OT- Credit Card/Checking Account Protection

[Esquared1]

Hello all!

I thought I would get the board back to what it does best- off topic discussions.

Anyhow, my girlfriend is getting out of a jam financially due to her mother. Here is the quick story: Her mom owns a cleaning business, and her mother's credit is shot. Coupled with another family members gambling problem, my girlfriend's parents are essentially broke. Never mind their need to watch their money, or take money from her dad business. . . those were not explored.

Instead, my girlfriend's mother essentially forged my girlfriend's sig and opened credit cards, and bank accounts in her name. Not good.

In the past few months, my girlfriend has taken charge. Since her mom's business has been in my girlfriend's name, she has incorporated the business, and will have the bank account in switched to one in her name only. Therefore, she is the self appointed auditor of the business.

As an aside, she also got a credit guard so that if anything is opened in her SS, she has to personally authorize it. (Damn good idea).

Anyhow, here is my question. Now that the checking account is in my girlfriend's name, do you know any devices/procedures/services available that would keep her mother from forging her name or writing unauthorized checks?

(Please keep in mind that my girlfriend will not report her mother to the authorities, that is what I suggested. :) )

Any help is appreciated. As you can imagine, this makes saving for a house/wedding/ring very F'n difficult, besides how difficult it is to go over to the house knowing this about her parents. It is safe to say I'm not a big fan.

[Laddin]

I used to work for a bank processing department. Sorry to say, there is little that you can do. Banks normally keep a signature card on file, in case of forged/disputed checks, but if her mother forges a check, the bank would press charges and that sounds like something your girlfriend doesn't want.

Depending on the services at your branch, it may be possible to have the account set up for only in person transactions with a required check of the signatrure.

If you can arrange that, you could open a second checking account and use this account solely for transfers into the second account. A little much to go through, but it should work.

[GrantDawg]

Originally posted by Laddin
I used to work for a bank processing department. Sorry to say, there is little that you can do. Banks normally keep a signature card on file, in case of forged/disputed checks, but if her mother forges a check, the bank would press charges and that sounds like something your girlfriend doesn't want.

Depending on the services at your branch, it may be possible to have the account set up for only in person transactions with a required check of the signatrure.

If you can arrange that, you could open a second checking account and use this account solely for transfers into the second account. A little much to go through, but it should work.

Another option which would be as big a pain is to need two signatures on every check, and not let her mom know who the other signer is. Just an idea.

[44Niners]

close the old checking account

open a new one - don't give her mother any checks, account information, etc.

[Laddin]

Originally posted by GrantDawg
Another option which would be as big a pain is to need two signatures on every check, and not let her mom know who the other signer is. Just an idea.

Granted All Banks are different, and the bank I worked for was rather large. Check processing where I worked was not as throrough as you might think.

Check to make sure there is a signature, a date, and the written and numeric dollar amounts matched. Our error rate was something like 1 or 2 percent. The thought was it was more cost effective to have the customers return those errors to us than to track those errors ourselves.

Each bank operates differently, but still, something to consider.

[sabotai]

I remember a long time ago (probably about 10 years), some nes show (20/20, Nightline, one of them) tried to cash a check at a bank that said on the address "THIS IS NOT A REAL CHECK"...the bank cashed it. I thought that was funny.

Anyway, my advise is to tell you g/f to grow a fucking backbone and kick her mother to the curb. As long as she will not turn her in, her mom will continue to try to do shit like this.

[Esquared1]

Originally posted by sabotai


Anyway, my advise is to tell you g/f to grow a fucking backbone and kick her mother to the curb. As long as she will not turn her in, her mom will continue to try to do shit like this.

Thanks guys! Is it possible to set it up where you need a stamp instead of a signature? If so, she could just hide the stamp.

Yeah, I KNOW that would be the best way, and I know (from my days of counseling) that it will not stop. It is a cultural thing at work here, and it is a source of general concern on my part. One must insist that they are an adult, and be treated as such. My girlfriend is 24, so they need to treat her finances as any other adult's and not as a cookie jar.

Believe me, it makes me F'n angry, but I really cannot make her turn her mother in, and at this point, all I can do is be supportive, and point out that if you do not turn her in, it will never stop. Basically, it delays our plans to marry, and I'm 30, so it's not like I'm getting any younger.

As a side note, it's amazing that my girlfriend turned out so well, since her whole family (including her extending family) is a train wreck. A complete train wreck. Not a big fan at all.

[Glengoyne]

There is a banking mechanism called "possitive pay". In short you submit a list of check numbers and amounts to the bank daily. The bank will not allow any other traffic on the account.

The other thing you can do is stay on top of it. If a check is forged, the bank can return it through normal channels IF you report the forgery to the bank within 60 days.

In short she should go to the bank, and see what they can do to help her. That is what they are paid for, after all.