| Title: | Market Investing |
| Moderator: | 2155::michaud |
| Created: | Thu Jan 23 1992 |
| Last Modified: | Thu Jun 05 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 1060 |
| Total number of notes: | 10477 |
While not directly related to investing, this may be a good forum
for the following question. My son recently attempted to cash a
US Savings Bond at a local Savings Bank. They would not cash the
bond because he did not have an account there. I went back with
him and they cashed the bond for him, but not without rather a
certain amount of fuss. They claimed that they were NOT obligated
to cash the Savings Bond, even with "proper identification" because
they might get stuck for the amount (stolen bond, etc.).
Now, this particular Bank DOES cash such bonds (is an "agent"),
but apparently only for its customers with accounts.
My question is this: are such banks who act as paying agents
REQUIRED to cash US Savings Bonds upon request when presented with
proper identification? I checked the pamphlet and the bond itself,
and there are far too many uses of the word "may" for my liking...
If they are not REQUIRED to do so, I will encourage whoever will listen
to NOT purchase these in the future.
If they ARE required to redeem such bonds (under $1000., which is
a magic number, by the way), how can I a) prove this to them and
b) cause them more inconvenience than they caused me? In other words,
what is the most effective way to complain? You can be sure that I
have recorded the Assistant Manager's name who "served" us.
Still smiling, but not one to let such treatment go unnoticed...
Dave Eklund
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 561.1 | All Banks Not Alike | I18N::GLANTZ | Wed Sep 01 1993 15:05 | 4 | |
I don't know the official answer, but I do know from recent actual
experience that both Concord Cooperative and Boston Federal will give
you instant cash for EE bonds, whether you have an account with them or
not.
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| 561.2 | Banks need not redeem US Savings Bonds | TLE::EKLUND | Always smiling on the inside! | Thu Sep 02 1993 14:52 | 10 |
The "official" answer from the Treasury Department in
Massachusetts is that there is NO requirement that an agent
redeem a bond "on request". Banks who redeem them set their
own requirements (in addition to the federal identification
requirement), and may require that the customer have an
account there. Grr. My response to that is simplicity
itself - I'll put my money elsewhere.
Dave Eklund
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| 561.3 | SDSVAX::SWEENEY | Keep back 200 feet | Thu Sep 02 1993 20:45 | 2 | |
So is there anywhere where a matured United States Savings Bond can be
paid "on demand"?
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| 561.4 | Savings Bonds= cash at Fed reserve banks | FREEBE::NEARY | Bob Neary | Fri Sep 03 1993 12:18 | 5 |
re .3
I would assume that it is payable on demand at the Fed Reserve Banks.
In Boston it's near the South station tunnel. I've conducted business
there and they've been real nice to me.
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| 561.5 | TLE::EKLUND | Always smiling on the inside! | Fri Sep 03 1993 14:46 | 13 | |
Yes, Federal Reserve Banks will cash them (but there are
special procedures for over $1000.00, and I don't recall
whether you can get the money immediately, even at the FRB).
I seem to recall that if the bond is over $1000.00 in value,
the standard procedure is to mail it to the Feds for
redemption (or take it to the Federal Reserve Bank). BTW,
the woman at the Treasury Department was very polite when
I expressed my opinion about not ever buying them again -
she merely said that that's a decision that I would have to
make. Not a bad response, under the circumstances...
Dave Eklund
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