The family waits 3 months for the money from the cashed check: the bank explains what the word “approximately” means

A representative from Medicinos Bankas also noted that the word “approximately” was added to the 5-8 week timeframe indicated on their website. “It means that the time is inaccurate,” he explained.

Surprised indifference

D. Dainauskas, who applied to Delfi, said that in August this year, his wife received a check from a company in the UK and decided to cash it.

“The amount of money on the check is very large and necessary for us,” he said.

The man explained that after becoming interested in the terms of Medicinos bankas services, he decided to use them as well.

“On August 15, my wife and I went to the Vilnius Medicinos Bankas branch” Akropolis “. There, the wife opened her personal bank account and the bank staff left a check for the bank to cash, he said. October 7, 2020 at 11 am 10 minutes I called the said bank to verify the information about the refinement of the check and when the money should arrive in the wife’s personal bank account.

They told me it takes 2 months to clear a check. As a result, my wife and I went again to the Medicinos Bankas branch in Akropolis, Vilnius, hoping that they would give us detailed information about the purification of my wife’s check. However, the clerk who spoke to us this time replied that it takes 3 months to clear the check and simply told them to wait. “

D. Dainauskas emphasized that each check has its own validity period and at that time 8 weeks were coming to an end.

“On the same October 7, we went again to the bank’s branch in Akropolis, Vilnius, to find out why my wife still does not receive money, despite the fact that the check cashing period is coming to an end.

An employee who worked there contacted someone by phone about the refinement of his wife’s check and at the end of the interview he assured us that the money would be transferred this week (October 7-11) or the following week (October 12-18). October).

October 15 at 11 pm 13 min. I called back to that bank branch to find out why the check has not yet cleared and why my wife has not received the money in her personal bank account.

This time they told me that the money “should” be transferred next week (October 19-25). “At the beginning of the tenth week, when the wife presented the check to the aforementioned bank, which promised to collect it in about 5-8 weeks, on October 19 of this year, she presented a claim to the bank to collect the check” said the husband.

D. Dainauskas also taught that on October 28, his wife submitted a request to the company that issued the check to find out its status (whether the payment was confirmed or rejected).

“The next day, the company received a response: ‘According to our records, the check was deposited on September 7, 2020.’ I called the bank the same day and filed a claim during the call. The bank told me that so far it has not received funds for the check presented for collection, ”he said.

The interviewee was amazed at the bank’s point of view, when he had to explain and be interested in the status of the check and look for his own money, even if the check cashing service is paid.

“It is also surprising that they are not at all interested in this situation and do not even try to be interested in what happened with this check,” said D. Dainauskas.

It’s not the bank’s fault

Head of the Payment Department of Medicinos Bankas Š. Kraujalis commented on the situation as follows: “The client’s dissatisfaction with the long process is justified, but this reason is not related to the actions of Medicinos Bankas, since Medicinos Bankas carried out all the necessary actions related to the collection of checks from appropriate and timely manner. “

He explained that a check is not a cash equivalent, but rather a means by which funds can be received from the check issuer’s bank if the check is not canceled and the check issuer has the funds to pay the check.

“The bank that accepts the check for collection sends it in packages to the bank of the check issuer through the correspondent bank network (this is exactly what clients request along with the cashed check, requesting its collection, which specifies the conditions general collection).

When the check issuer’s bank debits the check issuer’s funds and correctly transfers them to the cashed bank, referring to the relevant check sent for collection, the funds are credited to the person who presented the check for collection.

The person who presented the check contacted the bank in writing several times. The Medical Bank provided information on the progress of the check cashing process and, if necessary, an investigation. Medicinos bankas asked the correspondent bank for information on why the bank issuing the check so far has not paid or returned (if it canceled) the check, but no response has yet been received and the information is not known until the bank issuing the check in a foreign country answer or pay. The investigation is not over, “Delfi told Š. Kraujalis.

In addition, he clarified that D. Dainauskas provides inaccurate data on the information from the Medicinos bank on the time of collection.

“The bank cannot and does not guarantee payment, nor does it guarantee a specific time within which the check will be paid.

Information provided to clients about the most common payment term (approximately 95% of checks sent for collection are paid within the specified period, others almost 5% are paid within 3 months or unpaid and returned ; only isolated cases (only a few per year) take more than 3 months without information from the bank issuing the check).

The cashier’s check must be sent less than 5 months after the issue date. When the check is paid (within a period of approximately 5-8 weeks), the amount indicated on the check, after deducting the bank fees for cashing the check, is transferred to the account specified by the customer with Medicinos Bankas.

The customer who applied to the bank with the claim provided information that the duration is 5-8 weeks on the bank’s website. We have answered that the word “approximately” next to a term means that time is not precisely defined. Therefore, the bank cannot guarantee the crediting of the funds within 8 weeks and does not promise to make the payment until it is made by the bank that issued the check.

Medicinos bankas has not received funds according to the collection check requested by the client. If the funds from the cashed check are received, as in all other cases, they will be credited to the recipient without delay. If additional information about the check is received from the bank that issued the check, it will also, as usual, be immediately transferred to the person who presented the check for collection ”, indicated the Medicinos Bankas representative.