Bank refuses to cash a check when armless man can't offer thumbprint

Just when you thought you had heard it all.

Tampa Bay Florida's Channel 10 is reporting that one Steve Valdez tried to cash a check that was written on his wife's Bank of America check. The policy at Bank of America is that if you're going to cash a check and you don't have an account there, which is apparently the case with Valdez, the bank will request your thumbprint for identification purposes. The bank wanted Valdez to put his thumbprint on the back of his wife's check, which is a standard policy at Bank of America.

Valdez would have been happy to comply, but he has no thumbs. Valdez was born without arms and wears prosthetic devices.

From what Valdez told Channel 10, the teller said, "Obviously, you can't give a thumbprint." But even though Valdez had two forms of photo ID with him, the bank manager refused to cash the check.

Instead, the manager suggested that Valdez bring his wife back to the bank, or he could open an account.

Valdez asked the bank manager if he had ever heard of the American with Disabilities Act, and the manager apparently countered that the bank was being hospitable by offering those choices.

Anyway, the long and short of this is, a spokesperson from Bank of America later admitted that in this case, the manager should have made an exception to the rule. Meanwhile, I'm betting that in future training, or whoever formulates the policy at Bank of America, this will be addressed.