Imagine my surprise when he came home, looking all chastened, saying that Wells Fargo bank would not deposit his check into my account, because, they told him, he's not one of the people on my account - only my brother and I are on that account.  

Just so we're clear on this ... even though my husband had a deposit slip for my account, the check with the deposit slip was made out to him and had been properly endorsed by him and by me, Wells Fargo would not deposit it into my account because my husband was not one of the people on that account.

So much for saving gasoline.

Husband in tow and check in hand, off I went, back to the bank.  I walked up to the same teller who had refused to take the deposit from my husband and asked him what I had to do in order to make my husband's check suitable for deposit into my account.  He told me that I had to see the manager and put my husband on the account, otherwise, the check could not be deposited into my account.  According to him, that was the only remedy.

Noticing that the teller was about 22 years old, I asked to see the manager.

The manager was at least 25 ... not much of an improvement!  After scanning the bank to see if there was anyone older to be found and seeing nothing but empty space, I pointed out to the manager that the check that the teller was refusing to deposit into my account had been endorsed over to me, so it was now my check, and that I wanted it to be deposited into my account.  He told me that it was a matter of liability ... who would they return the check to, if that became necessary? ... and so they could not deposit a check made out to my husband into my account because of this liability issue.

Excuse me?  Once the check has been endorsed over to me, it's now my check, making it my responsibility.  If it should get returned, the bank would have no problem charging me their outrageous fee ... I know this because, twice in the more than 20 years that I'd been depositing my husband's checks into my account, two checks had, in fact, been returned.  Whereupon, the bank charged me a huge "returned check" fee, deducted it from my account and then sent the offending check back to me. 

Since explaining this simple fact of life to the baby-manager only got me a blank look and a repetition of the ridiculous "it's a matter of liability" spiel, I told him that for more than 20 years, I'd been depositing my husband's checks into this very account and no one had ever said a word to me about him needing to be on the account.  The only thing that was different this time was that I had my husband attempt to make the deposit.  I know that it's probably odd that in 26 years of marriage, this was the first time that I'd ever asked my husband to do the banking - but it's always been my job to do it and so I've done it.  In the same 26 years, my husband has never once asked me to mow the lawn - because that's always been his job and so he does it.  We're old fashioned, I know, but then again, we're still married, have never had to have any relationship therapy and maybe the fact that we both take doing our part seriously is one of the reasons why!

But, I digress ... the point I was trying to make to the child behind the desk was that if I had brought that check in to deposit, or if I'd just used the ATM outside to deposit it, we undoubtedly would not have been having the discussion that we were having.  Why?  Because there was absolutely no valid reason not to accept a check that had been properly endorsed over to me for deposit to my account!

Nonetheless, he insisted that they only way that they would take the check and deposit it into my account was if I put my husband on the account.

I'd pretty much had it with Wells Fargo a while ago, when I found that the only way to get any "customer service" was via a bank of phones in their lobby.  Which is why I'd opened an account at Downey Savings, directly across the street.  I'd met the good folks of Downey Savings at a Flyers baseball game the previous summer and had immediately been impressed with them and with their bank - which is run in largely the same community/consumer friendly way that I recall banks being run when I was a child.  

And by now, I'd had it with the uni-answer guy behind the desk at Wells Fargo, too.

I did have him put my husband on the account, because I could see what a nightmare I'd be leaving behind if anything ever happened to me.  Think about it.  If they won't even let a 22 year customer put her husband's money into her account, how do you think they'd treat him, if something happened to me?

And then I took my husband's check and walked OUT of their bank with it.

We got into the car and drove across the street to Downey Savings.  As we walked into the bank, I told my husband that he was going to see how a bank should work.

I picked up one of their blank deposit slips on my way to the teller.  When we got to the window, I told the teller that I hadn't planned on going there, so I didn't have my checkbook,  didn't have a deposit slip and didn't have my account number. I handed him the check that was made out to my husband, was endorsed by him and signed by me.  I told him to cross out the account number that was under my signature, because it was for the Wells Fargo bank across the street.  I also gave him my ATM card.

The teller looked at all of it and said he could access my account more quickly with my social security number.  I gave it to him.  He keyed it in, zipped the check through the reader, a deposit receipt printed out and he handed that, along with my ATM card back to me - smiling and telling me to have a nice afternoon.