Yeah I commented first! My Life Is Average!

Chill out

Tell him to pay it back or you'll be taking him to small-claims court.

Yeah, you can even just text back:
"If you don't return it within 2 days you'll be talking to the court".

its not a small claims court case. You call the cops because the check was made out to the OP and the roommate stole the check AND cashed it. A felony I would imagine in most states.

This and, this has to be fake. How in the hell would he be able to cash your check without proper identification?

With the scanners in the new ATMs, all you need is the card and PIN.

Comment moderated for rule-breaking.. Show it anyway

Why not bring him to court that is the smart idea plus you would probably get more. Also If someone did that to me I would probably kick there ass without a second thought take all the money they have on them then get the rest whenever they get money.

If this guy SENT you a confession you can definitely press charges.

This.
Call the cops and show them the note when they get there.

Because things like a roommate stealing your paycheck should never have to have a slow and "nice" process. People breaking laws should get no consideration.

Why shouldn't they get some mercy? It's the OP's fucking ROOMMATE!! You'd think SOME effort would be made to keep peace...

Plus, if the problem can be solved without the use of the court (how much time/money would that cost even?) then why royally screw him/her over unnecessarily?

I swear I'm renouncing any ties to America once I turn 18 and move away x.x

Really?
REALLY?!
You would work for two weeks, taking eighty HOURS out of your LIFE and you would be just fiiiine with someone taking that and losing it?

It would be one thing if the roomate took it for, oh I don't know, a kidney transplant for his cat...something emergency like...but he took it and GAMBLED it away. ANY scenario where he takes the check and cashes it is theft, but it is why he did it that may have saved him. If his kid needed diapers, maybe some leniency would be in order, and you could give him a chance to fix it. THIS though, this has to be dealt with right away.

OP I hope you immediately called the cops man.

Seriously?!? you think that a kidney transplant for a CAT is a good reason? come on! Just put the poor thing down.

Fuck that shit. Sue his ass and kick him out.

Probably should have put it somewhere your roommate can't find it.

+1 If you'd hide it somewhere/keep it in your pocket/keep it in your wallet, it's unlikely your roommate woulda found it and used it.

But yes call the police, that clearly is theft

He probably didn't know that the roommate would steal it. He does now though...

Is it done differently in USA? Cause in UK most places it goes straight into your bank account. "/

You can usually choose whether to use direct deposit or get a check in the USA.

Exactly why most workplaces in the US are now requiring direct deposit (when the money goes directly into the account) to prevent something like this from happening.

US banking market is much more fragmented than UK. Checks (cheques) are much more common as well. It took some getting used to. My landlord in US wanted a monthly cheque, whereas in UK most people want a standing order

In Australia, they want cash or direct debit lol

1 - Get direct deposit

2 - Pretty sure he can get arrested for check fraud or theft or something. I'd go to the police.

How did your roommate take your money? If he was cashing your check, he would have had to present ID. Otherwise the money would have been deposited into your account, where he (presumably) couldn't get at it. Though I suppose it's possible that he could have also "borrowed" your ID, if the two of you look similar enough to fool a bank teller.

In any event, that's clearly theft. Report it to somebody immediately. I would suggest your RA/housing authority, since you're living in a dorm. They might be able to solve it, which will spare you the hassle of filing a police report, etc.

Yeah, what #11 said. You have to have an ID to cash a check, otherwise it goes straight to your account. Tell him you're claiming ID theft if he doesn't pay you back in like a week, because you definitely can.

you dont need an ID to cash a check if the person endorses it over to you aka signing the back. he probably just forged his roommates signature and cashed it himself. ive done that with checks for close friends who dont have their ID with them, dont have a bank account, etc.

I've done that, too, but it required me showing MY ID to the bank teller so they'd know it was legit.

I don't need ID when I deposit my paychecks because I have a debit card that I have to swipe first so that the bank teller can pull up my account (I use TD Bank). If someone knew my PIN and stole my card they could cash it, so I never leave my card or checks lying around anywhere. I also never ever sign the endorsement line on the back until I actually get to the bank.

HOWEVER if you actually cash in a check at a bank and don't have your debit card or don't have an account there they'll still do it as long as you have ID. It varies from bank to bank I think. And there are check cashing places that aren't banks in my town too (they de

while he's out, take items of his which equate to the value of the cheque to the local pawn shop.
case closed.

Then his roomate does what OP should've done and OP ends up in jail sleeping with buba

a lot of licor stores in "bad" places around DC/MD would cash his check without ID. Also, if you have a Citibank account you can deposit it and the funds are available immediately. I bank with Citibank and realized this after I deposited a check from my pets health insurance, the funds were available to me that moment!!