. How can this be legal and how can we hold someone else responsible for the extra rental fees? Isn't it innocent until proven guilty?? But the bank had us frozen and investigated for fraud, our first transaction with them, like we were thieves!!! And caused all these extra costs so I think they should be responsible for it since they were way off "base." It wasn't fraud, my bank had told them two days after the deposit and they're still making me wait! What can I do, please????

My zip below is where we're moving to but we don't officially have a place - so my technical zip is still where we moved from 17050


Asked on 4/03/18, 8:02 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Glen Ashman Ashman Law Office also dba Glen Ashman Attorney

The bank is acting properly, and you unfortunately did a bad mistake. To prevent fraud, banks do NOT trust cashiers checks until they have time to verify and clear them, as fraudulent checks can easily be made on a cheap computer. MOST banks do holds on new customers. You should have kept your current accounts and slowly transitioned to new ones. There are hold times specified in federal law and the agreement you sign when you open an account, Not much you can do but wait - a manager may waive times for a known customer but you're not in that category.

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Answered on 4/03/18, 12:55 pm


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