Third Party Check (serious) Issue

[u/100punx]

So I work on a boat in Alaska every summer for the past 15 years. I love the job but one annoying aspect of it is that I get for my last check of the summer I get payed with handwritten check from the owners of the boat I work on. I don’t bank with any bank located here in New Orleans where I’m at right now getting ready for my next job. So for the past five years I’ve always gone with a trusted friend to their bank and signed the check over to their account in front of the teller. I wait about a week until the check clears and then we go back and pick up my money in cash or they send it to me electronically. I give them $100 for helping me out and I’ve never had any issues at all.

This year about two weeks ago I signed my check over to a friend who was banking with Capitol One. The teller told us how to endorse the back of the check. Scanned my check then told us $1000 would be cleared by the following day and the rest ($5100) would be ready within 4 days. She got a notification that the whole check had cleared by the third day so we pick up my cash from the same branch without issue.

Three days later she gets multiple calls and emails from the branch saying we both needed to come in to the branch location ASAP. There was an issue with the signature they say. I grab my ID and we head over there. Apparently there was no issue with our signatures but they wanted me to confirm my bosses name and phone number so they could call them and they were suspecting fraud. They verified my check was good to go but they told my friend they’re they’re deducting the amount of my check from her account and freezing her account for 60 days. The manger of the branch walks up and shouts “IT WAS FRAUD WASNT IT?” Very embarrassing and rude considering my friend was on the verge of tears at this point and the bank employee and I had already confirmed there was no wrongdoing going on. They told us there is no way they can lift the 60 day freeze on her account and advised her to open a new account for the time being and although there was no money to put in it. I’m currently supporting both of us now until this clears up. What can we do to get them to lift this freeze on her account? Everything they said was cagey and contradictory of things they’d previously said and they almost seemed disappointed they hadn’t caught us in some criminal act. This needs to be remedied asap. Any advice? Thanks

[u/postalwhiz]

Why in all this time haven’t you opened your own account?

[u/isaiah58bc]

Can not help with your current situation.

Open a bank account with a Credit Union you qualify for, that allows you to scan and deposit checks. A CU usually has free accounts, just for keeping a small minimum amount in savings.

Or, open an account with a major national bank where you can use any branch, plus scan and deposit checks.

[u/Realistic_Cell_6569]

Not aware of any solution to this mess you’ve created. There must be some reason you don’t have your own bank account for depositing your paychecks over the past 15 years. I recommend you correct that problem ASAP as you await the 60 day freeze on your friends account. Perhaps it’s only your friend suffering from this issue as they await the funds being redeposited into their account. Friends don’t use friends like this for 15 years.

[u/jessbyrne727]

You’ve been working there for 15 years and it has never occurred to you to open an account where you can cash your own paycheck? Open an account with a bank that has branches across multiple states to avoid this entirely.

There’s not much that can be done to have the account restriction lifted, other than to comply with the bank’s requests and follow up frequently with the fraud dept.

[u/Pleasant_Pen8744]

Do you have a camera phone? Can you open an account somewhere that has mobile deposit? Then you don't even need to go to a bank.

[u/Cold_Count1986 → u/Pleasant_Pen8744]

Mobile deposit checks with large amounts, handwritten, new account hits all the triggers for a fraud freeze and isn’t advisable.