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#286287 - 12/08/04 04:36 PM How long should she wait?
MelissaAnn Offline
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MelissaAnn
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 537
Washington State
My sister called me last night with a problem. She went to Wal-mart in May and made a credit card payment. Our Wal-mart uses telecheck, where if you write them a check, they give you the check back, and have you sign a reciept. They do not use this when they process credit card payments. When my sister made her payment the cashier gave her the check back. She told the girl that she was sure that Wal-mart kept the check for credit card payments, but the girl insisted that they don't. Anyway, The check was never cashed or put through as an ACH. But the payment was posted to her credit card. She has kept the money in her account incase it comes through, but now is wondering how long she has to wait. The check is endorsed "For Deposit Only - Walmart" So I am thinking that they really should have kept it. Any thoughts?
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#286288 - 12/08/04 05:16 PM Re: How long should she wait?
WildTurkey Offline
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WildTurkey
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 921
Down South, USA
You're saying, in essence, that a check your sister wrote hasn't been cleared from her checking account, right?

She might want to speak with her bank, but checks generally go "stale" after six months and cannot be presented for payment.

Assuming that this is the case the only reason that she might want to keep the funds is that Walmart might come back looking for settlement of the debt, and the right to pursue for debts is much longer, three years, I think.
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#286289 - 12/08/04 11:15 PM Re: How long should she wait?
Czargazer Offline
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Czargazer
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 298
Pacific Northwest
Sorry for sounding blunt here, but what's wrong with simply going to Wal-Mart, asking for a manager, and settling things right there? The manager might have to go higher up to find out what happened, but I would think that since it's their money they'd be interested in getting it dealt with.
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#286290 - 12/08/04 11:16 PM Re: How long should she wait?
GreatBlue Offline
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GreatBlue
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,362
Colorado
I agree. That's what I would do. Of course I would be very annoyed, but I'd still do it. Regardless of what legal obligation she may have, she still has a moral obligation.
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#286291 - 12/09/04 12:35 PM Re: How long should she wait?
AnonRegulator Offline
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AnonRegulator
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 451
Everywhere, USA
As I understand the scenario, the sister made a credit card payment to Wal Mart. The payment was credited to the credit card account, but the check didn't clear to the sister's checking account. So, the sister had her credit card balance reduced, yet didn't actually spend any money doing it.

Sounds like a clerical error on WalMart's part. Unless this is significant dollars, I suggest the sister just let this sleeping dog lie. She might also want to seek out that same WalMart employee to handle her future credit card payments! :>) AR.

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#286292 - 12/09/04 01:31 PM Re: How long should she wait?
Anonymous
Unregistered

Melissa, I don't mean to preach, but there is a morale issue here. Letting the sleeping dog lie is just like taking the money and running. If the transaction had not been credited to her credit card account, she would be the first to complain at the store. Why not just do the right and honest thing and go to the store management and explain the situation.

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#286293 - 12/09/04 01:49 PM Re: How long should she wait?
Banknote Offline
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 46
Kentucky
It's nice to see that we have good moral people working in the banking industry. I agree it is a question of morals.

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#286294 - 12/09/04 02:07 PM Re: How long should she wait?
Dan Persfull Offline
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Dan Persfull
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 47,517
Bloomington, IN
Well I do mean to preach. It amazes me the number of questions we get like this. As Lee pointed out if the error was against the consumer they be the first on the door steps raising holy Cain, but when it is in their favor the first thing they ask is how they can beat the system and keep the money knowing full well the money doesn't belong to them. Then they wonder why when they ask the bank to trust them with something - such as lending them money - why they have to go through all the hoops. If the person doesn't make this right, are they any better than the person who shoplifted the merchandise - after all neither one of them paid for it.

OK, rant over.
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#286295 - 12/09/04 02:16 PM Re: How long should she wait?
Andy_Z Offline
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Andy_Z
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 27,748
On the Net
OK, I'll throw in my two cents. With the next payment you add a note saying that the last check was credited, but not debited and let them choose to find it or not. If this is a $10 payment, they'd spend a lot more than that finding it. Leave it to their option. I wouldn't spend hours of my time talking to people who may not care, so that they could find what they consider an insignificant amount of money. By advising them, if this is a systemic problem, they can consider themselves notified.

The first time I couldn't balance ny checkbook, a check had been encoded for a few cents less than it was written for. Neither the bank nor the merchant cared. I cared because I didn't balance and momma said it was supposed to balance. They didn't share my concern.
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#286296 - 12/10/04 07:20 PM Re: How long should she wait?
MelissaAnn Offline
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MelissaAnn
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 537
Washington State
I agree that she should say something. I am the kind of person that if they give me an extra $5 back in change, I go back in and tell them. But what she does is none of my business. I know that she tried to explain to the cashier at the time of payment that she had processed it different then others had, but the cashier insisted that she had done it right. I am going to suggest to her to add the note to the next payment. This way she won't feel guilty. Thanks!
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#286297 - 12/10/04 07:23 PM Re: How long should she wait?
WildTurkey Offline
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WildTurkey
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 921
Down South, USA
Quote:

..... If the person doesn't make this right, are they any better than the person who shoplifted the merchandise - after all neither one of them paid for it. ....



I blame Parker Brothers - since I was a child "Bank error in your favor" has meant free money and no guilt complex!
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This is my opinion; it is not legal advice, nor the view of my employer, and it may change tomorrow.

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#286298 - 12/13/04 02:49 PM Re: How long should she wait?
AnonRegulator Offline
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AnonRegulator
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 451
Everywhere, USA
Actually, I think the sister IS better than the shoplifter that has been hypotthetically inserted here. The sister wrote a check to make a payment on her account, the retailer accepted the payment, but for one reason or another, the check didn't get posted to her account. The sister did what was required of her under the terms of the account. As for the morality of this, I DID make a comment about the significance of the amount in arriving at a decision on whether to pursue this. AR.

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#286299 - 12/14/04 12:06 AM Re: How long should she wait?
MelissaAnn Offline
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MelissaAnn
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 537
Washington State

I blame Parker Brothers - since I was a child "Bank error in your favor" has meant free money and no guilt complex!


HA!
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"Say what you mean, mean what you say, but don't be mean when you say it."

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