First, Wells Fargo told me that a cashier's check is as good as cash. So I sold an expensive camera on Ebay for $15,000 and the buyer gave me a cashier's check. I took it to Wells Fargo right away and they refused to cash it. I said 'You guys told me a cashier's check is as good as cash. What's up? They just kept saying 'We don't know if there are funds to back it up.' I said 'Well then why are you telling me it's as good as cash? I wouldn't have taken it if I had known that wasn't true.' They had no answer.
I finally cashed it at the issuing bank (Sumitomo Bank), but it was a huge hassle. So yes, I also have a problem with Sumitomo Bank. They only had one branch in Northern California, I had to go there, they detained me for an hour while they figured out if the check was real, and they refused to give me a new cashier's check (only cash). The CSR said 'why do you want a cashier's check? You already have a cashier's check.' I said, 'I don't want the person who wrote it to be able to stop payment.' That just opened a can of worms because now they considered me suspect.
They also made me fill out an FBI form because I was receiving over $10,000 in cash (after deciding they would not give me a check). So I walked through San Francisco with $15,000 in cash to my bank. I was a little bit nervous. I then had to sign another FBI form and sit there for about another hour because the previous bank ran out of $100 bills and issued the $15K in small bills (again instead of a God Damn check).
Then I deposited about $4000 in checks in a Wells Fargo ATM. 4 checks. Suddenly checks I was writing were bouncing. I called WFB and said 'what's up?' They said 'You deposited an empty envelope.' I said 'No I didn't.' They said 'We'll do an investigation. It will take 10 days.' They finally found my checks, but in the meantime all the checks I had written bounced and I looked like an asshole to everyone I had written a check. I use a credit union now. Don't use Wells Fargo. I hear B of A is just as bad. Don't use Sumitomo Bank either. I have more info, but this is taking forever.
Use a credit union. They don't fee you to death, they don't have to pay taxes so they don't screw you over.
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