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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,238
Registered: ‎07-23-2010

Re: Sending a check thru the mail

I don't send many checks thru the mail but the ones that I do I put in envelopes that you can't  "see thru" and put a blank piece of paper around it too. 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 11,300
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Sending a check thru the mail

@Sooner - I know from the news that thieves have been targeting the blue postal boxes outside.

 

However, there hasn't been a single incident of that happening anywhere in my region.  Having said that, I nearly always go inside the post office to mail something.  And, if I do use an outside box, I do it before the next pickup; never after the last one.

 

It does get beyond annoying wondering what the scumbag thieves will think of next.  Anything but get a job and earn a fair living.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 34,822
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Sending a check thru the mail


@Venezia wrote:

@Sooner - I know from the news that thieves have been targeting the blue postal boxes outside.

 

However, there hasn't been a single incident of that happening anywhere in my region.  Having said that, I nearly always go inside the post office to mail something.  And, if I do use an outside box, I do it before the next pickup; never after the last one.

 

It does get beyond annoying wondering what the scumbag thieves will think of next.  Anything but get a job and earn a fair living.


@Venezia It happened in several instances where I live. It was on the news and my mail carrier told me about it in detail.  He's been on the job for years, and is a very trustworthy person.  The keys stolen open those blue boxes.  

 

 

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,880
Registered: ‎03-16-2010

Re: Sending a check thru the mail


@speedy girl wrote:

I pay a couple bills each month by sending a check and I must say I have never had any problem with them arriving. I do mail it from inside the post office though as I think that is safer. 


@speedy girl  Same here.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,669
Registered: ‎10-09-2023

Re: Sending a check thru the mail

@Desertdi How do I get on your Christmas card list? $20k...woo hoo! Lol

Honored Contributor
Posts: 21,231
Registered: ‎03-13-2010

Re: Sending a check thru the mail


@SaveTheTurtles wrote:

@Desertdi How do I get on your Christmas card list? $20k...woo hoo! Lol


@SaveTheTurtles     Me?   I'm poverty-stricken from online shopping!    I used to work in financial accounting, tho......

♥Surface of the Sun♥
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,913
Registered: ‎10-01-2010

Re: Sending a check thru the mail

Anything can be stolen, hacked. There really are no completely safe ways of dealing with money. I still send a few checks through the mail.  Don't feel good about anything dealing with $$.

Trees are the lungs of the Earth
Regular Contributor
Posts: 200
Registered: ‎04-01-2023

Re: Sending a check thru the mail

Same thing happened to me yesterday, mailed tax payment in August. Received a notice that our taxes were delinquent. Notified the bank and the Post office. No check was ever returned to the bank and no tracking of said mail could be done as it wasn't insured. I'll never do that again. Pay in person when you can. Now have the late fee plus the fee to stop payment. Live and learn.
Honored Contributor
Posts: 19,407
Registered: ‎04-28-2010

Re: Sending a check thru the mail

I've often wondered if wrapping gift cards, checks, and even money in aluminum foil?  

 

Sort of 'blocking' electronic tracking......?

 

Make sure to write an attached note, stating that there is something important within the foil. 

'More or less', 'Right or wrong', 'In general', and 'Just thinking out loud ' (as usual).
Honored Contributor
Posts: 11,300
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Sending a check thru the mail

[ Edited ]

@judianne wrote:

you have to be careful with the visa type gift cards , some will take a fee out every month until it's used up . l gave my granddaughter a $50 one , she spent less than $20 on it and didn't use it for a number of months and when she went to use the rest it was all gone ! 


@judianne - This is important to point out to people.

 

Visa prepaid cards are not the same as gift cards.  I found out the hard way.

 

I had $70 from Home Depot rebates that were issued as prepaid Visa cards.  I was planning a project and by the time I went to use them, I was told I only had $42 available.

 

A talk with CS and a phonecall (in the store) to the issuer and I was told they start deducting a monthly fee of $5 after 12 months.  (I had 3 cards, so they were deducting $15 a month!)  The rep told me she would issue me "new" cards and to toss the ones I had.

 

What she didn't tell me is that they were NOT new cards.  She reinstated the amount, but didn't stop the fees.  By the time I got the new cards, we were already into winter, so I left the project till spring.

 

Got to the store...$12 left!  Called the issuer again and was told "too bad".  I called my state attorney general's office because gift cards cannot expire or have fees deducted and was told "These are not gift cards; they are not protected under the law."

 

I immediately called my sister-in-law who was in the habit of buying these in bulk from her bank for gifts, in $50 denominations.  She checked and found she had already lost a lot of money.  She wanted to return them to the bank but they said "No, once you've bought them, you have to spend them."  And you can bet she did with what she had left.

 

VISA (or any other) PREPAID CARDS ARE NOT GIFT CARDS AND ARE NOT PROTECTED FROM FEES DEDUCTED.

 

Too many people I know have been stung by these.  Even the staff at Home Depot didn't know what was going on, as they had had other complaints.

 

I would never buy these under any circumstances.  And, if you get one, spend it immediately!  The only ones who benefit from these are the issuing banks who deduct the fees (and hope people don't realize they're not gift cards).