New twist on PO cashing a USPS Money Order.

[marlin39a]

Went to my small town Post Office to have a USPS MO cashed. Under $100.00. The clerk told me she would have to have it authenticated, as there is a problem with fakes being circulated. She wouldn’t be able to do it right then, as she was the only clerk there, and the line was long. Told her to forget it. I’ll take it to my bank in Prescott next week, a 30 mile drive each way. Maybe she was giving me a snow job, I don’t know. I sure won’t be accepting them as payment anymore. Anyone else hear of this?

[matrixcs]

I have had them check mine against a printed list but never was asked to come back... sounds like a lazy employee....did not want to do the job..

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I haven't had that thing exactly happen to me, but I have had them refuse to cash them because they didn't have sufficient funds. Not unusual for the local postal lady to have a sign on the counter asking for one dollar bills.

DG

[popper]

Problem is counterfeit MO.

[dverna]

I had one refused because the local PO is small and did not have enough cash.

Sounds like a lazy person or someone who does not like you. Next time wear a Biden hat and you will get your cash. Lol

[frkelly74]

I had one that someone sent me for something and it was large enough that they couldn't cover it at the post office branch. Took it to the bank I use and they would only allow me to deposit it and then withdraw the cash. I said "ok whatever it takes". I think a lot depends on who is at the counter when you get there. Another twist though. I was wanting to buy a money order and the P.O. will only take cash or debit card for them, No check or credit card. Alternatively UPS Only takes credit card, no cash. They are all getting picky .

[Winger Ed.]

Our little local post office will sell them, but is privately owned- sort of a franchise sort of something,
and never has hardly any cash, so they won't redeem them.

Our real govt. post office is 20 miles away, and they will.
I took one in awhile back and they went back in the office to verify it in their system.
They said there was an issue of counterfits,, and people would deposit them in their bank with the picture on their phone thing--
then come in and try to cash the same one again at the post office.

[Tazman1602]

Man I’ve never tried to cash one at the PO....now I’m going to have to get one at one PO then try to cash it at another....drive them nuts....

[Winger Ed.]

Man I’ve never tried to cash one at the PO....now I’m going to have to get one at one PO then try to cash it at another....drive them nuts....


I figure when they went back to check/verify mine,
they checked to see if it had already been cashed, looked at it to see it wasn't a fake,
and to kill the serial number on it if it was in the banking system but hadn't hit their data base computer yet.

I've deposited one in the bank too, and it took a few days before it went through the verification
process and was 'cleared'.

[smithnframe]

My post office in Shiner, TX won’t cash any money order.......never did, never will!

[woody1]

Have a very small PO that we use. They don't usually have much cash. However our bank is just across the street cross the street and get cash, no problem. Mebe livin' in the country has it's advantages.

[edp2k]

Sounds like a lazy PO person, there is a lot of that going around.

I would think that it would be very tough to forge a USPS MO, since it has an internal stripe/ribbon
like a $50 or $100 bill and also has an iridescent hologram on the front.

When they cash it it gets scanned in before they hand you the $, I would think that the system
would look up the serial # to see if its good before dispensing cash.

If the person previously deposited the MO in their bank account via a photo, then the bank
would later see that the MO bounced and then debit your bank account the funds.

[nvbirdman]

If a bank will cash a photo of a money order, why not take a photo of a one hundred dollar bill in there and ask for five twenties please.

[Markopolo]

i have a feeling everything will be digital before too long. cash money will go the way of 8track tapes

[M-Tecs]

They are required to cash them subject to cash availability. For larger amounts I always call before and make arrangements. I have have been told they will never have that amount twice. After a call to the USPS Postal Service Customer Service at (800) 275-8777 or the local Postal Service Consumer & Industry Contact office never takes a new meaning apparently. Once was for approximately 8K and the other was about 6K and yes after a call from Supervision they had the funds the next day.

https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/509.htm#ep1124357

3.3.2 Redemption
All U.S. money orders, including military, may be cashed at any U.S. Post Office or bank. Subject to funds availability, money orders may be cashed by rural carriers. Any customer whose daily total of cashed money orders exceeds $10,000, regardless of the number of Post Offices the customer visits to cash the money orders, must also complete PS Form 8105-A, Funds Transaction Report (FTR), and show an acceptable primary form of identification as specified under 608.10.3.

[Wheelguns 1961]

I can deposit a check in my bank by taking pictures, but to deposit a money order I must mail it to them. My post office has signs hanging that say that they will verify all money orders.

[M-Tecs]

I can deposit a check in my bank by taking pictures, but to deposit a money order I must mail it to them. My post office has signs hanging that say that they will verify all money orders.

If you cash it at the bank and its a fake the bank takes the money back and you are SOL if you sent the item. If the PO takes a fake they lost the money not you.

[Kyle M.]

It seems to me that all post offices do things differently. My local post office is a small one person operation and only open from 12:15 to 4:15 P.M. on weekdays and 8:30-11:30 A.M. on Saturday's, we have no mail delivery everyone here has a P.O. Box. They will cash money orders if they have the cash available and you can pay for a money order with cash, credit, or debit, no checks. The main post office 2 miles away will cash money orders up to $1000 on request, I've never had either say anything about verificiation.

The lady that works at the local post office is quite rude and lazy, she will let packages sit for 2 or 3 days before she scans them. Other times she will hold our local newspaper and/or mail for up to a week! I've gone in on Wednesday and not had a single piece of mail yet, she'll tell me that they never came in then all of a sudden on Friday or Saturday I'll have the whole weeks newspapers and so much mail it barely fits in the box! They're are a grand total of 180 P.O. boxes in that building and about half are unused, certainly there can't be that much mail to sort. I called a 1-800 number and the main post office to file a complaint once, turns out her husband is post master and a union rep. So it looks like she can get away with anything.

[M-Tecs]

I called a 1-800 number and the main post office to file a complaint once, turns out her husband is post master and a union rep. So it looks as if she can get away with anything.

Everyone has a supervisor. The chain of command works, sometimes you may need to go thru several levels. I had an issue in remote Alaska with sending a rifle to myself and I lacked time as my plane left in a couple of hours. I went directly to the Alaskan Postmaster General. One phone call from the Postmaster General's office solved the local issue. That was all I wanted. A couple of days later I received a hand written letter of apology for the remote PO.

[jonp]

I have to confess that I had no idea the P.O. cashed anything. I always take them to a bank and they treat them just like any check. Deposit into your account.

I did once have a bank refuse to cash a company paycheck that was from that bank because I didn't have an account there which I found pretty darn odd.

[M-Tecs]

I have to confess that I had no idea the P.O. cashed anything. I always take them to a bank and they treat them just like any check. Deposit into your account.

I did once have a bank refuse to cash a company paycheck that was from that bank because I didn't have an account there which I found pretty darn odd.

Nothing wrong with that as long as you hold the merchandise until the check clears. Normally it takes around ten days. The bank will cash them and when they discover they are fake they will take the money out of your account. A buddy got burnt for around $3,500 by fake MO's. If the PO cashes them and they are fake it's not your problem.

The reason Banks don't cash checks unless you have an account is they have no way to recover the money on fake or forged checks. That is why they would not cash a company paycheck that was from that bank.

[abunaitoo]

Now that they take debit and charge cards, they have even less cash on hand.
I've had to go back a few times because they just didn't have the cash.
I've never tried taking it to my bank.
Always thought they wouldn't take it.
Just deposit is fine.
I'll try it next time.

[tomme boy]

Our town is low income so the post office allways has cash for money ordeers. People in there getting them for $20 and paying with pennies. Not making fun of them, I have been there myself. But low income seems to deal with cash a lot more than normal places.

They have a book to check numbers and a blue light the check for something on the MO here.

[Burnt Fingers]

Don't confuse a contract station with an actual Post Office.

If there's not a Flag out front it's most likely a contract station.

Also almost all real post office building have a name and the ZIP code on the outside of the building.

They also have a posting with all the Federal wanted posters.

If they also handle UPS and/or FedEx it's not a Post Office, it's a contract station.

[marlin39a]

I have an app on my iPhone for my bank. With it I can deposit checks by taking photos of the front and back. However, it will not work with money orders. It will work depositing a money order at the bank ATM, but that’s 30 mile away. So, when I accept payments in S&S, I will go with PayPal, or personal checks from established members. I’ll never take another USPS money order. I used to like my post office, but have noticed a bad attitude from them lately. We all know how the service has gone downhill in the last year. The receipts you get when you make a purchase at the PO, has a site listed where you can submit a survey on your experience with the clerk and PO. I used to submit them giving high marks. From now on, I’ll give negative reviews.

[imashooter2]

I’m not understanding... the line was long... did you wait your turn or did a line suddenly form up behind you? Either way, you are at the counter and it is only reasonable that your postal business should be attended to. You should have insisted on it.

[Handloader109]

Yes, they actually have a phone number that they call to verify the MO is real. I've had the same issue at my small PO, along with no cash. So I deposit in my bank. Which is one reason I dislike MO. You pay for them and then they are just hard to cash...

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[bedbugbilly]

This is just some musing . . . . but I wonder how long Ford or GM would stay in business if they would not service the products they make and sell? But then we ARE talking about the USPS . . . a government run enterprise . . . . .

[marlin39a]

I’m not understanding... the line was long... did you wait your turn or did a line suddenly form up behind you? Either way, you are at the counter and it is only reasonable that your postal business should be attended to. You should have insisted on it.

Small town. I’ve known the postal clerk for 20 yrs. I wasn’t going to make a demand on her, and cause a scene in front of my neighbors. Just saying, I’m all done with using USPS money orders. I won’t buy them, and I won’t accept them.