money orders worthless now?

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bdmicarta

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I took a money order for a sale on the exchange. I take it to my bank and they won't cash it, they tell me to take it to the post office. I take it to the post office and they won't cash it, they tell me to take it to my bank. So if nobody will cash them then are they worthless? I don't think it is right that the post office will sell them if they won't cash them, maybe it's even criminal.
 
That's unusual... the only time I've ever had a post office not cash a money order was when they didn't have enough cash available, and they were open and apologetic about it. I've deposited them in my bank without an issue; but I've never tried to cash one there...my guess is that it's being treated as a check from another bank.

Just for confirmation, this was a USPS money order, correct?
 
Did either the PO or bank think that the money order is fake or stolen?

What about the person who sent the money order? what do they have to say about it?
 
Post office should cash it. I have had issues where they didn't have enough and sent me to a larger post office to cash them.
 
Haven't had issues with postal money order but haven't gotten one in a long time with PayPal being used. I did have a money gram money order recently that was purchased at Walmart and my Walmart refused to cash it
 
When I first moved to Florida I had a heck of a time getting anything simply cashed. I had to go to Wal-Mart and pay a vig to get stuff cashed. Once I established an account that held a balance everything changed. USPS money orders are the gold standard as far as money orders go. If my bank gave me a hassle about them I'd check out another bank to do my business.
 
Here in NJ there are many banks that won't cash a check unless you have an account with them. Other banks charge a $10 fee to cash one if you don't have an account with them.
Ridiculous.
 
I use them all the time and have never had a problem cashing USPS money orders at the PO if they had the funds(Having the funds can be the problem in this no cash age, and it is sometimes beneficial to get large amounts broken into multiple money orders and go to larger PO's), or depositing them at the bank. The bank isn't going to cash tem unless you have enough cleared funds in an account to cover the money order. If the bank puts a hold on the money order it is usually cleared in a couple days. If your experience is different you need to talk to someone else at the bank or PO.
 
I don't know if it is still the case here or is the case where you are, but in Vegas (at least a while back) it was VERY difficult to cash a money order or cashiers check. Even deposited in your bank account you had to wait for it to clear. Reason-counterfeits were/are everywhere. :rolleyes: It seems to me, that USPS, however, should not be a problem-But????
 
I guess another perk of living in a rural area. But if it's a large amount USPS Money Order the post office usually doesn't have the funds to cash it there ... but no issues cashing any USPS Money orders at the bank. Now other money orders they may hold for deposit but just a couple days. But seems strange that a bank would not honor a USPS Money Order it's kind of the Gold Standard ... I think I would ask to talk to the bank manager or find a different bank.
 
There must be something bizarre going on here, or we don't know the full story. That's really weird. I've never had a bank or PO turn down a USPS money order.
 
At your bank, you can always just deposit it, and then take cash back. The post office can verify the money order for you, even if they don't have the money to cash it. If your money order is $500, and the post office only has $300, you can use it to purchase a $200 money order, and take the $300 cash. You would still lose a bit on the new money order fee.
 
stonesell said:
At your bank, you can always just deposit it, and then take cash back. The post office can verify the money order for you, even if they don't have the money to cash it. If your money order is $500, and the post office only has $300, you can use it to purchase a $200 money order, and take the $300 cash. You would still lose a bit on the new money order fee.
Click to expand...

That is not right(or at least from my experiences)-They have to have the cash in the register even to issue a new money order rather then just the equivalent from your money order. It may be something a higher up could override, but I have been turned down every time (actually I think it is the computer that refuses to do it). They can either cash it or do nothing.
 
Peter Hartwig said:
That is not right(or at least from my experiences)-They have to have the cash in the register even to issue a new money order rather then just the equivalent from your money order. It may be something a higher up could override, but I have been turned down every time (actually I think it is the computer that refuses to do it). They can either cash it or do nothing.
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I live in a small Oregon city, with one major post office. I have actually traded large postal money orders, for the available cash, and a smaller one for the difference. While it may not be a standard policy, they seem pretty flexible about it here. Also, I've never had any one of my banks ever refuse to cash any kind of check for me. However, I do keep enough funds in accounts, so they could get the money back, if it bounced.
 
I read about half the replies so sorry if this has been stated but this should never happen. Firstly a Money Order is considered Certified Funds something you might need to pay a court related debt it is basically accepted as cash with the only time these not being good is when a counterfeit is accepted. Some business do not accept cash and instead accept any certified funds primarily due to the business not being setup to handle large amounts of cash. The only reason that you might have issue cashing it could be a lack of on hand funds to cash it out but that wouldn't be a problem at a bank only the post office. The issue with banks is they only cash things out from free if you have an account otherwise they charge a fee. Banks also may not cash a personal check unless your account can cover it this may or may not apply to certified funds and imo it shouldn't but that is a separate matter. If you still have problems you might just try and deposit it into your bank account assuming you have one which today can be done via your smart phone or an ATM instead of physically at the bank with a teller who may reject it due to their stupidity. The only real reason this could or should be any problem is in the case of a fake/counterfeit money order.

Best of luck hope to see the resolution to the issue if it hasn't been resolved already.
 
stonesell said:
I live in a small Oregon city, with one major post office. I have actually traded large postal money orders, for the available cash, and a smaller one for the difference. While it may not be a standard policy, they seem pretty flexible about it here. Also, I've never had any one of my banks ever refuse to cash any kind of check for me. However, I do keep enough funds in accounts, so they could get the money back, if it bounced.
Click to expand...

What you are saying seems completely logical, but they(my small local and large PO) won't do it here. I have not done partials but tried to exchange returned (along with all documentation)for new. If they don't have the cash,the only way I can do it is to buy enough money orders with cash to fill their register, then cash the old. It is a very slow process-they have a hard time following it, and feel somehow they are going to get scammed.

Since you have had positive results, others may find their PO's will do it also-Thanks for the info
 
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https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/503.htm#ep1150680

"12.3.2 Redemption
All U.S. money orders, including military, may be cashed at any U.S. Post Office or bank. Subject to funds availability, money orders may be cashed by rural carriers. Any customer whose daily total of cashed money orders exceeds $10,000.00, irrespective of the number of Post Offices visited to cash the money orders, must also complete Form 8105-A, Funds Transaction Report (FTR), and show identification bearing the customer‘s photograph, name, and address."
 
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