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Home >> Scams/Fraud
Bank Clears Check, then Calls it Counterfeit
I sold an old car on e-bay. The buyer wanted the car shipped to the UK. He sent me a cashier's check to cover the cost of the car, plus shipping, and instructed me to wire, via Western Union, the shipping fee to his agent in the UK who would arrange the transportation. I suspected fraud and told my bank. The branch manager told me that he would tell me whether the check cleared. Three days after I deposited the check, my bank told me that it had cleared. I withdrew the amount for shipping and wired it to the shipping agent. Two days later my bank told me that the check was counterfeit and debited my account for the amount of the check. I contacted Western Union. The money I wired to the UK was picked up and Western Union cannot get that money back. I have asked the bank to reimburse me the amount I wired to the UK because I did so only because, based on the bank's say so, I believed that the check had cleared. Obviously, the bank has refused. Do I have any recourse against the bank?
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 You're responsible for the amount of the phony check, regardless of whether the bank let you use part of it. Bankers that deal with questionable checks like the one you've described should refuse them for deposit, and submit them for direct collection to the drawee bank. Depositing the check and getting confused between the definitions of "available for withdrawal" and "cleared" or "paid" only serves to cause losses and frustration such as you have described.
You really do not have a legal claim against the bank. Check with a local attorney to understand what, if any, your options are. The fact that you initially suspected fraud really argues strongly against your ability to claim the bank caused you a loss for which you have a claim for reimbursement. You should have listened to your inner voice.
Published on BankingQuestions.com 2/13/09
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