Why Direct Deposit?

List compiled by Greta Abel, St. Cloud Technical College Human Resources.

For those of you who may not be taking advantage of direct deposit, remember that the alternative is receiving a paper paycheck via the mail. With that in mind, consider the following scenarios that have actually occurred with employee paychecks:

• Check was lost or undeliverable due to floods, tornadoes or blizzards.
• Mail delivery was delayed due to a misdirected transfer through another central post office in another city (such as Denver or Chicago).
• Mail was delayed due to interstate road closings during bad weather.
• Check was misplaced by the post office. (Lost Letter File).
• Mail was delayed due to post office staff changes (a new or different route delivery person).
• Check was returned to the Department of Finance for replacement because it was damaged in mail sorting equipment.
• Check got stuck in mail sorting equipment, which delayed deliver.
• Employee moved, but the change of address was not entered in time.
• Employee mailed check to the bank, where it was never received.
• Employee received check, endorsed it, and then misplaced it.
• Check was delivered to the wrong address, and endorsement signature was forged.
• Employee registered a change of address with the post office and assumed check would be forwarded.
• Wallet or purse containing the check was stolen.
• Delayed delivery due to holidays (not just the lack of delivery on a holiday – but the delay due to high volumes during months like December and January).
• Check was being deposited at a drive-up bank window and it blew away.
• Employee received the check but it was accidentally thrown away, eaten by the dog, destroyed by the children, or put through the washing machine.
• Check was damaged in bank sorting equipment. Routing numbers were torn off and the check was returned to the employee unpaid since it could not be routed to the source of the funds for payment.
• A supposedly lost check was replaced. Both the original check and the replacement arrived in the mail at the employee’s home on the same day. The employee deposited the original paycheck for which a stop payment had been processed. The original check was accepted by the teller, but was later returned unpaid and funds were not credited to the employee’s account.
• The Post Office returned an employee paycheck to Finance because it could not be forwarded. However the employee had not moved – the forwarding order that the Post Office had was misread. It was for the employee’s son who had recently moved.
• Check was put in the night deposit slot at the bank, but the bank says it was never received.