posted on April 26, 2004 08:23:46 PM new
Today I received this 5.00 check, payment for an auction.
I have never seen anything like it before & would hate to deposit it only to find I had to pay to have it cashed. For 5.00 I'd just as soon let it go.
I will call my bank tomorrow, but in the meantime...anyone ever see this before.
posted on April 26, 2004 08:35:39 PM new
I've never seen the "foreign estate" phrase before. I suspect that's the part that has you concerned. Take it into the bank tomorrow and find out what it means. I'd suggest talking to a veteran employee and not a teller trainee.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on April 26, 2004 08:43:01 PM new
Yes sparkz, it was the word "foreign" that got me.
Know what you mean about trainee & veteran.
The USPS, IRS & banks, all handling our property can give you 10 different answers to the same question & if they are wrong, it's our loss...never theirs.
(a) When used in this title, where not otherwise distinctly expressed or manifestly incompatible with the intent thereof -
(31) Foreign estate or trust
(A) Foreign estate
The term ''foreign estate'' means an estate the income of which, from sources without the United States which is not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business within the United States, is not includible in gross income under subtitle A.
(B) Foreign trust
The term ''foreign trust'' means any trust other than a trust described in subparagraph (E) of paragraph (30).
******
Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there --Clare Booth Luce
posted on April 26, 2004 11:46:15 PM new
bunni,
Thanks, I wish it did help, but I have no idea what that means.
I don't know why it's not signed, her name is Ostermeyer & that scribble & initials does not look anything like that.
The name Ostermeyer is on the top left hand corner & nothing else, no address etc, just her husbands first name.
She was a NPB, I sent an eBay alert for 3.55, she replied & sent this with extra money for being late.
She's very friendly, says she's an art teacher & needs the rubber stamp she bought for an project.
Nice lady, but crazy check.
posted on April 26, 2004 11:53:47 PM new
Well, you could always call the bank tofind out what the stamp means in plain English , . I did a google & got this:
posted on April 27, 2004 12:24:20 AM new
All it means is that the funds in the account are from a source outside the US, and (basically) the holder of the account doesn't pay US taxes on those funds. The check is in US dollars drawn on a US bank, so you won't be charged a fee to cash it.
I wouldn't worry about the signature, either. Some people create signatures like that to thwart forgers. I've heard it doesn't really work.
posted on April 27, 2004 12:47:23 AM new
What it is is an invitation to an audit for the holder of the account...Should be no worry for you re cashing the check.
This interpretation of the USC is one of those twisted, mind-numbing turns by those who think that they are ever-so-clever interpreting Federal Law....
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I require the same from them."- John Wayne/The Shootist"(from the novel by Glendon Swarthout)
posted on April 27, 2004 12:58:09 AM new
The whole foreign thing is a favorite of the "patriot" movement. In other words she is anti-government and she thinks by stamping what she did that it's the garlic to the government's vampire. Everybody in authority ignores it, even if it is somewhat valid. What makes the whole situation ironic is that she had to give a social security number (something the patriot movement is loath to do) to open the checking account to begin with. It's safe to cash.
[ edited by netdelivery on Apr 27, 2004 01:01 AM ]
. I did a google & got this: