Naked Science Forum
General Discussion & Feedback => Just Chat! => Topic started by: blue_cristal on 06/05/2009 02:20:48
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Aren’t banks supposed to check every penny that comes in and comes out ?
Yesterday afternoon I went to my bank ( I have been client of it for 13 years ) and I withdrew £ 200. I received 10 notes of £20.Then I took 5 of these notes and I added pocket small change in order to pay my Visa debt ( £ 104 ) in the same bank and then I kept the remaining 5 notes.
During the night I went to the mall to buy food. The amount was £ 63.75 and I gave 4 notes of £20 to the cashier. She found out that one of the notes was false and I had to replace it !
I really feel outraged! It is the first time in my entire life that a bank gave me false money !
Since my knowledge on legal matters is far from satisfactory, I am not sure what would be the wiser move.
I am not sure if I should report it to the police or just go straight to the bank, complain about it and demand the replacement of the false note.
Before I take any action, I use to imagine the possible outcomes. So here are some of the possibilities:
First one: after my complaining, the manager nicely apologizes and replaces my money.
Second one: the manager is callous and indifferent and says that I should have examined every note to see if they are OK. Since I didn’t do it when I just received the money from the cashier I have no right to complain. But as far I know nobody suspects the reliability of the banks money. How many bank clients examine note by note or coin by coin to find out if they are all genuine before leaving the bank ?
So, I would be grateful for any wise advice from those who have more experience with banks and legal matters.
What should I do ( obviously is not worth taking a lawyer, his services would cost far more than £ 20 ) ?
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Keep paper trail from bank transaction of withdrawl of original then your payment, where and when the bill was recognized and then file a formal police report and tell them where you recieved the money from..... then ask them to investigate the forgery of this money and make sure you insist on follow up and let them know to make sure they know that you would like to be reimbersed from the bank and that they make sure nobody else has this happen to them!
keehp records of all transactions and such!
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Proving a chain of custody (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_of_custody) is the difficult bit.
the bank may allege that the forged note did not come from them, i.e. that you have mixed their legitimate notes with forged notes from another source.
It would be difficult to prove that you have not done this (accidentally or deliberately).
I would write polite letter, (no "demands"), to the manager of the bank where you withdrew the cash saying that you believe they had given you a note which you have been told is a forgery, and include the allegedly forged note with the letter.
The manager may issue you with a replacement, particularly if s/he has had similar reports.
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Take the note back to the back, present it to the teller and ask for change to see if they notice it is false. If they don't, you can point out their previous mistake.
If they do recognize it as fake, your forced stay in handcuffs at the local constabulary could be a fun experience. [;D]
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If the note if fairly new, I would put it in a clean plastic bag and take it to the police. They could establish that the note had been handled by the bank by comparing finger prints on the note to the teller who issued the note to you.
Otherwise, as RD pointed out, you would have trouble proving that the note was indeed issued to you by the bank. The police should be informed, as should the bank, but simply taking the note back to the bank might not be such a good idea. Firstly, having allowed the bank to handle the note for inspection, means their prints will be on the note anyway. Secondly, and not beyond the realms of possibility, the bank may be harbouring (unintentionally) a bent teller, trying to launder £20 notes.
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Don, my experience with the police is that they will not be especially interested. They will give you a "crime number" and that is the last you will hear. As for taking fingerprints, I think this very unlikely. They would not be interested to find out whether the bank issued it or someone else. They may keep the note as evidence should they stumble upon the original source. Sorry to be cynical, but the way the system seems to work is that crimes are given a numbered priority according to seriousness and likelyhood of an investigation leading to an arrest. This would not score well on either count.
I would go to the bank first. The bank are more likely to take an interest and will probably refund your £20 or demonstrate that it could not have come from them because they check all the notes that come to them (maybe). If they accept that it came from them you will get your £20 back and the police are more likely to take some action if the bank reports it - it won't be the only one.
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I hate to say it, but I am afraid I cannot disagree with you, graham.d. I was, perhaps, being a little optimistic!