As banks are beginning to process checks electronically, we are required by law to provide the notices in this section which explain the difference between your original check and a substitute check, and certain rights regarding substitute checks.
Cancelled Checks
Your cancelled checks may not be returned to you with your monthly statement. If permitted, your cancelled checks may be available to you online for a limited period of time, typically limited to 60 days after the statement in which the check appears is made available. Images of cancelled checks will be made available to you at your request. Fees may be assessed in accordance with our Schedule of Fees. Our liability, if any, for failure to make an image of a cancelled check available to you will not exceed the amount of the check.
Substitute Checks
Some or all of the check image copies that you receive back from us upon request may be substitute checks. This notice describes the rights you have when you receive substitute checks from us. The rights in this section do not apply to original checks or to electronic debits to your account.
To make check processing faster, federal law permits banks to replace original checks with “substitute checks.” These checks are similar in size to original checks with a slightly reduced image of the front and back of the original check. The front of a substitute check states: “This is a legal copy of your check. You can use it the same way you would use the original check.” A substitute check may be used as proof of payment just like the original check.
Rights Regarding Substitute Checks
In certain cases, federal law provides a special procedure that allows you to request a refund for losses you suffer if a substitute check is posted to your account (for example, if you think that we withdrew the wrong amount from your account or that we withdrew money from your account more than once for the same check). The losses you may attempt to recover under this procedure may include the amount that was withdrawn from your account and fees that were charged as a result of the withdrawal (for example, bounced check fees).
The amount of your refund under this procedure is limited to the amount of your loss or the amount of the substitute check, whichever is less. You also are entitled to interest on the amount of your refund if your account is an interest-bearing account. If your loss exceeds the amount of the substitute check, you may be able to recover additional amounts under other law.
If you use this procedure, we may provide you provisional credit up to $2,500 of your refund (plus interest, if your account earns interest) within 10 business days after we received your claim, and the remainder of your refund (plus interest, if your account earns interest) not later than 45 calendar days after we received your claim.
If provisional credit was given and it is determined that there was no error, you must repay to us the amount of the provisional credit for the disputed item(s), and we may deduct such amounts from your account without further notice.
Errors or Questions Regarding Substitute Checks
If you believe that you have suffered a loss relating to a substitute check that you received and that was posted to your account, you agree to promptly contact our Customer Service Center by telephone or by email. You may be required to confirm the information provided by writing to us at the following address within 10 business days:
Account Services
409 Silverside Road, Suite 105
Wilmington, DE 19809
Your claim must include:
- A description of why you have suffered a loss (for example, you think the amount withdrawn was incorrect);
- An estimate of the amount of your loss;
- An explanation of why the substitute check you received is insufficient to confirm that you suffered a loss; and
- A copy of the substitute check and/or the following information to help us identify the substitute check: the check number, the name of the person to whom you wrote the check and the amount of the check.
You must contact us within 40 calendar days of the date that we mailed (or otherwise delivered by a means to which you agreed) the substitute check in question or the account statement showing that the substitute check was posted to your account, whichever is later. We will extend this time period if you were not able to make a timely claim because of extraordinary circumstances.
When we receive your error notification, we will report to you on the status of our investigation. In all cases, we will correct any error promptly. If we need more time to investigate your question or complaint, we may take up to 45 calendar days to complete our investigation.