What can I do about a check that was encoded incorrectly?

You should notify your bank promptly so they can investigate the error. Before you call, take a look at your deposit account agreement for policies specific to your bank and your account. Encoding errors are generally […]

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I wrote a check for $89 but incorrectly wrote out the amount as "eight-hundred and ninety dollars." The bank paid it as $890. Shouldn't the bank have paid according to the numeric amount?

Legally, words overrule numbers. According to state laws, if a check contains contradictory terms, words prevail over numbers. In the same way, handwritten terms prevail over printed or typewritten terms.

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I wrote a check for $300, but the bank posted it as $3,000. The bank told me to get the money from the other party. Is this correct?

No. You should notify the bank of the error as soon as possible. If the check was altered, the bank may require you to complete an affidavit to officially document the problem. If this was an encoding error, the bank should […]

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A deposit was credited to my account by mistake. Does the bank have to get my permission before removing the funds?

No. If the bank deposited money to your account in error, it doesn't need your permission to remove those funds and deposit them into the correct account. The bank may also correct the error by exercising an offset, which […]

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A deposit was credited to my checking account by mistake. Can the bank freeze the account?

Yes. The bank may temporarily freeze your account to ensure that no funds are withdrawn before the error is corrected, as long as the amount of funds frozen does not exceed the amount of the deposit. Or the bank may simply […]

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I made a deposit by check / cash and received a receipt, but the bank says that its records do not reflect the deposit. As I have a receipt, doesn’t the bank have to credit my account?

It depends. You should contact the bank and provide any details about the deposit, including a copy of the deposit receipt. However, the bank may not accept the deposit receipt as conclusive evidence that you deposited the […]

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The bank paid a check from my account that was for the wrong amount. The bank stated that I waited too long to report the loss. How long is "too long"?

You should read your deposit account agreement for the notification timeframes specific to your bank and account type. You should notify the bank of the error as soon as possible. It's your responsibility to review your […]

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