The $5 charge foisted on persons seeking to cash checks from individuals or businesses with Wachovia checking accounts is inappropriate. I wonder if it could not be successfully challenged legally. It's important to realize that the fees are being applied to Wachovia checks. If you write a $30 check to your handyman from your Wachovia account and the handyman then walks into Wachovia to get his cash, he is going to get $25 from Wachovia. $30 will be debited from your account. Wachovia will keep $5.
I am no attorney but as I understand it, a check is a written order to a bank to pay the amount specified from funds on deposit. As a Wachovia customer, you and Wachovia have agreed that Wachovia will pay out funds as requested in written checks.
According to the Uniform Commercial Code that governs the issuance and negotiation of negotiable instruments, which checks are:
1. The promise or order to pay must be unconditional;
2. The payment must be in a specific sum of money, although interest may be added to the sum;
3. The payment must be made on demand or at a definite time;
4. The instrument must be payable to bearer or to order.
5. The instrument does not state any other undertaking or instruction by the person promising or ordering payment to do any act in addition to the payment of money.
In my opinion, Wachovia is altering conditions 3,4 and 5 with its practices. My experience was as follows. A $120 check was written out to me on a Wachovia account. I walked to the bank and was told that I needed two 2 forms of ID, would have to be fingerprinted and would be charged $5 if I did not have a Wachovia account.
I pointed out that it was a Wachovia check. The teller responded that the account holder could request that check cashing fees be waived (another topic obviously). I agreed to pay the fee, was fingerprinted, IDd, and handed $115. I was then handed a "Funds Availability" receipt with the "Other" box check and "$5 Check Cashing Fee" handwritten.
I later called the payee and advised them to change banks.
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