Rant $$$ USPMO

[mbliss57]

Just a short one.. I deposited in person Saturday morning a USPMO.
Today at 7:00PM it had still not cleared. I called the bank and they said they needed 1 business day and it would be available tomorrow.
( I personally don't need the $ but someones firearm is waiting to be shipped)
So all of us who think the best thing since sliced bread is a MO for payment is nuts. Personal checks clear just as fast! If it's the same bank sometimes the same day. And I have tried the P.O. before. They will cash it if they have the funds. But they have not on several occasions. Including saturday. The bank will give me my cash as long as I can cover it with existing funds...They still hold it for 1 -2 business days. So I really don't know that the MO is good.
End of Rant

 

[dentkimterry]

Next time take it to any post office. They will cash them on the spot.

 

[steamloco76]

Next time take it to any post office. They will cash them on the spot.

No, they will only cash it when the available cash in the drawer allows. Forget cashing anything over $100 in any USPO near me. Heck sometimes they can't cash a $40 USPS MO.

 

[BearBio]

I bought my first ones today. They would not take a check or credit card for payment. So, I had to go withdraw the cash from my bank and instead of buying a cashier's check, I had to go back and purchase money order. Both times I had to listen to a tirade by the rudest clerk I
have EVER dealt with. (1) Was PO'd because I was on furlough and she had to work, (2) PO'd because she had to explain to her boss why she cancelled the first set of MOs (seems like cancelling them because they didn't take credit cards or checks must happen fairly often) (3) had absolutely NO sense of humor and was offended because I tried to lighten her mood with a joke.

I believe the idea is that, with a Postal MO, the seller can supposedly ship immediately without waiting for it to clear.

 

[chuck8388]

My bank here in Ohio will cash them no questions asked without having funds to cover the MO sounds like you need a better bank.

 

[pinduck]

My bank cashes them with no hassle at all, in fact cashed two of them in the drive thru lane this afternoon.
Glen

 

[G-Mac]

I bought my first ones today. They would not take a check or credit card for payment.

That's why they call it a Money Order. :D

 

[skeetshooter]

USPSMO

Never have a problem cashing them at my local Bank.

 

[LVSteve]

If I am browsing online and I see "USPS Money Order ONLY" I immediately switch to the next item of interest. Going to my local Post Office is like getting a root canal in the middle of Walmart on Black Friday. If somebody wants my money they can take a personal cheque or a cashier's cheque. I don't give a rat's if they wait for it to clear, I'm never in a rush for a gun.

 

[Doug M.]

I have never had any trouble buying them with a debit card except that their machines are treated as ATMs by my back (which is probably why you can buy the PMO with the debit card), and I had to get that limit fixed to a lot more so I could buy my last AR.

 

[doublesharp]

I dislike the local post office and it has to be something I really want badly to cause me to jump through the hoops to get one. If my personal check or an official bank check isn't good enough, screw em.

For those that say your bank cashes them with no problems, I don't disagree, but who do you think your bank would go to first if the USPS mo turned out to be fraudulent? You can bet your bippy it's coming out of your acount.

 

[finesse_r]

I never wait to see if a US Postal Service Money Order has cleared or not. I check with their one 800 number to see if the money order was issued in that amount and that is good enough for me.

The whole purpose for using a US Postal Service Money Order is that they are very difficult to counterfeit and you can in a matter of 4 or 5 minutes check to see that it was in fact issued. I have never heard of anyone holding one until it clears.

 

[Teddydog]

As others have said, blame your bank for the hold, not the Post Office.

You can buy them using your ATM card and PIN, so I don't know why the one poster had to leave to go get cash. In fact, most patrons use ATM cards and not cash, thus causing the cashing problem already mentioned.

I, too, have had trouble cashing large ones at the PO near work. In the afternoon, usually one or another can handle a couple hundred, but not usually more. A larger central PO in the next city over (Tacoma) can usually handle anything. Another option I've used is to get all the cash I can from the PO and have them issue me a new MO for the rest. Then I KNOW it is good. : )

Rob

 

[H Richard]

I just cashed one at my bank yesterday no problem.

 

[sherrill15]

USPS MO are probably the safest way to go. Yes there are fakes out there but they are very obvious fakes. I've only seen one that almost fooled me but the nose on the eagle goes off the money order so that's the dead giveaway. The other two have the Ben Franklin picture printed on the paper, not a hologram. You can call a 1-800 number to check to see if it's good. I worked at a small post office and people would always get pissed because they couldn't cash their $600 money orders. I'd tell them to either call ahead or leave their number with me and I would call them as soon as I got the money. We had to deposit the money every night so there is no hoarding of cash at the post office. Some banks may want to hold onto the USPS MO just because they probably got stung before. You can't purchase USPS Money Orders with a credit card or a check because you could go home and dispute the charge with your credit card company and the check could be bad. They only take cash or debit card. I don't accept personal checks unless the person I'm dealing with is willing to wait 10 business days. I have no problem with a cashier's check as I can call the bank to confirm if it's real or not.

 

[05CarbonDRZ]

My bank just calls the 1-800 number and confirms that it is good and hands me the cash.

 

[Cpo1944]

Now with the "real PO`s" closed we have to go to a contract Po at the local Ace Hardware store. They cannot issue MO`s , so we have to go all the way across town to a real Po for Mo`s . What a pain! It`s a lot easier to just get a bank check.