7

I don't know how to resolve this with my name upheld and all monies intact. I recently was approved for a small personal loan. This is the first time I've ever gotten a loan.

I received a check for $1210.00 in the mail. I first tried cashing it at a Walmart. They turned me away because, according to them, there was too much print on back and no room left for their seal. I then took it to a check cashing company. A copy of my State ID and check was then made. I was told to come back after 2pm the following day due to the bank was closed and it couldn't be verified. I returned at the recommended time. Now it was a different employee. She refused to cash it stating, "this ain't real. You need to get out!". I then called the finance company, explaining what happened. They had me bring that signed check into their office and would print/write me a new one that I could cash at their bank. I did just that and had no problem cashing it.

I get a call on Saturday from the loan place. They are showing in their computer two accounts in my name. One was obviously the check cashed at their bank. The other was for the original check. I did not deposit that check!

How can I prove it wasnt me and push for a fraud investigation, check fraud, bank fraud, identity theft? Will this stay on my credit now? Could the check cashing place do a deposit online and pretend to be me?

Improve this question
4
  • 1
    Go to the bank. Go to the loan company. Go, even, to the cops.
    – RonJohn
    Dec 28, 2020 at 23:15
  • 2
    WHAT IS THE NAME of the "financing company" ? The whole thing could be a scam.
    – Fattie
    Dec 29, 2020 at 3:18
  • The loan company is Mariner Finacial. It was once called Personal Finance.
    – April
    Dec 29, 2020 at 20:50
  • 1
    Thank you. After going to both the Mariners Finance and CheckintoCash I called the First Tennessee Bank. That is the bank stamped on the back. They are now called First Horizon Bank. Maybe the manager did not realize this. I highly doubt it, but I'm willing to give her the benefit of doubt, for now. After talking with a bank representative I called the Fraud Detectives Unit of my county. I had to leave a message. I'm still awaiting for that call.
    – April
    Jan 2, 2021 at 16:11

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
4

For a check to be honored it must be endorsed by the payee. That means for your original check to be negotiable, the payee (you) had to have signed it. Did you sign it? If so, then it became negotiable and cashable at that point. In the old days ANYBODY could cash a negotiable instrument legally. However, in our new totalitarian world the rule is that only the payee may cash a check. Therefore, the first steps would be:

(1) Ask for a copy of the original check

(2) Find out who cashed the check. When the check was cashed, it will have a bank ABA number and account number into which the money was deposited. If that account is not owned by you, then the check was cashed improperly and the bank that did so will have to refund the money to the remitter.

A bigger question might be: why would someone other than you have the original check? If you had signed the original check, then before you returned it to the originator, you should have voided the check by writing "VOID" in big letters on the front. Did you not do this? Handing a signed check to somebody is like handing them a $1000 bill.

Improve this answer
4
  • 2
    Indeed I did sign while I was at Walmart to cash it. I handed the check off to Check into Cash teller. This was on the 1st visit. She made a copy of my ID and of the check. She handed the check back to me with my ID and told me to come back the following day. She said the systems went down. I took the original check back to the finance company and they gave me a different check. Somehow that check got deposited into a bank in Tennessee. I live in Indiana. I'm thinking someone used that copied check and my ID. I will find out more tomorrow. Thank you for your reply.
    – April
    Dec 28, 2020 at 23:28
  • 3
    I'm not sure I agree with your last sentence. Having a signed check should only enable you to deposit it into an account owner by the same name, or cash it with valid ID of the same name. If fraud actually occurred here, I would first suspect one of the employees at the two places that handled the first check.
    – TTT
    Dec 28, 2020 at 23:31
  • Update I now have a copy of the original check. The loan officer spoke with the manager of CheckintoCash of Indiana. She is now claiming they dontuse that bank thats clearly stamped on the back and dontrecognize account#either. Thing is,it most definitely reads "Pay to the order of CheckintoCash of Indiana" then there is a set of long numbers. I assume these are more acct#s. The loan officer says,"Your right.I can clearly see that now deposit only"If she didnt cash it or deposit it,how would their stamp be on it. It also reads "for deposit only"!How I can find that exact bank by the routing#s?
    – April
    Dec 29, 2020 at 20:39
  • 2
    I agree and I really think it was the 2nd employee at the check cashing company. I found out today that she is the store manager there.
    – April
    Dec 29, 2020 at 20:42
1

The big problem is that there were two accounts in your name.

You should take steps to fix this immediately. Tell the "loan place", and insist that the other "account" be shut down. Then report it to the police. You have been the victim of identity theft.

There are two possibilities of what happened, and another one that the loan place will consider.

  1. Somebody opened an account at this place using faked ID and information in order to cash a duplicate cheque.
  2. The loan place, or a crooked employee of it, created the fake account and credited the cheque to it
  3. The third possibility that everyone else will consider is that you yourself opened the second account, cashed the cheque, and then pretended it had been stolen. You may know that isn't true, but you should be prepared for that to be investigated.
Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .