Backstory: This happened a few months ago, around the first of March. I live in TN and my fiancee is in WV, training to become a police officer. His tax refund check came to my house, so I mailed it to him to get cashed since we don't have a joint checking account yet. He sent me two postal money orders for myself and our daughter. One was for $1,000, the other was for $800 (because the most you can get for a postal money order is 1k). There are two semi-close post offices where I live. One they've just built, and is rather small. The other is huge, and has been there for years. I went to the smaller one first to see if they had enough money yet to cash my money orders (it was around 11 am). They didn't, so off I go to the huge one.
I go in, and there's a huge line. I wait my turn, and go up to the next available teller.
Me: Duh
BPW: Bitchy Postal Worker.
Me: Hi, I need to know if you have enough money yet to cash these? *Setting my purse and my daugter on the counter* (I was still holding onto my daughter, she's just so heavy I needed to set her down for a second.
BPW: We should. DON'T SET YOUR CHILD ON THE COUNTER.
Me: *Blinks*
BPW: It's a rule now, see the sign? It's a liability for us. NO CHILDREN ON THE COUNTER.
Me: Okay. *Picks daughter up and hands over the money orders*
At this point, she's looking at them, holding them up to the light to see if they have a watermark. Fine, whatever, I get that they have to verify them.
BPW: These are counterfeit.
Me: Excuse me?
BPW: *Raising voice* THESE ARE COUNTERFEIT.
Me: Um, I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about. My fiancee just got them yesterday and paid $30 to send them overnight so I'd get them by today. I could call him if you'd like?
BPW: No. Let me take them to my superior and see what she thinks. I can't find a watermark, so they must be counterfeit. *Leaves*
I'm standing there, feeling INCREDIBLY embarrassed, as there are tons of people in line behind me, staring at me because they think I've just tried to cash counterfeit money orders. I get out my phone to call my fiancee but he's at work and I can't get a hold of him, so I leave a message for him to call me back. Lady comes back, and by this time, my daughter and I have been at the post office for about 10 minutes.
BPW: I can't find her.
Me: It's okay, I'll just take them to another post office.
BPW: *Practically yelling* YOU MOST CERTAINLY WILL NOT. I CANNOT let counterfeit money orders leave this post office.
Me: I'm sorry, but I'm not leaving without them. I can assure you that these are not counterfeit money orders. If you would like to call the post office in West Virginia and ask to speak to he postmaster, I'm sure this can be cleared up.
BPW: No. I'm going to put them in an envelope, with a note saying who you are, how much they're for, and that I deem them counterfeit, and leave it on my boss' desk. She's at lunch right now but she should be back around one. Sign here.
I read and sign the note she's written. She stamps it with a date stamp, and off she goes back to her boss' desk. I go out to my car and immediately call my mother, because I don't know what else to do. I tell her what's happened and she tells me to wait in my car until one, then be sure I'm back in there at that time. While I'm waiting, my fiancee calls and asks what's going on. I burst into tears and explain to him what's happened. He tells me not to worry, that he has the receipt and he'll call the postmaster at the post office he went to. I tell him okay, and then I go back into the post office, and the lady that took my money orders isn't there. I assume she's gone on lunch or something. I wait my turn and I get another lady. She is so nice, it's unbelievable. I go up to her and tell her who I am and that the lady took my money orders. She tells me she's been informed and goes and get them.
Nice Lady: Here they are. What exactly happened?
Me: The lady held my money orders up to the light, said they were counterfeit, and wouldn't give them back.
NL: I don't personally see anything wrong with them, but since another teller had suspicions, I have to be suspicious, too.
Me: It's okay, are you going to cash them? I mean, look, you can call the police if you want because I didn't make these money orders, my fiancee didn't make these money orders, the post office in WV issued them. I didn't even know you could make counterfeit money orders.
NL: Oh, yes. People send scam e-mails asking you to cash a money order for alot of money and keep say, $200 for your trouble and send them the rest. They're counterfeit. Can I ask why your fiancee would be sending you this much money through a money order?
I didn't really think it was any of her business, but she was so nice, I told her anyway. At this point she tells me she doesn't feel like I would lie about it and cashes my money orders. She's counting the money into my hand and then says
NL: Now you take your baby and this money out to your car and lock the doors!
I laughed, thanked her and left. I called my fiancee when I get back to my car and tell him they finally cashed them, and he said that was good because he called the postmaster and she told him that was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard of. Yeah, me too.
I haven't been back to that post office since this happened, because I really don't want to see the first teller again. I'd like to know what she said when she found out another teller cashed them for me, though. But seriously? Accusing me of trying to cash counterfeit money orders? Like I'd take my infant daughter into an incredibly busy post office and risk being carted away by police for doing something stupid like that. It was so embarrassing to be accused of it in front of so many people.