Bluebird by American Express By Walmart in alternative to banking As I am waiting on a check that I mistakenly wrote to myself to be cancelled and returned back to my account I was constantly giving wrong information as to when it would return as of a week later I still don't have the returned check in my account when all they had to do was cancel it Nationwide

Amex's Bluebird is a little bit different than typical bank accounts.  You "pre-authorize" checks, and AmEx moves the funds on the check to a separate holding account, reserved for when the check is cashed.  This way, it is literally impossible to overdraft.

I've used them quite happily for around 5 years, and will openly admit that while it was great for me (3rd shift worker who is very literate regarding tech), it isn't for everyone.  The customer service, while 24/7/365, is based in India, and has the quality one would expect of Indian customer service.  On the other hand, the account is totally free, including the checks (up until recently), and your "branch" (any Wal-mart) is likely open 24/7/364 (they are closed Christmas Day).  One needs to learn and remember all the rules, and be willing to spend time researching solutions to problems yourself, in order to be satisfied with the account.

So I could understand why someone looking for good customer service regularly could be frustrated by Bluebird, although I have no idea why she would have canceled a check to herself, when she could have just used the check capture image to put the money back into her account.  I would say she likely believed that canceling the check would put the funds back into her account immediately, whereas using the check capture feature would either take 10 business days, or she would have to pay a couple of dollars to have it sooner.  Of course, canceling the check does NOT put the funds back in immediately, because another bank may have already cashed the check.

It is ironic that you are talking about their incompetence, when in fact it is yours that started this situation.

For the money to have been withdrawn from your account you not only would have had to "accidentally" write it to yourself you would have "accidentally" had to deposit it some way. But if you wrote a check to yourself and deposited it then you would have gotten the money as well and there would be no need to "cancel" it.

So what are you NOT telling us about this?

By the way even real banks will charge a fee to put a Stop Payment on a check, which is what you are asking.   Depending on the bank this could be anywhere from $25-$50 on average.