Just had a call from a nice provider who is legitimately working her way through college escorting...has some kids...nice girl, always outstanding reviews on performance, perhaps not a ten in the looks department but it's not her fault, she does the best she can with what she was dealt...anyway, she takes a money order from a guy...deposits it...takes kids on a short vacation,comes home and her checks have bounced because the little shit stopped payment on the M.O. saying it was lost.
Turns out kid goes to same school and knows she is a student...figures she has to keep her mouth shut...  poor kid is out $400 which she earned on her back and knees and this guy is strutting around thinking he is Cock of the Walk....I tell you, it would be real tempting to have a little talk with him...
sorry...just venting...

$400.00, not several thousand dollars which would draw too much attention for some people.

-- Modified on 7/17/2003 1:44:26 AM

Isn't the whole point that a money order is as good as cash?  Confused.

FYI, If she can prove the money order was in fact NOT stolen the issurer is responsible for any and all costs due to the action taken. She should just state the money was for used books or something else. The company will then be REQUIRED to confront the purchaser of the money order. He will have to prove the order was stolen. Then take the fool out back and adjust his attitude (several times)

If you report the travelers checks as stolen it seems only fitting that one would not worry about a stop payment. The travelers check company would simply cease to honor the checks, which means it's worthless.

I think she should call the travelers check company and fight the case. Say she provided "secretarial services" or something and at least make an attempt to get your dough back. Often times the victim has some rights that if just exercised will protect you. That's America.

On the other hand this action will also draw a lot of unwanted attention from the investigators and she may just want to write it off as a lesson in the reality of economics. Yes Virginia, there are crooks out there!

Well I'm really confused here.  The original poster stated it was a Money Order, NOT a traveler's check.  They are two different things.

I know you can report traveler's checks stolen; I've never heard of a way to stop payment on a money order.  What are the true facts here?

QUESTION: Can we place a stop payment on a Money Order? I said as long as the customer signs an affidavit, the bank should be covered. Am I right?

ANSWER: There are two distinct types of money orders: bank money orders and personal money orders. Personal money orders are money orders that bear the customer's signature. A personal money order is the equivalent of a one-shot checking account and a bank can allow a customer to place a stop payment on it.

The other kind is the bank money order. A bank money order is signed by the bank and is therefore a direct bank obligation. If the money order is signed by the bank and drawn on the bank, it is the legal equivalent of a cashier's check. If it's signed by the bank, but drawn on an account maintained by the bank at another institution,, it is the legal equivalent of a teller's check. A bank should generally NOT put stop payments on these items.

If you do issue personal money orders, it's always a good idea to have the money order filled out at the time of purchase, if possible, so that you have enough information for the stop.

First published on BankersOnline.com 3/5/01. Edited 3/8/01.

Question: Are there any reasons in which a stop payment can not be placed? (cause an NSF?, Blank payee?)

Answer: From your financial institution's point of view: No, a customer may stop payment on a check for any reason. This is true whether the check was payable to "cash" or would have created an overdraft or any one of several popular myths on the subject. In short, the drawer gave an instruction and later changed his or her mind.

Oftentimes, banks ask for a reason just to fix the customer's story in place in case there is a problem later. However, the bank does not care what the reason is. One of our clients' tellers listened to a long and fairly entertaining story from a customer about why he was stopping payment on a check. She summarized it very accurately by writing, "Customer was drunk when he wrote check" as the reason for stopping payment.

There are enough Bankers Threads on this issue to make up a small piece of fabric, so you may want to search there to get a variety of perspectives.

First published on BankersOnline.com 11/5/01