Depositing savings bonds or checks without going into a bank?

[summer2007]

I deposit savings bonds and personal checks at my local bank.

It has taken me as long as 45 minutes...no joke to cash in 2 bonds worth $200 total. And some of the times I would cash them in and it would take like 30 minutes then I get home and I have a message on my answering machine saying that I have to come back up and sign more stuff or they will not deposit my bonds! This has happened twice in the last 4 months.

I have had an account with my local bank for about 30 years now. But the lifespan of a teller there is maybe on average 3 months...some I have only seen once. So I have to go through the whole process of xeroxing my drivers license and the whole hassle nearly every time I cash stuff in.

Anyone that is nice and competent gets out of there ASAP it seems!

I get small checks from people for doing work for them and I end up waiting and waiting to deposit it and often I deal with some teller that is just nasty to me and I loose another 20 minutes or more standing around the bank.

Sometimes get a nice lady that is competent and gets everything done correctly and quickly.

But more times than not I deal with someone that makes a total disaster out of the bonds or I end up waiting around to cash in a small check for way longer than I would like to.

Just wondering if I'm missing a better way of depositing bonds or checks into a checking account?



Jim

 

[bbbamI]

Wow...you've had an account with them since you were 5 years old? That's impressive.

Sounds like you need to do business with another bank.

 

[donheff]

I don't know about bonds but why not just put the checks in a bank envelope and drop them in the ATM?

 

[caninelover]

I don't know about bonds but why not just put the checks in a bank envelope and drop them in the ATM?

For the bonds I think you're stuck with cashing them at the bank, so if you're not happy with the service I would consider switching banks. For checks, I agree with donheff, just deposit them at the ATM - I would never go into a bank and wait for a teller to deposit a small (or even a large) check.

 

[KB]

If there isn't an ATM in a convenient location, you can mail checks in with a deposit slip also. My understanding of bonds is that they need to be cashed or deposited into the branch.

I bank with a credit union and have never waited more than 5 minutes or so. Maybe you can find one near you and check it out. Ask your friends where they bank to find a recommendation.

 

[Danny]

I'm fortunate to have Lily the Bassethound riding shotgun whenever I go through the drive-up teller windows. They love seeing her and giving her a biscuit. Never have a problem I think because of Lily. The local liquor store also gives her a biscuit.

 

[Walt34]

I can't answer about the bonds but for checks I just use the ATM. Haven't been inside a bank for about a year.

But with the level of poor service you're getting I'd change banks. If they keep you waiting for 45 minutes that makes an additional 10 minute drive to a bank with better service worthwhile.

 

[Brat]

Banks have a difficult time keeping tellers and many tellers have never handled a savings bond redemption, often they must contact someone at their main office to do it correctly. Can you imagine the mount of $ they are paying in wages to the teller for a transaction that nets them nil?

My only advise is to redeem them at your bank's main office or pick the most experienced teller.

I agree with others, deposit checks at the ATM.

 

[Bestwifeever]

DH loves to use a teller--go figure.

What does the teller need to do with bonds that takes up to 45 minutes?

I agree that you should look into a different bank if you're having this much trouble with your current institution. Although it probably won't be any different somewhere else.

 

[calmloki]

I'm fortunate to have Lily the Bassethound riding shotgun whenever I go through the drive-up teller windows. They love seeing her and giving her a biscuit. Never have a problem I think because of Lily. The local liquor store also gives her a biscuit.

Maybe you should take Lily to the pet store and see if they give you one of those airline mini-bottles of booze?!

 

[HpRyder]

I deposit savings bonds and personal checks at my local bank.

If the bonds are Treasure issue, just fill out an appropriate form and mail them in. It takes about 4 weeks, but you get a treasure check which is easily deposited.

I'll let others address the bank teller issues.

 

[Alan]

I used to have a lot of paper EE bonds from a rewards CC I used to have and when I opened a Treasury Direct account 6 years ago to buy I-Bonds I saw there was a way to convert the paper bonds to electronic so I completed a form and mailed in the bonds and they appeared in my on-line account shortly afterwards. Cashing bonds on-line is a piece of cake and they appear in my bank account within a day or 2.

 

[ziggy29]

I haven't been to a bank or CU in many, many years. I can use prepaid envelopes to deposit checks to my accounts, I can even scan in my checks on their web site to deposit them, and all my ATM fees are rebated to my account monthly. So in the end, I have no need for a physical branch.

I converted a few old savings bonds to electronic bonds through Treasury Direct by mailing them back to the Treasury and then I redeemed them online and transferred to money to my bank account automatically.

 

[Danny]

Maybe you should take Lily to the pet store and see if they give you one of those airline mini-bottles of booze?!

Hey,
I've been brainstorming how we can team up, where we can go so both of us get treats. -D) whoof!

 

[summer2007]

bbbami

My Dad of course set up the account for me to put birthday money in. But yeah it's been that long!

Ziggy

You can scan checks in a personal account? I have heard of business accounts having that option but I didn't know that personal accounts did that. I would live that!

Brat

About picking the most experienced teller. If I could do that I would be set! Most of the nice competent people get out of this bank and quick. But there is one that I hope I get when I go and if I get her I'm home free. She is smart and will do everything right. Also she has set a new record for this bank and has been working there for probably at least 8 months!!!!

What happens though is there is 3 or 4 tellers usually and they just call whoever is next and I thought it would be really rude to just say I don't want you I want her! But it would save me a lot of hassle if I could do that!

I'm going to look into sending the bonds in to Treasury Direct. I'm a little uneasy about sending large amounts through the mail but I will see.

The longest I ever waited was 45 minutes. The people at the bank just have no clue what to do. They keep asking one person after another and making you fill out more stuff. It can take a lot less time if you get someone that knows what they are doing....like 5 minutes to 10 minutes. BUT most of them don;t know what to do so it ends up being a disaster.

It can be a pretty big deal to them to just cash in $200 in savings bonds.

This bank is now rated 2 stars by bankrate and the tellers have gone downhill for sure. Some of these people are so bad that I don't know why they even applied for the job...and some are just plain nasty to deal with.

It used to be growing up that you would see the same people in this bank. They knew me like a relative as soon as I walked in.

But in the last 2 years I wouldn't doubt that there has been 50 different tellers at this bank and it has created some big hassles...not to mention that I don't like having that many people copy my drivers license and know ALL my personal info!

Jim

 

[Fireup2020]

Maybe you should take Lily to the pet store and see if they give you one of those airline mini-bottles of booze?!

Thanks for the too loud laugh from reading this in my "cube"....and they thought I was really w*rking!!

 

[ziggy29]

You can scan checks in a personal account? I have heard of business accounts having that option but I didn't know that personal accounts did that. I would live that!

Yep. Both my CU in California and USAA banking allow me to do that. It just uses your scanner and a Java-based web application.

 

[REWahoo]

Yep. Both my CU in California and USAA banking allow me to do that.

USAA has an iPhone app to deposit checks in your personal account: USAA: iPhone

 

[davemartin88]

With a Treasury Direct account, you can keep your US Savings and other bonds in an online account and withdraw checks via mail. I think you can have a linked checking account as well for a direct deposit? For regular checks, I use Bank of America and deposit them through their ATM, pretty easy and no hassle?