NoSSN - NoSSN Newsletter

NoSSN Newsletter
issue 6.1
Cashing a Check
February 10, 2006

NoSSN Newsletter

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My apologies for not sending out a NoSSN Newsletter in quite some time. I've been very busy being a dad and supporting the family.

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Yesterday I went to my bank to make a deposit. I also had a check with me from a customer that happened to make the check out to me personally. That can be a good thing. I can cash it and don't have to stop at the ATM machine. I was at the teller window when I thought to myself, "Why not just take the check to the bank it's drawn on? Then they won't hold the funds on the business account."

That was a good idea. The bank the check was drawn on was on my way home anyways. I walked into UniBank (http://www.UniBank.com) and the bank was pretty much empty. I walked up to the teller and presented the check. The teller asked for an ID when another teller recognized me. She worked at the same location when it was a different bank and I had an account there. This was before I had sworn off the SSN. The other teller said, "It's Ok, I know him." My teller indicated that I didn't need to show my ID.

So far everything has been pretty much normal here. I'm ready to get my allotment of Federal Reserve Notes. Then the teller hands me a pen and a pad of post-it notes and says to me, "Just write down your Social Security Number."

Naturally I told her that I'm sorry. I don't use a SSN. I haven't in several years.

To make a long story short (too late), She would not cash my check. The manager came over and told me that it was "bank policy". I let them know that I would go back to their customer and tell them they wouldn't cash her check. They went on to suggest that their customer make trip to the bank to cash it for me.

I was going to remind them that their policy was in violation of Federal Law but, I hadn't confirmed that in quite awhile. So, I let it go.

I went back to my bank and cashed the check without a problem.

When I got home I looked up the law and yes, it is still the way I remember it. I sent off an e-mail to those at UniBank informing them of what happened and quoting the law. I didn't really expect to get much of a response but alas, I got a substantial response. At least it was several paragraphs. I thought that if I did get a reponse it would be short and sweet. To top it off it was from the VP of operations.

The e-mail I got basically said that there are many laws they must follow. It went on to list such things as the Bank Secrecy Act and the USA Patriot Act. It is because of these that they have a "policy."

I wrote back and let her know that all "Acts" are merely amendments, Changes and additions to existing law. The law I quoted was from the latest version and all the Acts she mentioned had been codified and the regulations promulgated (I love using big words).

I quoted a couple of other things too like the Privacy Act.

We'll see if we get another response.

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"... the gold standard is incompatible with chronic deficit spending (the hallmark of the welfare state)." -- Greenspan, Alan; "Gold and Economic
Freedom", Rand, Ayn; Capitalism: the Unknown Ideal; Signet Books, 1967; pp96-101. See full text in FAME's FedWatch section www.fame.org.

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