posted on January 31, 2001 12:51:51 PM new
I receive USPS MO's at times and like to cash them at my local PO. This is usually a problem because they never have enough money on hand. I am only talking smaller amounts like $200 not some massive amount. Does anyone know the written policy for the Postal service and Cashing their MO's? If so please post and or provide a link if possible. The information I get from the PO here is that if they have enough they will cash it if not tough come back later and just keep coming back until they can. They told me they are not a bank and do not have vaults. By the way, this is a larger brand new PO with a lot of traffic. My thoughts are that they offer this service and they should do what it takes to honor their own MO's.
posted on January 31, 2001 01:18:46 PM new
My take and method of handling this would be as follows.
If I had a good relationship with my local PO and did NOT [the 'not' was added] want to get them PO'd I would go to another Post Office. Once there I would ask for a supervisor or the Postmaster and ask them to show you, [and then get a copy of] the rules concerning Money Orders.
All Postal Regs are kept in what is called the 'DMM', The Domestic Mail Manual....a huge and cumbersome book that contains all the regs and rules.
Get a copy of it and show it to the clerks and Postmaster if necessary at the PO where you do business. The above also applies for those who get the BS from some Postal Clerk about not accepting more than 10 parcels at a time. Our local PO tried that one time ith us....and we demanded seeing the citation in the DMM.....they knew they were wrong, relented quite quickly, too.
Good luck.
Dr. Trooth
[ edited by DrTrooth on Jan 31, 2001 02:17 PM ]
posted on January 31, 2001 01:22:45 PM new
I don't think it's all that uncommon. I've been told the same thing.
Our post office opens with one clerk and about 20 people in line - the first 5 buy 1 book of stamps and use 20 dollar bills - this of course wipes out all the change the clerk has and they are pretty much handicapped for the rest of the customers until another clerk shows up or someone springs some ones from their wallet. They can't just go to the back and get change from what I understand. What a waste!
I've been told they will only cash money orders if they have enough money in their drawer and it won't hurt them, changewise, to do so.
The best time to cash a money order is in the afternoon and near closing - a real inconvenience for most people.
posted on January 31, 2001 02:00:25 PM new
Why not just cash them at your bank? I get USPS money orders sometimes, but generally have other money orders and checks, so I need to go the Bank anyway.
[ edited by Meya on Jan 31, 2001 02:53 PM ]
posted on January 31, 2001 03:11:38 PM new
Hi applesoranges,
If the clerks do not have enough cash in their drawers to cash your money order, where do you propose they get the money?
Why get upset about a simple fact that you can't change? If they don't have the money, they can't cash your money order. And with more and more customers using debit and credit cards and checks to pay for stamps, the clerks definitely have less cash in their drawers.
Your PO was correct in saying that they do not have a vault. The money in the PO is the money in the clerks' drawers at any given time. And believe me, if at all possible, most clerks are more than happy to cash money orders for you, because it's that much less cash they have to count out at the end of the day.
posted on January 31, 2001 03:14:24 PM new
In the Post Office I use there is a little sign on the counter that states something to this effect--I don't think I have the words quite right.
"USPS Postal money orders cashed if sufficient cash on hand "
posted on January 31, 2001 03:14:26 PM new
The clerks at the post office have a fixed amount in their stamp drawers, cash and stamps. There is a percentage of that amount that they are allowed to have in cash. Each night they have to turn in the excess cash to be deposited in the bank. Their drawers have to balance just like a bank teller. It is best to try to cash them later in the day or just before a clerk goes off. You can use them to pay for your postage when you take your ten or more packages in to mail.
posted on January 31, 2001 03:21:54 PM new
I was once told by the cashier at the main post office in Seattle, that if you give them advance notice of large amounts, they can prepare ahead & have the cash on hand, and you could make an appointment for a specific day.
posted on January 31, 2001 03:34:54 PM new
From what I am seeing, I am not the only one having problems cashing MO's. To get back to my original point, I am just trying to find out what the PO rules are on this. I was always led to believe that you could cash a postal MO at any post office in the country. I am well aware of the other options for cashing MO's like my bank ect. I know they (the PO) gladly take your money when you purchase one of these and that your led to believe the receipant will be able to cash it on the other end. Just want to know what the written rule is for this. Do the rules say I must make an appointment or wait until late in the day? If they do than fine, but I don't think that is what the rule is.
posted on February 1, 2001 02:00:30 PM new
You might use the money orders to pay for your postage for a trip - would at least reduce the amount of either your bill or the amount they need to come up with.. I do this when i get Candian postal money orders.
posted on February 1, 2001 02:24:57 PM new
applesoranges---I don't believe that you'll find a rule....just the plain facts that if they don't have the money in the cash box to cover--you ain't gonna be able to cash it.
Common sense would tell one that when the post office opens in the AM they are unlikely to have a large amount--and they may clear the cash out once or twice a day----ask your clerk when the best time is---give them a call before you go--- if you have a large one and see if they can accomodate you.
posted on February 1, 2001 04:19:35 PM new
I always use the postal money orders to make partial payment for that days shipping.
What my PO hates are the International Money Orders. They'll only take them, even in exchange for postage, if the are small value.
The clerk told me that they can verify that they are real, and so they'll only accept those of small monetary value.
posted on February 1, 2001 08:02:17 PM new
OK, so I did check the DMM and found that money orders are addressed in section S020.
There are a surprisingly few number of paragraphs on the topic of cashing. Among other things, it states that any money order may be cashed at any post office. It doesn't say anything about refusing to cash a M.O. due to lack of money on hand.
I have also been told at my P.O. that they would cash them only if they had enough money to do so - there was no reserve in the back.
I'd second another posters opinion - just take them to your bank and deposit them, and save yourself the grief and trouble.
posted on February 1, 2001 08:54:02 PM new
wbbell - By "any" do you mean any at all, or just any USPS money order?
You ask why not just cash them at the bank. Think about it... paper trail. I think just about everyone doing this is cheating on their taxes. Why else go through the hassle. I dont know about you, but it takes them 60 bazillion years to cash just one. They used to be faster, then those new computesr they got just slowed it all down.
I dont even think the post office should sell those dang things. Tax payers are throwing away money. It costs 85 cents to get one, but about $3 in labor to print the thing and then later to cash it!
I've cashed hundreds of money orders at the post office. Probably done it at about 6 different ones now and they all have that rule about only doing it if they have enough in their drawer.
posted on February 1, 2001 09:04:11 PM new
franko122 - you're right, it's just USPS money orders.
I really, really doubt the IRS is going to come after you for failure to report a couple of hundred bucks in eBay sales. Anyway, doesn't the USPS write down your DL # on the back of cashed money orders? Plus, what do you do with non-USPS money orders? There's always a way to get big-brothered.
I was cashing postal money orders at the P.O. when I first started hardcore eBay. But, as I quickly learned, it's not terribly easy to do that on the USPS POS system, and many of the clerks had poor training on the system. It got to where half the time, I would have to walk the clerk through the correct key sequence. That just got to be too much trouble!!
Although, to be fair, I have not had to correct our postal clerks in quite some time. They must be getting better training before they send them out to face the sharks ... err, the eBay expert mailers....
