I Have a business account at Charter One Bank. I deposited a check written to the business and endorsed it exactly the same way I have always done.
The full amount of a sizeable check was all for deposit. 5 days later the check was declined due to "Improper Endorsement", but I was not notified until 13 days later. The company that issued the check was notified immediately. When I called Charter One, I was told that they could not tell me why it was returned and I had to wait for a letter that I would recieve up to 10 business days later, (I had to wait from the time of the deposit, the 12th, until possibly the 2nd of the next month-20 Days.) Charter One could tell me right away that I would be charged $20.00.2 Checks were overdrawn and I was promptly charged.
Spoke with a rep at the bank, and he had no clue as to what to do. They said they would credit one overdrawn fee and give me a free stamp for the checks. The free stamp ended up costing $27.00.
I received the check in the mail. There were no problems with the endorsement, but their stamps from the clearing houses were one on top of another. Hmmm, could that be the problem?
The person I spoke with had no knowledge on where to begin and basically told me that even though he had no information on why the check was declined for payment, that it was not a bank error. Those were almost exactly his words. So basically when I make a deposit I have to wait 20 days, business days to me because I work the weekends, before I can be sure to write checks against it. Then, if a check is declined, I am not able to have any explanation for 20 days as to why.
The form letter I received did not even explain what was wrong.
Sad day when a large deposit is rejected because someone feels the endorsement is wrong. Funny thing is, two months prior I deposited an amount 4 times what this check was and it cleared fine.
Too bad Charter One can't help small customers like myself. I signed a deal at the beginning of the year that I will receive quarterly payments starting next January throughout the year, and those payments will be over $200,000 each, and I was testing different banks to see how they handle my accounts. Charter One is now the second bank off my list all because of a bogus $88 fee. Nice work Charter One! That $88 will pay for a remote control for those fancy widescreen TV's in all of your lobbies, playing commercials of how great you are.
The payments I get next year are all free and clear and are going to be tied up for a while, but I guess they didn't need that money, they have everyone else's fees.
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