Can a bank prohibit you from changing dollar bills into dollar coins, unless you buy a roll?

Longacre

I went to the bank today to try to get some Adams dollars for the kids' Whitman folder. This is a large national bank. I won't name it, but its initials are BoA. I went up to the teller and told her I would like 5 Adams dollars. She said that she was sorry, but I would have to buy $25 of them in a full roll. I tried to explain that I did not want 25 of them, and I only wanted to exchange a $5 for 5. She then said that the head teller does not allow rolls to be broken and that is their rule. I asked what the reason for that was, and she replied that customers like the nice wrappers that come with the coins, and they have a policy that they will only sell rolls.

I told her that was a little strange, because if I came in here with a $20, and wanted 20 dollar bills, they would exchange those. She said she was sorry, but if I wanted any Adams dollars, I would have to take a $25 roll. Needless to say, I was a little annoyed.

Has anyone heard of banks doing this? How will these coins ever circulate?

Just to stick it to 'em, I let the kids take lollipops from the bowl, even though we did not do a transaction.

[Hopefully Barry won't get mad that I'm asking another legal question to the boards )

Darkmane

Some peoples' stupidity is beyond me.

If you're a member of a bank, you'd think they'd be willing to help you out with basic things like... say... exchanging money.

DRG

You should have bought the roll for $25, opened it, and handed her 20 coins and asked for a $20 bill......Then watch her face.

Longacre

<< <i>You should have bought the roll for $25, opened it, and handed her 20 coins and asked for a $20 bill......Then watch her face. >>




You're good! I am not that quick on my feet!

TwoSides2aCoin

I'm beginning to see some real problems with people who are in a position to serve the customer and live east of the Mississippi.
Please PM me Longacre. We are much more helpful in the midwest.

Banks have funny rules. Is there another institution besides the IRS that actually charges you money to hold your money ?

WinPitcher

Yes they can.

Steve

WinPitcher

You should have bought the roll for $25, opened it, and handed her 20 coins and asked for a $20 bill......Then watch her face.


She/he would have simply stated that they do not accept coin unless it is wrapped. And it has to be complete.

banks are a business with overhead.

Steve

FLBuffaloHunter

You should have done your civic duty of buying the roll and putting the rest in circulation

techeff

Yeah, should've bought the roll and used the rest for parking fees...

LALASD4

Tell her you want to speak to the manager, the head teller's boss.

19Lyds

Business or no business, overhead or no overhead, that is the most rediculous excuse I have ever heard of!

Unless the paper buck is killed, banking institutions and merchants will kill the dollar coin simply for lack of use!

Barry

<< <i>Hopefully Barry won't get mad that I'm asking another legal question to the boards ) >>


Not angry at all. Just surprised. Maybe I should start asking eye questions

Banks can do whatever they want, too, just like parking garages. For example, ask for the latest state Q and they may not have any because they didn't order any. They are a business, and while it may be nice and good customer relations, they are under no obligation to do something that's not law or doesn't make them money.



You should have bought the roll for $25, opened it, and handed her 20 coins and asked for a $20 bill.


This reminds me of a funny story my father told me years ago. He took one of those day bus trips to Atlantic City. When you get off the bus they hand you a voucher for a roll of quarters that you can claim in the casino. He's not a gambler, just went to sightsee. So, he gets his roll of quarters, goes somewhere to have lunch and offers the roll as payment. The clerk says "You can't use those here. Those are for use at Ballys." He then asks the clerk if he wants the roll opened and handed the quarters one by one. The clerk took the roll.

IGWT

DRG's suggestion is the best. Another alternative is to buy the roll and use the extras to pay parking lot attendants in Manhattan. The answer to your question is best summed up by looking at how the transaction ended.

BobaFett72

LOL your lucky, my bank refuses to sell them by the roll, only single coins, maximum of EIgHT per customer. screw em! i like my rag bucks

p.s.
I use Sovereign Bank. (The swallowed and ate my local banks)

GritsMan

On a related topic, my credit union has started charging 10 cents a roll for people who come in to look through rolls. Anyone else running into this? I can kind of see their point since it does cost them money to rewrap the loose coin I bring back in, but still, they are easily making that up on the interest of my account...

ilikebuffaloes

I had a casino in Atlantic City give me a hard time because I tried to give them 8 rolls of Sacs (they were bank rolled 2000s and I had plenty) but they eventually took them.

My local bank has changed hands 3 times, but at least most of the employees stayed so they get rolls for us (they even try to give me H/T rolls when they have them) so they try. I think if you have an account and you tried to deposit the coins, they couldn't refuse them. But they do ask me to roll them (if there is enough for a roll).

It is a shame that these coins won't circulate, but I'm trying to circulate a few by losing them at our poker games!

Writersblock

Sure they can. People have to remember that banks are there to make money by borrowing and loaning money. They are NOT there to make change or provide coins and bills to people. They only do that mainly as a convieniece for their clients. Not for anyone who happens to come in. The fact that they are willing to do so at all to non-clients with or without any restrictions is an act of charity on their part. Frankly they would really prefer that the only thing the tellers did was accept deposits. When it comes to exchanging coins and notes they can establish any rules and/or restrictions they want.

ziggy29

They can, sure.

Whether or not it's a good policy to antagonize your customers is another issue.

LindeDad

At least the Adam's Dollars would not end up with torn corners.

TwoSides2aCoin

Order from the mint next time and pay a premium for our MONEY for COMMERCE

Moose1913

Longacre, are you a BOA account holder? I can understand if you'd rather not answer.

If you are, you should have asked to speak with the manager.

basestealer

The best "banks" for coin hunters is the main cage at any casino. They'll usually take all the coins you have (unwrapped) and exchange them without any fee (with the hopes that you will be gambling). But with the influx of ticket in/out systems, they no longer stock nearly as many coins as they used to. Instead of going to the bank and being rejected, you should just call ahead and make sure they'll do what you want beforehand. It saves time and frustration. My Wells Fargo told me they'd let me play around with coins if I opened an account, so I did (with $50 or something), and I even got a free set of markers and a crayon box. Now when I go in there I proudly give them my account number and remind them I'm a customer, and then I make my silly coin exchanges and unreasonable demands. At least that was until I insisted on purchasing $840 worth of dimes and half dollars, took them over to the carpet, sat down Indian style and busted open each roll, yanked out 14 silvers, dumped the remaining coins back into a canvas bag, and demanded the same teller give me my money back. She also handed me my $50 and an account termination slip. Funny, the coin star machine is never so cruel. But it charges 8%.

ilikebuffaloes

<< <i>The best "banks" for coin hunters is the main cage at any casino. They'll usually take all the coins you have (unwrapped) and exchange them without any fee (with the hopes that you will be gambling). But with the influx of ticket in/out systems, they no longer stock nearly as many coins as they used to. Instead of going to the bank and being rejected, you should just call ahead and make sure they'll do what you want beforehand. It saves time and frustration. My Wells Fargo told me they'd let me play around with coins if I opened an account, so I did (with $50 or something), and I even got a free set of markers and a crayon box. Now when I go in there I proudly give them my account number and remind them I'm a customer, and then I make my silly coin exchanges and unreasonable demands. At least that was until I insisted on purchasing $840 worth of dimes and half dollars, took them over to the carpet, sat down Indian style and busted open each roll, yanked out 14 silvers, dumped the remaining coins back into a canvas bag, and demanded the same teller give me my money back. She also handed me my $50 and an account termination slip. Funny, the coin star machine is never so cruel. But it charges 8%. >>



I'm still laughing at this story.

BTW Some merchants are eating the vig on CoinStar. I think my supermarket will give you 100% if you get a gift card to spend there.

mrpotatoheadd

<< <i>I'm still laughing at this story. >>

And people wonder why banks have the kind of rules they do. Imagine that.

ddink

<< <i>She/he would have simply stated that they do not accept coin unless it is wrapped. And it has to be complete. >>



In that case I would have stood there in front of her window and not moved until I got what I wanted. One time I went to the movies, and my mom accidentally bought one too many tickets (there was a large group of us; she miscounted). She immediately caught her mistake and apologized and asked for a refund on the extra ticket. The 15 year old at the window wouldn't refund her money. So we just stood there and told the kid we weren't moving until we got our money back. We had about twenty people in line behind us. The manager finally came in and gave us a refund when he saw five people get out of line and walk back to their car.

Personally, I'll just stand there and block traffic until I get what I want (as long as it's reasonable). I would have told the teller to go get her head teller or the bank manager if she needed to, but I was not going to move until I got my five dollar coins.

Snowman24

i can see the bank tellers point of view - i would of just got the roll and keep the 5 you wanted and spent the rest - alot of people love them and think they are awesome, when i spend mine from a dollar coin box i get from my bank-

when my son spends them at the local burger king - he is known as the "dollar coin kid" and they think they are cool

you might make someones day

Snowman

Longacre

<< <i>Longacre, are you a BOA account holder? I can understand if you'd rather not answer.

If you are, you should have asked to speak with the manager. >>




Yes, I am. And if you ask RYK, I am a BIG account holder.

whatsup

The only thing I ran into was when they first came out, if you were not a bank customer with an account they were not going to be able to give you a roll as they were saving them for their customers- that was the answer I was getting. Now some banks have branch's in supermarkets and they do not get those or they tell me any new rolls , only by chance. I asked for 07 pennies no you would have to go to a main bank, yet they did have rolls of the new quarters as many as I could handle

flaminio

<< <i>Some peoples' stupidity is beyond me.

If you're a member of a bank, you'd think they'd be willing to help you out with basic things like... say... exchanging money. >>

Indeed. If it was my bank, I'd say something like "Oh, so I can't get twenty Adams dollars? In that case, please give me all my money."

FLBuffaloHunter

<< <i>

<< <i>Some peoples' stupidity is beyond me.

If you're a member of a bank, you'd think they'd be willing to help you out with basic things like... say... exchanging money. >>

Indeed. If it was my bank, I'd say something like "Oh, so I can't get twenty Adams dollars? In that case, please give me all my money." >>


Corporations rule the world. It's a conspiracy!

Baley

I'm not clear on why you wouldn't simply buy the roll, select the best 5 coins to save, and spend the rest, and not worry about their "policy"

LickThoseStamps

If you had offered Pesos, she would have gladly accepted them.

Longacre

<< <i>I'm not clear on why you wouldn't simply buy the roll, select the best 5 coins to save, and spend the rest, and not worry about their "policy" >>




I'm a non-conformist. Don't you know that about me already?

pocketpiececommems

Like others have said, DRGs is a good idea and if they wouldn't take the rest back because they weren't rolled then make a deposit in your checking account with them.

CaptHenway

<< <i>

<< <i>I'm not clear on why you wouldn't simply buy the roll, select the best 5 coins to save, and spend the rest, and not worry about their "policy" >>




I'm a non-conformist. Don't you know that about me already? >>



Ever see the W.C. Fields movie where he runs a drug store, and every P.I.T.A. customer in the world comes in? One wants to buy exactly one One Cent stamp, and spends five minutes trying to pick the nicest one out of a sheet of one hundred. Then she wants the prize offered to every customer.

Remember this the next time you decide to go out and "non-conform."

fcloud

My bank has a coin star machine. I would have bought the roll taken my best five. Run the 20 left through the coin star and handed the the receipt for $20. They don't charge a fee if you have an account with them. Also, this way they wouldn't of had the 20 loose coins that they don't want for whatever lame excuss.