Today I had the pleasure of working with US Bank’s, Justina, after my daughter recently incurred a returned deposit fee. Justina was excellent and forthright in explaining US Bank’s fee and that they will not verify a personal check before a customer attempts to deposit it. She said US Bank will verify cashier’s checks, but not personal checks. This is a note to self and others: stop accepting personal checks for payment from others unless you want to expose yourself to liability that includes your banker’s returned deposit fee.

Interestingly, deposits can also be returned if the personal check has incurred too much damage. I asked Justina what constitutes damage and she explained that damage to numbers on the check may warrant a returned deposit fee – if a deposited check rolls through US Bank’s teller machine and is unreadable, they can assess you a returned deposit fee.

I’m curious what else meets US Bank’s criteria for customers incurring a returned deposit fee. For instance, if the check’s paper has too much moisture and slips in the teller’s machine, what moisture to paper ratio warrants a returned deposit fee? Ha, this inquiry will wait for another day. In the mean time, don’t handle personal checks.