Being charged to make a deposit???

[audreyh1]

This is why you don't want to appear to be structuring deposits-

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/26/us/law-lets-irs-seize-accounts-on-suspicion-no-crime-required.html

Wow - nasty! Well at least the IRS has suspended the practice. But a lot of other law enforcement agencies are trolling for the opportunity to seize.

Anyone who receives large amounts of cash needs to be aware of this.

Sounds like you need a new bank.

 

[brewer12345]

This is why you don't want to appear to be structuring deposits-

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/26/us/law-lets-irs-seize-accounts-on-suspicion-no-crime-required.html

You don't have a shoe box or mason jar handy?

 

[gauss]

Bank of America <= Bank of Italy (read the history here folks)

Ask them if they will reverse the fee in that you were unaware of that particular fee. Advise them that you will be sure to conduct your banking business such that you will not trigger that fee again and that this will be a one time request.

Then either find a new bank, or otherwise stay with them but with the knowledge of that nasty fee waiting to get you.

-gauss

 

[martyb]

Oh hell no!

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[Totoro]

Anecdote: I used to have an account with a bank that charged for closing an account.

Lucky for me I knew about it upfront. So when the interest came in, I cleared the account first (before internet banking).

Then went there to next day to close it. Lady looked at me and said: there is a fee for closing the account. I said: good luck with that (in a nice way).

Fee was waived ..

 

[Walt34]

DW had (note past tense) an account with BofA before we were married. Closed it and took her business elsewhere because of high fees.

Business account or no, that's outlandish. I'd close the account(s) and take my business elsewhere.

 

[travelover]

Anecdote: I used to have an account with a bank that charged for closing an account.

Lucky for me I knew about it upfront. So when the interest came in, I cleared the account first (before internet banking).

Then went there to next day to close it. Lady looked at me and said: there is a fee for closing the account. I said: good luck with that (in a nice way).

Fee was waived ..

I did the same with a joint account where the second party had died. They told me I couldn't close the account, so I emptied it.

 

[Ally]

At our workplace, where we do not use BoA, the national bank we previously used tried to do this. Since we take in lots of cash payments daily, our board complained immediately and threatened to pull out, so they stopped and refunded what they had charged. This was several years ago and that bank was bought out by BBVA Compass. They haven't tried it.

 

[audreyh1]

Bank of America <= Bank of Italy (read the history here folks)

Ask them if they will reverse the fee in that you were unaware of that particular fee. Advise them that you will be sure to conduct your banking business such that you will not trigger that fee again and that this will be a one time request.

Then either find a new bank, or otherwise stay with them but with the knowledge of that nasty fee waiting to get you.

-gauss

Sounds like you are better off not trying to avoid the fee. Just switch banks.

 

[harley]

That sounds like the solution to me. So what if you appear to be "structuring" the deposits? If you have the paper trail showing where that they come from rentals and a rental income and deposit history, you are good.

Hopefully you are right, and this statement from the IRS seems to support that. However, there are still ridiculous cases that are being brought against innocent people, that even if they are dropped eventually cost a ton of time and money. Not saying don't do it, just don't count on the government to do the right thing.

Edit: I see ArtTinkerer already pointed to one of these cases, but there are others. I hope the IRS really does stop targeting people as they say they will. But I'll believe it when I don't see it.

 

[audreyh1]

Hopefully you are right, and this statement from the IRS seems to support that. However, there are still ridiculous cases that are being brought against innocent people, that even if they are dropped eventually cost a ton of time and money. Not saying don't do it, just don't count on the government to do the right thing.

Edit: I see ArtTinkerer already pointed to one of these cases, but there are others. I hope the IRS really does stop targeting people as they say they will. But I'll believe it when I don't see it.

I saw that. It's just horrifying. Even if the IRS has stopped, it looks like too many other law enforcement agencies are looking for a piece of forfeiture and pursuing non-criminals. Extortion, really. Horrible!

 

[growing_older]

Structuring deposits is itself technically illegal, and although you might feel okay because the sources of the funds is all legitimate, remember you are going to have to argue that with the IRS, any bank regulator who objects to your structuring, misc law enforcement agencies and the same bank that wants to charge you a fee for depositing cash. Not a pretty prospect.

If this happened to me, I'd try to talk the branch manager out of this crazy fee, then if unsuccessful would be moving to another bank. There are lots of banks and credit unions.

 

[MikeP]

Dump them.

Find a good local bank, the one's that like to do business with local business people such as yourself.

here here! One thing in the UK we don't have is local banks so we don't have this option otherwise i would be doing it.

 

[ArkTinkerer]

Changing banks this afternoon. No its not going to BofA! Nearby and has a safe deposit box. You can bet I'll go over the fine print about fees! I expect that paperwork to open an account will soon approach that of purchasing a house!

A little more on structuring--though this is about withdrawls. Seems they now want to monitor
withdrawals of $5K even though the law is $10K....Government Orders Banks to Call the Cops When Customers Withdraw $5,000 or More | The Free Thought Project

 

[KiraC]

We used BoA a long time ago but closed the account when we moved. We had to pay a fee to close our account. We will never even consider them again.

 

[Totoro]

Regarding reporting it's even worse: any transaction (so also wiring money) exceeding 5k has to be reported, judging from the wording in the link.

Also note that in Europe (and for sure US) a transaction has to be reported also if there is any doubt whether something fishy is going on.

A classic example is withdrawing 4990 usd to stay below the limit. This will be interpreted as trying to avoid the limit, and will be reported. Or looking nervous when making a cash withdrawal.

In other words: assume no privacy.

And to put insult to injury: In Europe it is illegal to pay more than 3.000 euro in cash. Yup, just doing a large purchase is outlawed these days.

 

[urn2bfree]

First- request that they refund you the fee. Earlier this year my brother wrote me a check for $80 which I waited 3 weeks to deposit only to discover he had closed the account a week before. B of A charged me a $12 fee for his bounced check. On my objection they dropped it. If they hadn't I would have taken my business elsewhere.

Second- I understand why banks feel some pain with this cash deposit issue--they are supposedly scared of being fined for being part of a criminal enterprise. This is the effect of government regulation trying to use the banks to crack down on drug crime mostly. The government insists that cash deposits of a certain size be treated with more scrutiny. If the bank fails to scrutinize, they face huge penalties from the government. So the bank passes along that risk to all cash depositing customers who generate more scrutiny. Welcome to another of the unintended consequences of the War on Drugs. How is that working out for you?



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[sengsational]

B of A has been great for me. Came to town 20 years ago and dropped $5k in and got a free safe deposit box, free checking, free ATM, free everything....never paid a dime in fees yet. Of course I get no interest to speak of on my 5K, and they drag their feet on all transactions to they maximize their float. But I don't really "use" the account, it just sits there and I have the free safe deposit box, access to their ATM's and live tellers (should I need them). 99% of my business is done through a credit union.

 

[ArkTinkerer]

And to put insult to injury: In Europe it is illegal to pay more than 3.000 euro in cash. Yup, just doing a large purchase is outlawed these days.

Every so often someone here gets pissed (slang for angry not drunk!) and goes and pays his taxes or fine in pennies. Here, its actually written on the currency "Legal tender for all debts public or private". Anyway, it usually makes the news. I figure they will outlaw it sooner or later.

Even in Euros don't you have an equivalent to a penny?

 

[Texas Proud]

Every so often someone here gets pissed (slang for angry not drunk!) and goes and pays his taxes or fine in pennies. Here, its actually written on the currency "Legal tender for all debts public or private". Anyway, it usually makes the news. I figure they will outlaw it sooner or later.

Even in Euros don't you have an equivalent to a penny?

Actually it is outlawed... there is a limit to how much coin you have to accept for legal debts... but do not know what it is... some places just ignore it and are happy to get the money....

Edit.... but I could be wrong... found these on the Straight Dope by moderator Gfactor....

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/297/is-it-legal-to-pay-a-big-debt-in-small-change

But then again...

http://www.mtas.tennessee.edu/KnowledgeBase.nsf/vwebauthor/AB04FB8C07985FEC852570310052C341

 

[Texas Proud]

Found something on the Treasury site...

Legal Tender Status



I thought that United States currency was legal tender for all debts. Some businesses or governmental agencies say that they will only accept checks, money orders or credit cards as payment, and others will only accept currency notes in denominations of $20 or smaller. Isn't this illegal?


The pertinent portion of law that applies to your question is the Coinage Act of 1965, specifically Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," which states: "United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues."
This statute means that all United States money as identified above are a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise. For example, a bus line may prohibit payment of fares in pennies or dollar bills. In addition, movie theaters, convenience stores and gas stations may refuse to accept large denomination currency (usually notes above $20) as a matter of policy.

 

[M Paquette]

Anecdote: I used to have an account with a bank that charged for closing an account.

Lucky for me I knew about it upfront. So when the interest came in, I cleared the account first (before internet banking).

Then went there to next day to close it. Lady looked at me and said: there is a fee for closing the account. I said: good luck with that (in a nice way).

Fee was waived ..

Heh. Not with good ole Bank of America. When I closed our last account with them, they happily charged the fee, sending the balance from zero to negative, which meant that an overdraft fee should be charged. And penalties for a negative balance in an account where that was not permitted...

We raised a stink and they waived the fee, overdraft charge, and penalties, and told me the account was closed.

The next month... They credited the account with $0.01 in interest earned between the end of the last interest period and my emptying the account when the interest was paid. That credit 're-opened' the account. Since the balance was below the minimum for that account, a penalty was charged. Oh, and that sent the balance negative...

Hilarity ensued.

BofA. Just say no.

 

[ArkTinkerer]

Found something on the Treasury site...

Legal Tender Status



I thought that United States currency was legal tender for all debts. Some businesses or governmental agencies say that they will only accept checks, money orders or credit cards as payment, and others will only accept currency notes in denominations of $20 or smaller. Isn't this illegal?


The pertinent portion of law that applies to your question is the Coinage Act of 1965, specifically Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," which states: "United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues."
This statute means that all United States money as identified above are a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise. For example, a bus line may prohibit payment of fares in pennies or dollar bills. In addition, movie theaters, convenience stores and gas stations may refuse to accept large denomination currency (usually notes above $20) as a matter of policy.

Reading this it stands out that all the limitations listed are specifically applied to private businesses but not government. So it would seem they are required to accept their own fiat currency? History of this state (Arkansas) is that during the depression some teachers were paid with IOUs even though that was strictly prohibited by the state constitution. So, law or no law, they do what they please. Still I've never heard of them turning down any US currency. Of course, if they just said no, I don't think the story would have garnered much attention.

 

[ArkTinkerer]

Changed banks today. Took about an hour. No problems from US Bank on closing the account. New bank is about the same distance, better staffed, and lower cost for a bigger safe deposit box!
An Arkansas only institution.

 

[brewer12345]

Reading this it stands out that all the limitations listed are specifically applied to private businesses but not government. So it would seem they are required to accept their own fiat currency? History of this state (Arkansas) is that during the depression some teachers were paid with IOUs even though that was strictly prohibited by the state constitution. So, law or no law, they do what they please. Still I've never heard of them turning down any US currency. Of course, if they just said no, I don't think the story would have garnered much attention.

Oddly enough, I have never had any issues with people turning down my cash.