I closed out my Money Market Account a month ago and the check for my funds has not arrived in the mail. I contacted them and they said I need to send them a notarized Lost Check Affidavit and purchase a surety bond for twice the value of the lost check in order to stop payment of the check and have another sent to me.
It seems wrong the me that I should be required to purchase a bond for a check they issued that I never received. Also it seems strange that they cannot just stop payment on the check. They should be able to see it has not been cashed and just stop payment and mail or wire me my funds. I've spoken with customer service and customer service managers but they still insist that I have to do all this to get my money.
It seems highly irregular to me. What should I do? Who should I talk to? Do I need to get a lawyer?
It's likely that the bank issued a cashier's check to pay you the balance in your account. The law (the Uniform Commercial Code) prohibits a bank from stopping payment on its cashier's check. That means that if the original check is presented for payment by a person entitled to enforce it, the bank would have no choice but to pay the check even if it had sent you a second check.
Of course, you know that the first check can't be presented by a person entitled to enforce it, since you're the only such person, but the bank doesn't know that, so it wants protection if it ends up double-paying. In all states except South Carolina, the Uniform Commercial Code provides a way for lost, stolen or destroyed cashier's checks to be replaced while protecting the bank. However, the process can't be invoked until the lost check is at least ninety days old.
You can enter a lost check claim with the bank now, but unless you can afford to wait two more months, your bank doesn't have to replace the check at all. Doing so with a surety bond might be something they can do for you, but do be aware that bonds of that type are very expensive and hard to obtain. Ask your bank about their UCC Section 3-312 claims process (in New York, it's section 4-403).
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It's likely that the bank issued a cashier's check to pay you the balance in your account. The law (the 