My fiance endorsed his paycheck to me so that I can cash it at my bank. The cashier looked up his name from the check and said that she had to apply it to an overdrawn account that he had. She would not let me take the check back. Can she do this even though it was endorsed to me?
Some bankers feel that they can intercept checks and apply them to other debts. There are no laws allowing that sort of self help collection. A bank certainly does not have the right to grab a check that's been endorsed over to a third party such as yourself. The party that allegedly owes the bank money had negotiated the check to you. As far as the bank knew, you may have paid him for the check, and he would therefore not have any interest in the check that the bank could reach under any legal concept. Ask the bank again for a return of the check or of the money it represented.
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Some bankers feel that they can intercept checks and apply them to other debts. There are no laws allowing that sort of self help collection. A bank certainly does not have the right to grab a check that's been endorsed over to a third party such as yourself. The party that allegedly owes the bank money had negotiated the check to you. As far as the bank knew, you may have paid him for the check, and he would therefore not have any interest in the check that the bank could reach under any legal concept. Ask the bank again for a return of the check or of the money it represented.
