BofA New Bride Can't Deposit Wedding Checks Because She Didn't Take Husband's Name

[The Straight Story]

A branch of Bank of America in Albany, New York, refused to let a new bride deposit her wedding checks because she kept her maiden name, her husband Pete Iorizzo wrote in the Albany Times-Union, where he covers news and sports.

In his story, "Pete vs. Bank of America," Iorizzo explains that most of the checks he and his wife received from wedding guests were addressed to "Mr. and Mrs. Iorizzo." Because his wife chose to not to change her surname, he endorsed the checks himself and designated them "for deposit only" so she could drop by Bank of America and deposit them in the joint account they held there.

But bank tellers refused to deposit the checks due to his wife's different last name, even though she offered to present a copy of their marriage license, Iorizzo said.

What followed was a tedious series of arguments with Bank of America management over her right to deposit the checks as a member of a married couple who chose not to follow a traditional path.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/03/bank-of-america-new-bride-wedding-checks_n_1181901.html

[yardwork]

1. I've never heard of a bank not accepting endorsed checks to deposit. Incredible.

[SharonAnn]

20. In Ohio, I kept my name but signed things as Mrs. **** when necessary based on lawyer's advice. He

said that in Ohio, at least at that time, a person could use as many names as they wanted to, "as long as there is no attempt to defraud". That was the key point!

I rarely used my husband's last name, but occasionally it was necessary. I often put my maiden name with it, but not always.

[ScreamingMeemie]

2. That's ridiculous.

[PassingFair]

8. It happened to me....

we just went outside and put them in the ATM..

Bank was NBD at that time.



Kiss!

[ScreamingMeemie]

10. Hey you!

As a (former) bank employee (Huntington), if you had put deposit only they should have deposited them... but tellers sometimes don't remember these things in teller training.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

19. Citibank bounced an $80,000 dollar check....

....because I didn't have my partner/boyfriend sign in front of the teller. We used the atm. It was from a title company check made out to both of us and we didn't have a joint account.

When I called, they told me they had to protect the other person. Never mind me, the 20 plus year customer.

I had to get a new check cut because they informed me they mailed the rejected FULLY ENDORCED check back to me regular mail. It never did re-appear.

I was told I had to appear at the branch and have the teller witness the signature. So I did. they never asked him for ID either.

[asjr]

3. Bof A. Banks of Antagonists

[justabob]

4. That is crazy

It would kinda sorta make sense if withdrawals were in question, but deposits? That is just nuts.

[JBoy]

5. The ATM wouldn't have cared.

[onehandle]

6. This sounds like the stupidity/confusion at one branch/some staff, not BofA.

Bank of America sucks, but the fact that another branch let them do it (as most would), doesn't say that this is corporate policy.

[HappyMe]

7. When I was married, I didn't change my name.

Both of our names were on the accounts. I never had any problems with deposit or withdrawal.

[xxqqqzme]

9. so what is the argument?

She pilfered the checks then under a crush of guilt decided to deposit them anyway?

'For deposit only' means nothing?

If properly endorsed and being offered for deposit in the correct account, what does it matter who is carrying the checks?

Where am I? What year is this?

[LiberalFighter]

11. That is definitely the question that needs to be asked

of the teller in question and the branch manager and up the chain.

[kestrel91316]

13. The argument is, women are not to be trusted handling money, and

can own no assets themselves. Only their fathers and brothers and husbands and sons can own and handle money.

Sheesh. Get up to speed, dude.

[KansDem]

12. Check out these other BoA screwups (from the article)

In another mixup case, a man in Northampton, Massachusetts, reported receiving a notice from Bank of America demanding that he pay an outstanding mortgage of $0.00.

Though he knew he wasn't in danger of losing his home -- he had never missed a mortgage payment -- he was disappointed to find his credit score lowered and that he was unable to get in touch with the bank.

After learning about his story on the local news, Bank of America restored his credit and issued a $150 gift card.

But Bank of America has taken steps to aid its customers as well.

When the bank learned that a terminally ill woman in Sacramento, California, had not been paying her mortgage because of mounting medical bills, it decided to delay eviction proceedings until after her death.

BoA = "Bunch of Assholes"

[cthulu2016]

14. This is a hyped non-story

From the article:

"...Iorizzo faced no opposition when he drove to the Bank of America one town over, who accepted the couple's checks without argument."

So we are not taliking about BoA policy here.

What the article really says is that one branch had a manager who took an overly strict view of a genral policy. A bank account has authorized names on it. This is nessecary so that you cannot deposit other people's checks. You can, in my experience, add names quite easily.

But a check made out to an entity not named on the account poses a problem.

In this case, most banks would shrug and overlook the problem. An inflexible or uninformed person might not.

There is no hint of sexism in the article. The bank branch was choking on the fact that the name on the check was not the name on the deposit slip.

If your name is Nathan and your checks say Nathan and someone writes a check to "Nat" (The name you go by) a hyper-literal dumbass might object.

The bank manager is a dumbas. End of (not very exceptional) story.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

15. A county clerk refused to register my common-law marriage in 1979.

I didn't change my name.
I asked him "Where does it say in the Texas Family Code that I have to change my name?"

I never got an answer, of course. You don't have to change your name.

The clerk committed a misdemeanor by failing to carry out the duties of his office. He tore up three forms as I remember.



That is as bad as the people who have told me that if you live with a member of the opposite sex, for six months, you will magically wake up one day and be common-law married.

These people are not lawyers, but they know everything. Just ask them.

[noiretextatique]

16. banks usually don't care who makes a deposit

strange...

[blueamy66]

17. Hell, I deposit my fiance's checks into my BofA account sometimes.....

I find this odd.

[WilliamPitt]

18. Same thing happened to my wife

She kept her name, and we had to leap through a dozen flaming hoops to deposit gift checks after our wedding.

It was certainly odd to hear a bank say, "Um, no, we don't want your money."

[Liberal_in_LA]

21. kick

[blueamy66]

22. Why "kick" the post?

It was a fluke. My BofA deposits my fiance's check into my account all the time.

[Liberal_in_LA]

23. didn't know that.