how do banks make decisions made regarding deposit holds?

Question

I cant get a straight answer from a teller or bank manager or policy pamphlet. I want them to tell me exactly what checks will be held, for how long and for what reason. The policies seem to be pretty vague, even though I was told by a teller that I am responsible for knowing the policy. I go to different banks and get the same conflicting responses. For example. One bank says, they will hold a check for an unstated number of days if the deposit is more than $5000, or if the account has been overdrawn repeatedly in the past six months or if they believe the check will not be paid. I ask them for the definition of "repeatedly", is it twice, three times? I get different answers from different people. I ask them who makes the decision, some people say it is a computer, some say it is the teller. I ask them how many days a check will be held and they say the decision is made at the moment of the deposit, they can't tell me ahead of time. Why won't they give me a straight answer?

I am asking for the purpose of future planning. In order to have proper control of my account, I need to know ahead of time whether a check will be held. That way I can decide if I want to cash it at the bank of the person who wrote it. I need to know when funds will be available before I make the deposit.

Answer 1

See the following web sites which address banking regulations on deposit holds:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_regulation#Regulation_CC_-_Expedited_Funds_Availability_Act

http://www.federalreserve.gov/Pubs/regcc/regcc.htm

Answer 2

I worked in banking and it is hard to give a specific answer until they run it thru and the system gives automatically spits out a computer based formula. Here are some of the matrix.
1) How long has the account be open.
2) what is the normal balance v/s the check deposited
3) have there been over drafts in the past
4) your credit score
5) the other types of business you have with the bank.
6) Is the check a payroll check
7) is it a personal check

The tellers have no control over on how long the hold will last, the computer matrix automatically spits it out.
If you need the funds right away, go to the bank that the check is issued against.
You are looking for answers that have no definate answer, just relax on things you have no control over.

Answer 3

I had an idiot boyfriend who lived in overdraft. If you are consistently over drawing your account eventually the bank will hold your deposits to make sure your overdraft is paid and to not allow you access to funds in case of any pending transactions you may have. They don't give straight answers because it's embarrassing to tell someone they don't know how to manage their money. The bank needs you to be consistent. Don't overdraw your account for between 3 and 6 months and your bank won't hold your deposists. BY THE WAY, the teller doesnt ever make the decision. It is computer generated and the only one who can over ride this is the branch manager who can elect to deposit part of your check or keep it on hold. If you want more specific answers go to your branch and ask for the manager and tell him/her what your problem with deposit holds is and let him/her explain to you why this is happening to you and what you can do so it won't happen anymore.