Complaint Review: Wachovia Bank NA - Charlotte North Carolina

If you deposited a check for $2000, it is added to your balance, but then had to be charged back out of your account due to the fraud, which would have put you back to where you are minus a $10 chargeback fee. Did you go out and spend all $2000 right away? The CEO is Ken Thompson, not Sandra.

I just read your posting. We put in a posting ourselves it is #2 on the list. Please read it. Sounds familiar. Different scam or situation but the bank is doing the same thing to us. I am trying to get people together for hopefully a class action Please contact me I am trying to find laws or lack of laws that might be beneficial. Being a paralegal you should have some knowledge of the legal terms Maybe we can compare notes

Barbara, Did you have a business relationship with Mineral technologies? Did they buy something from you? Did they owe you $2000? Why would a $2000 check NOT be suspect? Why not just call Mineral Technologies and verify the check? This had scam written all over it. the answers to the above questions might stop some of the negative responses. Thanks

I was feeling pretty beat up by all the responses I received. Your message was very sweet and kind. Thank you again. Sincerely, Barbara

No one thinks that you're stupid.You made a mistake like anyone could. There was no way for you to know that it was fake. You read the letter very carefully 6 or 7 times looking for "red flags" and you didn't see any. Even with extensive legal experience you didn't see anything wrong. So,don't worry,sometimes the posters can seem a little passionate about their positions.They all meant well and had good advice. You have to be pretty smart to be a paralegal for over 20 years. Thanks for posting and helping to identify a scam.

I do not see how your credit is ruined, as you state. You received a check for $2000. You cashed it. The check then was denied payment. So, now you just need to give the $2000 back to your bank. There should be no credit rating issue. Wachovia did what was appropriate, and they even are apologetic, despite them having no fault. Eastern is the victim, as they are out $2000. However, they appropriately look back at you to return the money. You say you have pre-paid your landloard two months rent---just ask for it back. A landlord has no right to a pre-payment. In fact, the Landlord-Tenant Act requires prepayments of rent to be treated like a deposit, where the landlord is not permitted to convert the prepayment for his own use, until it is earned. But, if you cannot get the funds returned, I suggest you ask your bank to convert the $2000 to a loan. Under the circumstances, and because they authorized you to withdraw the funds before the check cleared, they should give you a little latitude in terms of how you repay them. Most scams like this result in someone being ripped off. You are lucky noone was ripped off in this situation.

How are they supposed to know a check drawn from another bank is not legit until they submit it to that bank? Yeah basically you got scammed big time. Interesting how you left all those details out of the first report then when everyone put 2 and 2 together you go off on everyone. Not Wachovia's fault and you are mad at the wrong person. Why aren't you pursuing whomever sent you the check?

Barbara - Are you going to go after Mineral Technologies or not? I truly don't understand why you're not angry with them - they're the ones who are passing the bad check! They're the company you should be mad at, not Wachovia. You're yelling at the wrong people for the wrong reasons, Barbara. Don't be embarrassed for falling for the scam - look around ROR - there are hundreds if not thousands of people who have been scammed.

Sorry to see you were scammed Barbara. This is a long time ongoing scam and many have fallen victim to it. Many banks have stepped up to the plate and made it a point to educate their customers when suspect checks such as this are presented. Unfortunately, the nature of these scam artists is that they are chameleon like. Once they feel pressure from those they have scammed the scam itself will mutate into a new form. This makes it difficult for banks to keep track of which company checks are scams and which are not. The customer service representatives at the bank's call center can only check your account for transaction processing, and normally cannot "see" the actual check. As others posted in this thread, the "check" for your prize should have fallen into the "too good to be true" warning category. Yes, you believed perhaps you had won. Many actually enter online sweepstakes/contests and do win. Perhaps you are one that frequents these offers with high hopes. As for your post, be consistent in your statements if you wish to be believed in this type of forum. In your initial post you said: "On April 14, 2006, a check which I received from Mineral Technologies, Inc. was processed for payment through their bank, Wachovia Bank, NA. The check was in the amount of $2000.00 which I held for processing for three days as instructed by my bank(Eastern Bank, Salem, Massachusetts.) On April 17, 2006, I spoke with "Joanna" at Eastern Bank who said the check was "okay to cash." On April 18, 2006 the check was returned by Wachovia Bank with a "Reason Code - S; Return to Maker." Later you state you waited the full FIVE banking days for the check to be processed before withdrawing/utilizing the funds. Three days or five???? Choose one.

I sound like a spoiled little child, do I? You suspect more to this story? You think I should have known better? Well, well, well aren't we the all high and mighty. I GET IT! I WAS SCAMMED!!! DOES THAT MAKE ME AN IDIOT?? HOW COULD I BE SOOOOO STUPID???? WELL, YOU HAVE CERTAINLY MADE YOUR POINT. I GUESS MY STUPIDITY JUST COST ME $2000.00 AND A BAD CREDIT REPORT. GOD HELP ME I AM JUST THE MOST STUPID PERSON I KNOW RIGHT NOW. THIS SPOILED LITTLE CHILD IS SICK TO DEATH OF THESE FRIGGING SCAM ARTISTS. BIT THE BULLET AND PAY THE PRICE FOR BEING SCAMMED. FINE. BUT I STAND FIRM AND AM NOT WHINING. MY BANK TOLD ME I COULD CASH THE CHECK AFTER A FIVE DAY HOLD? ONE THE FIFTH DAY, I CALLED AND THE SWEET LADY I SPOKE WITH SAID "YES, BARBARA IT IS OKAY TO CASH THE CHECK? WHAT EXACTLY DID I DO THAT MADE ME SO TERRIBLY STUPID???? THE LETTER STATED "CONGRATULATIONS YOU ARE A THIRD PLACE WINNER IN OUR SURVEY ON LINE PRIZE ENTRY. I HAVE ALREADY FILED A CLAIM WITH MINERAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND I WILL CONTINUE ON UNTIL I AM DEFEATED. FOR THE RECORD, I WORK MY a*s OFF SIX DAYS A WEEK, SOMETIMES SEVEN. I READ THE FINE PRINT OF THE FRIGGING LETTER 6 TO 7 TIMES LOOKING FOR ANYTHING THAT MIGHT TRIGGER A "RED FLAG". THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN THE LETTER STATING ANYTHING BUT "FEEL FREE TO CASH THIS CHECK AND ENJOY YOUR WINNINGS." SO TO YOU AND ALL WHO HAVE SO GREATLY CRITIZIED ME FOR BEING AN IDIOT I BIDE YOU ADO AND HOPE YOU NEVER EVER BE STUDID. BUT BEFORE I GO, IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE WILLING TO LEND A STUPID PERSON $2000.00 TO PAY BACK THE BANK??? I DIDN'T THINK SO. I FEEL LIKE A LEPER. SO MUCH FOR RIP-OFF REPORTS. I WILL KEEP THIS SIGHT IN MIND THE NEXT TIME I NEED TOTAL HUMILIATION. SIGNING OFF AND GETTING AS FAR AWAY AS I CAN FROM PEOPLE WHO THROW STONES AT GLASS HOUSES. BY THE WAY WHO WAS THE JERK THAT SUGGESTED I ASK MY LANDLORD FOR THE MONEY BACK ON THE RENT???? "HERE'S YOUR SIGN." TO HECK WITH ALL YOU KNOW IT ALLS. KISS MY SWEET LITTLE NEVER MIND.....

My husband and I received a similar check today. It took about ten minutes of internet searching to find out that it is a scam. If something smells fishy it probably is! I feel for the fact that you got ripped off, but a little common sense goes a long way. In today's world, with information from all over just a search engine away, it is harder for criminals to take advantage of us if we use just a little common sense and a few minutes of our time.

"Why should I be the fall guy"? YOU fell for the scam. Not the bank. YOU admitted you were the "scamee". Why in the world should the bank eat the $2000 loss? YOU deposited the $2000 counterfeit check, not the bank. Before you go calling people names, you sound like a spoiled little child. "I WON THE $2000, I WON the $2000, it's mine, it's mine. A "paralegal with 20 years experience"???? For being a "paralegal with 20 years experience", you don't seem to have a clue about the way the world works. These folks have posted about the procedures and you don't want to listen to what they have posted. "I WON IT, IT'S MINE". You won what? There was nothing there to win. IT WAS A SCAM. I suspect there's probably more to this story then we're being told. I wonder how much money she had to send them to claim her "winnings"?

The bank saying it was ok is never a guideline or guarantee the check will pay. You can call and verify funds for a check at 10am and if someone withdraws money at 10:05am, that check will bounce. Bottom line: Wachovia is not responsible. You were scammed. You are responsible. Failure to do so will wind you up with greater penalties, collection activity, and your winding up back here filing reports for unscrupulous collection agencies (which I'll have to agree with you on). As all those before me have indicated, you NEED to get the funds from Mineral Technologies. This is YOUR responsibility. You may need to file a police report against them, but again, this is your footwork, not the banks. Good luck

No offense, here, Barbara, but that's a classic scam! Lotteries are regulated by the state in which they are held-- which means they are licensed. Online lotteries are NOT legal. Let me explain this to you.. 1) you get check in mail from "online lottery". Do you remember playing this online lottery?? Do you have the website you played it on somewhere in your favorite places?? Or was this just a check that showed up in your mailbox??? If you don't have the website somewhere, chances are it's a scam again. 2)When you deposit a check, there is now a law in place that's called check21, which basically says that once a check is deposited for payment, the money is automatically withdrawn from the account that it's drawn on. This process does NOT check for authorized signatures--which is probably when you got that "was valid", "okay to cash" notification. 3)Then it was discovered during the bank's processing of the check that the signer of the check was not an authorized signer on the account--which means it's counterfeit, because the person that signed it had no rights to sign the check. This reality is that you signed a FORGED check, and therefore, you are responsible to repay that money that YOUR bank gave you in good faith. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to go after the writer of the check to get that money if you feel that it's LEGALLY yours. This means if you have the website, and you find that the contest (lottery) is licensed. What you can do is that you can go down to your local police department and file charges against the signer of the check and the company it's drawn on. The police will be able to tell you what is going on in this situation and whether you were a victim of a scam or a legitimate winner. I'm betting you're a victim of a scam.

Why would Mineral Technologies write YOU a check? Was it for lottery winnings for a lottery that you did not even ENTER? Don't you think its strange that a lottery would send you a check from a (non-related) company and NOT written on the lottery's own account? Which is it-Was it counterfeit or was it not an authorized signature? I would expect a counterfeit check NOT to have an authorized signature. How EXACTLY would you like the bank to assist you? You deposited the(counterfeit)check and YOU spent the money, therefore you ARE liable for it. Now, Is there ANY way you can get your 2 months advance rent back? P.S. Regarding the other lottery check you received, did you ENTER that one?

What the check you received was actually for. Was it a payment for something you sold?

Dear Mr. Bigman: Maybe I didn't get my point across clearly enough for you to understand. There is something very wrong with major banking institutions who will not step up to the plate and assist the "scammee", however that may be. I feel sorry for you, I really do. You are probably some stupid CEO, ignorant lawyer or just a "smartass", but there are real people out here who have also been scammed and have no recourse. I do not owe that money and I am not paying it back. I did not "TAKE" the money from them, they told me that the check was "okay to cash." As far as waiting, if you read my report with some thought, I waited the necessary time (5 days) which my bank instructed me to do. WAIT FOR WHAT??? I won $2000.00 from an on-line lottery and there were no conditions set forth regarding cashing that check when I received it. THAT'S MY POINT, JERK! Why am I the fall guy in this when obviously Wachovia Bank is in some kind of "business arrangement" with Mineral Technologies, Inc. This matter is far from over and why don't you take a suck pill. Big Hug...

Dear Mr. Bigman: Maybe I didn't get my point across clearly enough for you to understand. There is something very wrong with major banking institutions who will not step up to the plate and assist the "scammee", however that may be. I feel sorry for you, I really do. You are probably some stupid CEO, ignorant lawyer or just a "smartass", but there are real people out here who have also been scammed and have no recourse. I do not owe that money and I am not paying it back. I did not "TAKE" the money from them, they told me that the check was "okay to cash." As far as waiting, if you read my report with some thought, I waited the necessary time (5 days) which my bank instructed me to do. WAIT FOR WHAT??? I won $2000.00 from an on-line lottery and there were no conditions set forth regarding cashing that check when I received it. THAT'S MY POINT, JERK! Why am I the fall guy in this when obviously Wachovia Bank is in some kind of "business arrangement" with Mineral Technologies, Inc. This matter is far from over and why don't you take a suck pill. Big Hug...

Whats the rip off? Wachovia obviously didn't process the check because it was counterfit. If Mineral Technologies, Inc. is truly a legitamate business, and you received the check for a legitamate reason, then you should be going after them for reimbursement. If the check was unexpected, then you were probably scammed and owe the bank the money you took from them. If there was any question, you should have waited before spending it and then you would have only incured a returned check fee. The bank is required by banking regulation to make the funds of the deposited check available to draw against within a certain time period whether or not the check was paid by the issuing bank. If the check is returned for any reason (NSF, counterfit) you owe the bank the money you drew against that deposit. All of this is spelled out in your account terms and conditions. Give a read sometime. Good luck.