I lost $50!

The $50 I offered in payment for goods at the store tonight was flagged by their "magic pen" as counterfiet. I did not get the merchandise, they would not return my money. In fact, they said that they were required to call the cops.

How on earth did I lose $50 because I was given it by someone else?

you lost a counterfeit bill.

he/she lost it when some asshole gave him/her a counterfit bill instead of real money.

Demand to talk to a manager.

:shrug:

where the $50 came from. I felt that I would have a very hard time passing the bill with marks all over it, so did not press the issue.

Pfft!! Fifty bucks gone!

Its not like I get a lot of them. I bet I could narrow it down if I really needed to.

Don

Why didn't they call the cops? I'd go back there and demand that they give you back your $50 bill, and if they don't, tell them you are going to call the cops and report this as theft on their part. I will bet that your $50 bill was quite real. And even if it was counterfeit, they should have called the cops. You have legal right here. They should not have acted like totalitarian assholes.

Your rights have been violated.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterfeit_banknote_detection_pen

Banks confiscate counterfeit bills and turn them over the the US Secret Service under strict procedures. They don't use "magic pens". I hope you got a receipt for this supposed "counterfeit bill" including the serial number.
http://media.www.fsunews.com/media/storage/paper920/news/2004/05/10/Lifestyles/Making.Money-2359547.shtml

http://www.treas.gov/usss/money_detect.shtml
http://www.treas.gov/usss/money_receive.shtml

Check the link above "money_receive" - there's a link in that page to the executable reporting form; one should have been prepared and you should have been required to initial the bill.

If it really was counterfeit, then you're $50 poorer; if it wasn't counterfeit, I'm not sure what your recourse is if you don't have a receipt for this confiscated bill. There is a report required to be filed; did you sign anything? Did you get anything?

IF the store actually files the report and submits the bill to the Secret Service, AND it's found to be genuine, it will be returned to the store.

I will do some reading. It's more a word to the wise, at this point. I got no receipt, nor noted any serial numbers. I'll call the store in the AM.

The person taking in the fake bill (the cashier) should initial it, not the person that gives it to them.

and the person surrendering the note should get a copy of the report.

I didn't look at the actual report form. Thanks. :)

having dealt with counterfeit money order <yes mo's are legal tender> scams at a financial institution you are absolutely correct.

Next time they give YOU change, get out YOUR Magic Pen.....

;-)

i've never heard of anyone getting their cash back in this situation

where did you get the money?

As far as i know they are still the agency in charge of counterfeiting. I am pretty sure every store owner knows that the secret service is called when fake money is involved.

And they'll take it to the Secret Service.

whoever ends up with it when it's "caught". is the one who loses..

If you know who gave it to you, you can sometimes go back to them, but usually people just get burned..

That's why I only accept big bills from a bank..
The treasury uses special chemicals in the paper that the "special pens" react with..

I guess the only safe thing to do is to have one of them whenever you get a $50 or $100, and to use it yourself :hug:

  Because if I really believed that the $50 I had in my wallet was real there is no way in hell I would have surrendered it. A cashier is in no way an expert currency authorization and a those pens (I've used them myself as a high-volume cashier) aren't the final word on anything- just a helpful indicator.

  I am really surprised that you surrendered the bill. If it was me, I would have demanded that either they give the bank note back or call the authorities immediately. I've done the same thing when my identification was questioned.

  I have only had to go there twice but I've reminded the (whomever) in question that counterfeit identification is a serious felony and that not calling the police on me could get them into legal hot water, themselves. OR, accept it. They backed down both times. I have no idea why, btw, they would consider my ID suspect (I carry a passport as my form of ID).

  But back to that $50, which I'm sure you're missing right now. You really, really sure you don't recall how you got it? I'm not asking where, I'm probing your recollective abilities. Because $50 bills are rarely given out by anything other than banks. Most if not all businesses give any $50's they get from customers directly to the bank when they do their money drop.

  Sooooooo, the way I'm most likely to get a $50 is if someone pulls out a large sum of money from a bank (after likely asking for large bills) and then repays me personally for a debt.

  Surrendering the bill without making one hell of a stink and not remembering where you got that $50 are signs you might not want people asking you questions about where you got that fifty.

  So maybe I wouldn't make such a big stink about surrendering it, after the fact.

  Just sayin'...

PB

(credit union) is where I got the bill. I can't prove it. The store and its employees I hold as honest.