Bank of America changes coin procedure?

[Tommybuckets]

Hi all,
I just went by a BOA that I frequent and the teller informed me that as of May 2016 all customer coins are to be shipped out and that only MWR of coins (not halves unless you want $500) would be available. I detest BOA already and had been staving off the impulse to open an account to join the many people in my area who dump there and to feel more welcome when I pop in to crh. With a $1500 minimum to avoid fees I already felt an account there is impractical. Anyone else heard about not keeping coin on hand? I was under the impression that perhaps it was a regional change but banks in my area have no rhyme or reason. One ships out the tiniest amount of coin ASAP another sits on halves until they hit $1000 and ship them out. Some let tellers buy stuff others are strictly against it. Also I am curious where all the new CRHers are coming from? My area is getting hit harder than ever, its slower than ever and more junk dumps in the $100-$250 range than u have time to collect. My tellers have been saying there are more and more newbies approaching them every day. Maybe we bugged BOA too much for coins lol... I am trying to ease off the coin addiction but with my Excalibur in the shop I am hard pressed to get some metal.

 

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[silveraddict]

I see no problem in that practice at all. I put a little number with the weight of my roll in grams on it when I get it, and I re-roll it in the same roll. We have no coin counting machines at any of the banks where I live.

I have rerolled halves in the same wrappers as well. But, do you take the time to actually ROLL the end back up so that it looks like it was never searched? I believe that is what the OP is doing. I just fold over the end and you know it has been gone through.

 

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[enamel7]

Not all banks have coin counters. They also don't have time to weigh rolls. They looked at what happened at I believe TD bank and were scared it might happen to them. Heck, I used to have 5 fifth third banks I could dump at. Now it is down to one. I would bet money it's for the very same reason. My opinion is they saw what happened and didn't want anyone to get the same idea and sue them. Ignore it all you want, but the writing's on the wall. You're only gonna be able to roll them or bag them and wait for your account to be credited. Either that or pay fees at the coinstar. They may even start charging a fee for rolled coins you turn in. I do have several credit unions I can dump at, but their counters don't take halves.

 

[enamel7]

Carried in re-rolled coins today to my regular bank - the one I've been using for the past decade plus! Had a box of quarters and 4 rolls of small dollars. The small dollars were EXACTLY as I had gotten them from this very bank. However, they ran the rolls through their coin counter and it kicked out 3 Canadian dollar coins. Exchange rate is 29%. There was also a Canadian quarter, as well as a 10 pence coin, wherever the hell that's from that were in the quarters.....yes, that also came from THIS VERY BANK!! We were forced to give the Canadian coins back at the exchange rate....which means we owed money! To top it off, they flat out refused to even look up to see where the 10 pence coin came from!

Now if THAT'S not bad enough, I asked for (2) boxes of nickels, a box of dimes, and the rest in cents. When it came to the cents, the woman was muttering under her breath about how WE shouldn't be able to do this; about how NOBODY should be able to exchange coins; and that she wanted to stop this from ever happening again!!

....I think I just found my new DUMP bank!!

Oh, she did say that they'll accept Canadian cents. Gee, what a shocker - Canadian cents are heavier than ours, and were made of 98% copper long after the USA switched to zinc! ...Makes me glad I'm hoarding copper for a while!

That's really sad - been banking there for well over a decade - and now THIS??!??!?? Yet when I was at the other bank where we weren't even customers, they were MORE THAN willing to work with me any way they could! ....Where do I sign up??!??!??!??!??

...Sad thing is, when they got the cent boxes from the vault, we were only about 15' away from the vault door, at the nearest teller window they have. I wish now I had been way down at the far end!!

So you're saying you buy and dump at the same bank? No wonder they're pissed. That's a major no-no.

 

[enamel7]

Maybe I'm missing the whole BOA thing... are they not accepting rolled coin or do they only accept it in a bag? I've been able to dump rolled halves with no prob in my area and I have about 6-7 BOA'S in a 20 mile radius...or are they not able to hand out CWR only MWR?

Yes they accept customer rolls. They just won't sell them to you.

 

[kcm]

I bought my first-ever boxes there about a month ago. Went back to town today and exchanged for some other coins. It wasn't bringing in the coins that they hated - it was having to bring me out 6 boxes of cents.

Still, the worst part was that of the coins I got FROM THAT BANK, they basically called me a liar saying that this couldn't have happened.

 

[Zomotion]

I'm sorry this is happening kcm... but a word of advice that has been pounded on this site... don't bring back the coin to where you purchsed. Don't dump on your pickup bank. No matter how short or long you've been banking there this is the quickest way to get cut off and piss off your tellers. I can tell just by your post how frustrated your teller is now and this spreads to all the other tellers... and look how much it's frustrated you.

 

[kcm]

Yes, understand that part. But this is a very small 2-bank town. One bank (ours) has only one location. The other bank has 5 throughout the area.

My experience taking coins in to my bank? Not good. My experience taking coins in to the other bank, even though I'm not (yet) a customer? VERY good! That's a good thing to know, for multiple reasons.

But what this experience also showed me was that I can go into my bank and spend "good money" on coins that I can't spend anywhere in town. My wife was in one of the stores a while back and happened to have a Canadian quarter. Neither of us can remember where she got it, but probably as change from a store. Anyway, this store wouldn't take it. Neither would the bank. However, this same bank will give out all the coins it can that are essentially worthless.

Also, I'm not going into ANY bank on a daily or even weekly basis. We get to town maybe once or twice a month. As it turns out, I had gotten these coins from our bank about a month ago. The woman who gave us the grief this time wasn't even there last time.

If I had gotten these coins in change from a store, I'd be pissed. But to get them from the bank? The very SAME bank that runs ALL of their coins through their counter, the SAME counter that kicks the coins out? That's just wrong. They accepted the foreign currency into their system, but then pawn it off onto their customers, then refuse to take it back....unless said customer wants to pay extra for exchange rates. 'Nuff said. I promise you, those Canadian dollars are already back in position for the bank to pawn off again at face value. It's a scam.

 

[kcm]

Was going through a couple rolls of dimes last night. While tearing the 2nd roll open, I just happen to spot a nice, shiny Canadian dime inside the roll. So I decided to check the rest of the dimes as well as both boxes of nickels. Sure enough, I've got a roll of dimes and a roll of nickels, each with a Canadian coin on the end of the roll. The bank is handing out money AT face value that it WILL NOT ACCEPT at face value!

 

[jcole77]

I have rerolled halves in the same wrappers as well. But, do you take the time to actually ROLL the end back up so that it looks like it was never searched? I believe that is what the OP is doing. I just fold over the end and you know it has been gone through.

Yeah, I roll the ends back up... I do the same for all denominations. What's frustrating for me is getting CWRs that are not marked at all and then when I bring them home find they're obviously searched...

 

[enamel7]

People complaining about foreign coins in rolls (the bank doesn't put them in, the courier does) is part of the problem. That and shortages are part of the game. Call and complain to corporate and see what happens. They'll check and see you buying 6 boxes at a time. They will then cut you off. Save up the foreign coins and sell them buy the lb on eBay. The bank doesn't know for a fact those coins were in the rolls they sold you. Biggest problem again, complaining to the tellers that are your lifeline. If you can't afford a few foreign coins every box then this "hobby" isn't for you. This is no get rich thing. Most cases you absolutely won't make enough on your finds to pay for your gas. I do this because it's fun, not because I'm making a profit, which I'm not. I would suggest buying from one bank and selling to another. Again, they are doing YOU a favor.

 

[enamel7]

One more thing. I noticed where you live. That's why you get so many Canadians. You're right on their doorstep. How far are you from Canada?

 

[muddyrock]

Well I have been reading up on local credit unions to move from BOA. I have been a BOA customer for many many years but this just helps me make that decision that much easier. Now I need the time to get to a credit union to see what they offer.

 

[kcm]

One more thing. I noticed where you live. That's why you get so many Canadians. You're right on their doorstep. How far are you from Canada?

I can "literally" throw snowballs across the international border. But you see, here's the deal - those small dollars? They were "bank" rolled. They were not delivered this way - at least that's what I was told at the bank. That's why I got so upset. If their policy is to not pay face value on coins that THEY, THEMSELVES roll, then that is just wrong! We paid the extra money (exchange rate) to sell the coins back to the bank. But now, some other person will end up getting the Canadian dollars in their rolls and will then be up the creek - cause nobody in town will accept them.

As for making enough to cover gas, fat chance. We're 100 miles round trip (by road) to the nearest town. Most of that is sand and gravel roads, and in a 4x4 pickup. I "KNOW" we're not gonna get gas money back! ...Which is why we go to town once or twice a month - when we need to.

 

[foofighters]

KCM as a fellow northern Minnesotan, I'm begging you to not crap where you eat. If you dont know what that means read the beginners guide pinned to the top of this subforum.

You are going to find a butt load of Canadian coin in your rolls living here. I guarantee you my Canadian clad finds are quadruple what my silver finds are. If you get a Loonie in a half roll, forget about it. Spend it when you go to CA. Find a Canadian dime, forget about it. Spend it in Canada or spend it at the local gas station.

If a CRHer lives in a sparsely populated area this hobby is almost impossible on any scale. You will have to work very hard on your relationships with banks and a ten year old account isnt going to be enough. Well maybe if you deposits there are in the seven figures or a person is running their farm operating loans through that bank.

I can assure you that your days of getting coins from that bank are numbered if you make a scene about Canadian coinage or you dump on your pick up.

 

[kcm]

Not all banks have coin counters. They also don't have time to weigh rolls. They looked at what happened at I believe TD bank and were scared it might happen to them. Heck, I used to have 5 fifth third banks I could dump at. Now it is down to one. I would bet money it's for the very same reason. My opinion is they saw what happened and didn't want anyone to get the same idea and sue them. Ignore it all you want, but the writing's on the wall. You're only gonna be able to roll them or bag them and wait for your account to be credited. Either that or pay fees at the coinstar. They may even start charging a fee for rolled coins you turn in. I do have several credit unions I can dump at, but their counters don't take halves.

Sorry Enamel, somehow I missed this post. We don't get "normal" TV. Got rid of satellite several years ago. Don't listen to the radio news and don't get newspapers. What happened at TD?

Also, not understanding what you mean by "5 fifth third banks".


And now, gonna say this again just to be clear. ...Will type real slow so I don't confuse myself. As I just started this about a month ago, and as there are so few banks around here, and as I did not know what any particular bank would be like either for getting coins or for dumping, I carried some coins back to my bank about a month later. Yes I exchanged for other coins - that was a bad idea, but we won't be going to town again for several weeks. I "now" know that my bank doesn't mind me bringing in coins - and that they would rather the coins not be rolled, as it takes time for them to un-roll the coins. I also know that at least one teller at my bank simply HATES for people to come in buying lots of coins at one time. Why? Because she hates to carry the heavy boxes. She actually said that! I now have the information I was looking for there. As for the Canadian coins, I "only" brought that up because when I mentioned that they came in those rolls, one teller told me that couldn't happen because they wrapped the rolls there, and their machine would have kicked them out.

As for the other bank, which I am not yet a customer of ('yet' being the key word here), they were very happy for me to bring in some coins. I explained that I was just getting into this hobby and they asked if I had found anything interesting yet. They were super polite and it seemed they had a really great view on people being interested in coins. While I was there and while they were unwrapping the rolls (all 5 people!), I casually asked how they work with me buying coins there. They explained how they pretty much don't mess with rolls anymore - only a few for customer reasons - not intended for any sort of bulk buying like this. Yet they seemed genuinely happy to do the exchange. I had also mentioned that I knew I "wasn't supposed to drop off coins where I buy them", but had again mentioned that this was an unusual situation; pretty much a one-time thing.

So, if MY bank doesn't mind me bringing in coins, and if the OTHER bank doesn't mind selling coins in bulk, then I learned what I needed to know.

...Darn it, still typed too fast. Had to go back and fix mistakes!

In any case, please, nobody have any more strokes on me for sampling the system. Most folks have ample opportunity to make trips to the bank several times a week. I didn't want to take "months" to find out what I know now. I'm still learning - probably always will be. But in this particular situation, this seemed to be the best way to get the necessary information. I had asked before (on Tnet) how someone goes about finding out what a bank likes to do, etc. Never really got an answer. Now I have my answer. ...Was just a shame that the small dollar thing had to happen as well. I don't go to Canada. Don't even care to go there. My "traveling" days are far behind me.

 

[jcole77]

My main bank where I buy rolls actually has no problem with exchanging rolls. They like me there. However, I'd rather not do that because I don't want to get my coins back or inconvenience the tellers. I'd rather them continue to just keep getting fresh coins for me to go through. It's much better for me to use my other bank branch as a dump bank for this reason.

 

[enamel7]

Try reading this:
TD Bank to temporarily remove Penny Arcades

One of our banks is called 5/3 bank. Five had
coin counters. Now it's down to one bank. All of this happened after TD bank.

 

[kcm]

Wow, never had heard about that (TD). Wouldn't you know some yahoo would sue right away! I think that was wrong. FAR too many lawsuits in this country!!

5/3 Bank. What an unusual name. Sorry to hear they've shut so many down. ...Makes me wonder if it might actually be possible that some day there will no longer be any "physical" money, and it would all be handled through a single, centralized location housing all of their servers. ...Probably multiple locations would be more realistic, for security reasons. ...Makes me shudder to think of that!!

 

[enamel7]

If this society ever went to no cash we would be in trouble. Not letting anyone control what value I have in a bank. I'll take it in gold please!

 

[kcm]

Yeah, scary thought for sure!

I remember hearing something along these lines a few years back - that there was a small group of folks trying to lobby for the end to paper & coin money. They wanted EVERYTHING to go the way of credit/debit cards.

Hell, bank just sent me out a new card that has that microchip on it. I can't seem to re-train my brain to stick the card in rather than swiping it!