My darling wife and i have a "Free" checking account at Wells Fargo. i use quotes around that because like damn near every other "free" checking account, it requires a minimum balance. (This is like saying you get a "free" cup when you buy a coffee because they don't explicitly itemize it on the receipt, but that's another rant.) As part of this "free" checking, we get "free" checks.
Actually, strike that. We're supposed to get "free" checks.
Mind you, we do most of our bill payment online so we don't actually write physical checks all that often, but they do still have a place in our fiscal world so eventually we run low. Anne Marie, superstar administrator that she is, continually stays on top of such matters and requested a set of checks from Wells Fargo.
They didn't show up.
Being obviously concerned that they might have gotten stolen, she contacted Wells Fargo and was told that, no, they just didn't get the request but would be happy to fill out an order now. Ooh, and that we have a high balance with them and would we be interested in getting their financial services, Oh, and they've got a new low rate on a credit card we'd be eligible for, and they've few kittens for sale, and a nice bridge in Brooklyn, and…
Several kitten, card, bridge, and financial service free minutes later, my darling and now quite hoarse from screaming wife informed the bank that no she naughty words doesn't expletive want any how rude crap, she bozo no-no just wants some blankety-blank checks, you silly person!!!!!!
So, naturally, we weren't horribly surprised to learn that the latest batch of checks weren't delivered but instead "returned to sender" (Odd, no notes from the postman regarding attempts to deliver) and that after failed attempts to contact us (Odd, no record of such on my caller id), they were canceling our order pending further instruction from us.
Well, the instruction i'd probably give them at this point is oh dear!.
This, of course, proves an old adage that "free" only carries value when it's something you want.
For now, my wife is investigating alternative check printers who do not suffer the same sort of issues as Wells Fargo appears to, with my full support.
and I bet they send kittens via those tube capsules in the drive-through lanes.
Justin: Due to recent cost cutting requirements, they've dispensed with the capsules.
Oddly, they're getting reports of some customers having a slightly negative experience with getting a face full of high speed, angry cat but they've established a working group that will look into the reports next quarter.
You can, in theory, just make your own cheques: anything bearing your account number and signature is a "cheque" as far as The Law is concerned. Mind you, I think this is in the category of "stuff some dude told me on an airplane once," so you might want to double-check on it before you start writing napkin cheques.
Never take advice from Canadians. They spell words funnie.
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and this is why i left wells fargo years ago for citibank. wells fargo totally blows.