IN this episode, we return to the world of finance and look at a bank fee that’s kind of like a chronic disease.

Q. I wrote my landlord a check for rent this May. Days passed, and then a week and then two, and I saw that he had not cashed it. I called him and he told me in a disgruntled tone that he had not received the check and that I needed to mail another to him immediately, which I did.

I didn’t like the idea of putting two checks for the same month in the mail  if both were cashed, I’d risk bouncing other checks. So before I sent a second check, I called Bank of America to cancel the first.

“O.K. sir,” said a Bank of America rep, “that’s going to be $30 to put a stop payment on that check.”