A1 Check Cashing

I made the mistake of walking up to the window of A1 Check Cashing (inside the Swift gas station) and passing my $1,200 stimulus check under the bullet-proof glass. I asked the fee to cash it, and she said she couldn’t give me a definite price until I “created a profile” and signed the check(!). I asked for a ballpark estimate, and she quoted $100! I asked for my check back.

She refused to return my check. She got on the phone with her boss, and kept repeating “in a minute” at me. At this point, I’m alarmed and getting insistent. This goes on for several minutes, then she WRITES VOID ON THE FACE OF THE CHECK and slides it back.

She said that was “policy” and I could still cash it anywhere else (no attempt to justify it beyond that). I even went to the place next door to check, and of course you can’t cash a voided check. Now my choice was to “give” A1 my business or throw away $1,200. I had to give these scammers my social security number, a fingerprint, a photo of my ID, and pay $100 for the privilege.

This was literal extortion. She robbed me from behind the glass. This clerk and her boss are absolute scum that should not be in a position of trust.