In article ,
MI wrote:



On 8/10/08 2:07 PM, in article
unications, "Robert Bonomi"
wrote:

In article ,
pltrgyst wrote:
On Sat, 09 Aug 2008 23:05:42 -0700, Ken Harrison
wrote:

This fee, which is simply a "junk" fee providing no service, can also be
avoided by taking travelers cheques, whose commission is generally much
less than the credit card junk fees. And, if one is a member of AAA, he
can probably get those cheques for no charge at all. More's the better!

During our travels for the past twenty years in Europe, we've had great
difficulty finding businesses other than hotels which will take traveler's
checks. We find them pretty useless, unless they're AmEx and you're going to
be
staying near an AmEx location.

Depends _who's_ cheques they are.

Barclays of London meet a lot less resistance than those of domestic U.S.
issuers.


A number of years ago, I took Bank of America Travelers Cheques to a Bank of
America in San Francisco. They didn't want to take them

*THAT* conversation proceeds:
"Would you put your refusal to honor these checks in writing, please?"
"Why?"
"For my formal complaint to the State Banking Commission, FTC complaint for
false advertising, and possible criminal charges for 'conversion'."

I once had a local bank (initially) refuse to cash a _cashiers_check_ drawn
on that bank, "because I didn't have an account there". The check in
question was issued by a different branch of that institution, *closing* my
account with them -- had a business deal come up an hour or two later where
I needed funds _now_, and hadn't opened an account at the new bank yet.

I made an *awful* scene in the lobby -- yelling about how that attitude was
_why_ I was closing my account (they had just acquired my old bank), demanding
the presence of a bank officer to come to the teller station, making other
loud noises about the 'bank examiners', etc. Lots of very defamatory things,
that, unfortunately for the bank, were absolutely true, as established by
their teller's action. Eventually, a more senior official shows up, takes a
half-second glance at the instrument I've presented, and tells the casher two
words: "cash it". Whereupon I got _somewhat_ less noisy.


and when I persisted
they charged me a fee. Can't remember what it was---a couple of bucks I
think.