[Leelee]

Over time I've been collecting five, ten, and twenty dollar bills to put toward the cash purchase of my new LV bag (so my DH doesn't know...he can't understand my passion for collecting bags and it's just easier this way).

Yesterday I took in $700 in bills, mostly twenties to the bank and asked to convert them to 7 $100 bills. The teller told me she'd do it this time only, but it was against their policy normally. She said the bank doesn't stock very many $100s and that if I wanted to change anything again I had to call and order the $100 bills in advance. She said I need to call by Wednesday of the week I want to make the exchange and that they get their money in on Thursdays.

This seems so weird to me that she didn't want to accomodate a loyal 30-year customer with several accounts at that bank plus a mortgage loan and a home equity loan there. I only wanted to change $700 -- not thousands and thousands. I also wonder if it isn't a breach of bank policy or something to divulge when they get their shipment of money. I have to confess, up until that conversation yesterday, I had never even realized a bank had to "order" money.

Any thoughts?

[boxermom]

I'm not familiar with what my bank would do in a similar situation, but it's almost laughable that a bank wouldn't have a lot of $100 bills on hand! The idea of "ordering " money at a bank makes no sense to me. I understand your surprise about this policy.

[envyme]

I believe they order money from the Federal Reserve, right? This is how the economy is monitored. Also, banks are required to have a specific amount of money on reserve...

Anyway, that's BS!! Seems like the teller was being an asshole by lecturing a loyal customer such as yourself. I can see if you were someone who just walked in off the street without any accounts with them! If you need to convert your small bills into large ones and they give you hell, tell them about themselves in the nicest manner possible. Actually, express your displeasure with the manager.

[elongreach]

Ok, since you're a loyal customer, you should be able to exchange funds. It's 700 bucks. Not a lot. I understand that they won't do that for noncustomers of the bank, but as long as your account is there, there shouldn't be a problem. You should have spoken with the manager.

Now I know that when you're asking for large amounts they will ask for you to call ahead which is understandable. But large amounts is really anything over 2500 to 3000 dollars. 700 is chump change. Is this a very large bank or like a small community bank?

[Leelee]

Originally Posted by elongreach

Is this a very large bank or like a small community bank?

It's the Sandy Spring Bank in Maryland. I see from your avatar that we live in the same state so maybe you're familiar with them? They're a pretty popular bank in Montgomery County and fairly big in Howard County too.

[elongreach]

Originally Posted by Leelee

It's the Sandy Spring Bank in Maryland. I see from your avatar that we live in the same state so maybe you're familiar with them? They're a pretty popular bank in Montgomery County and fairly big in Howard County too.

MMMmmm, I'm familiar with Sandy Spring. Even though they are somewhat popular, they probably are a fairly small bank and don't keep much money on hand at one time. My guess is about 40-60k at a time. But 700 dollars isn't that much in the grand scheme of things and there is no reason you should call ahead for such a small amount.

Unless they aren't getting much business into that particular bank, they would probably exchange your 20s back to 100s by the end of the day. So still no excuse for that.

[Leelee]

Thanks all for your thoughtful responses. I was so stunned yesterday at the bank that I didn't know if I was unreasonable for making the request.

I appreciate what all of you have said. I'm thinking now that the teller was the unreasonable one.

[cutestmomever]

That teller was so out of line and unreasonable. I used to own a small retail store and collect 20$ bills. When they became sizable amount, I used to take them to my bank and change them to $100 bills. Never had any problem. And it was in thousands not hundreds. She pi**es me off. You should have complained to her manager.

[LouisLady]

Doesn't sound right to me neither!

I say the teller was just being lazy & probably was just jealous of your bag! lol

This must be off topic--but i HATE going to any tellers at all bc I feel weird that they can see how much you have.

[mcmug17]

This makes no sense... so what if I want to withdraw $700 cash from the bank? Should I order in advance? Or is the teller gonna give me all $20 bills?

I haven't been in a bank for years now (I do all my banking thru the ATM nowadays because the bank never opens whenever I want to go)

[pr1nc355]

I go to a large bank with branches all over the US, so I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have the same experience. It sounds weird to me. You're giving them the exact same amount of money.

[Archipelago]

Sounds like the teller was just being an asshole. You should go back and have a talk with the manager because that just sounds really petty. That person is probably rude to everyone. Besides, $700 isn't that much at all.

[just_jill325]

sorry, this doesn't make sense, I'm a teller at a bank (in Canada) and unless you want 700 x $100 bills then you need to call..but 7x$100 is no biggie..I don't know if the USA uses theyr $100 bills..but here, some retail stores don't want to accept anything more than a $50 bill as counterfeit has increased.

[elongreach]

^ Yea, we did have a problem with the counterfeiting of 100 dollar bills sometime last year or the year before, but most bank employees are able to diferentiate between the based on the security features on the bill.

I think we are going to get to a point where our money looks like other foreign bills because some countries have so many security precautions on their bills, counterfeiting is really difficult.

[boxermom]

Originally Posted by elongreach

^ Yea, we did have a problem with the counterfeiting of 100 dollar bills sometime last year or the year before, but most bank employees are able to diferentiate between the based on the security features on the bill.

I think we are going to get to a point where our money looks like other foreign bills because some countries have so many security precautions on their bills, counterfeiting is really difficult.

elongreach--I just want to say how I've come to depend on you for good answers to bank-related questions. When I saw this thread, I was hoping you would reply. Thanks for all you contribute to tPF.