[Wendy]

GRRRRRRRRRRR! I have raised & sold broilers for the past few years. I have a gal that comes every year & I have taken checks from her every year. This year her check bounced. It was a $58 check. I was then charged $10 from the bank which makes me mad that I have to pay for someone's bad check. This caused so many problems with that account & the bank.

First off, it took 2 weeks before it came back bad. That caused that account to be overdrawn. I went to deposit money into that account to cover the overdrawn amount. They somehow put that deposit into my regular checking which caused the other account to accrue more charges. It took me several phone calls & finally a trip to the bank to get them to change it & take off the fee they charged me. It was clearly their mistake for putting it in the wrong account. I had my deposit ticket. I always keep them until I know the money went through ok.

So, I emailed the gal & she apologized & said she would get the money right out to me. Including the $10 fee I was charged. That was 8 days ago. I have not gotten anything & have not gotten any response from her. I asked for cash or a Kroger or Walmart gift card. I do not want another check from her. I am beginning to think I will be out that money. I worked hard raising those broilers & butchering isn't a small chore either. From now on it is strictly cash only. Lesson learned!

 

[copperkid3]

Take her to small claims court; get a judgment and NEVER do business with her again!

 

[Molly Mckee]

Here some of the banks will run the bad check through several times. When the check writer get charged every time, they get real agreeable about paying the check and charges.

 

[Pearl B]

Its sad when someone you could trust turns on you like that. Can't go wrong with a cash only policy.

 

[Sawmill Jim]

This part of the world you can get a warrant issued ,called theft by deception !

 

[where I want to]

I remember when I sold a horse trailer, the guy wrote a bad check. He said to run it through again. Bounced again. When I parked my truck in front of the trailer at a horse show and went looking for him, he yelled at me, saying haven't you ever bounced a check. He was speechless when I said no.
I guess some people live like that and they're ok with it.

It is really offensive though the way banks churn things to max out fees. I made a mistake transferring funds from one bank to another and the first bank kept trying to send it and the second bank kept rejecting it- each bank charged me for it each time, even though both accounts had lots of money in them. When I saw my bank account draining like a bath tub, I called to find out why and stop it. But my timing was off and they both went one more round. But one did say they would waive the fee as a customer service. I actually felt grateful- I had visions where they would empty both account in a never ending cycle of attempts and failures.

 

[sss3]

Had a tenant who was divorced. She called and said she was moving to FL and getting back w/ex. She owed me money and he wrote me a check. To this day, I don't think she'd write a bad check. Took my check to bank that day. They called Fl to verify check. It was good. Two weeks later it bounced. I now think; they knew that check was going to bounce. Funny part was, about a year later, I get a letter from Judge Mathis, wanting us to be on his TV show. I didn't respond. For two reasons, I didn't think they'd show and I'm kind of a private person. I don't understand blasting your business all over TV. Also, most people, in MI, don't take renters to Small Claims Court. Because if you get a judgement and they still don't pay, what are you going to do? You've already got a judgement, there's no other recourse. Also, people's thinking is it costs money to do that. That's money lost. I've seen landlords, get judgements for damages; that still weren't paid. It does show on their credit.

 

[1shotwade]

I can't remember all the details now but when I was in the military I had made a mistake in the checkbook and wrote a check on base that bounced.I learned fast to never do that again. The check was within 25 cents of having enough to cover it and those few pennies cost me a total of $57 and we lost base privileges for 6 months.We couldn't get gas,go to the library,the movies the gym and pool the pool has the grocery.and more!
Believe me I make SURE I don't write a bad one!

Wade

 

[luvrulz]

Call her bank and when the funds are there, ask them to hold the funds - you're coming to cash her bad check! We have taken checks for 10-12 years and have gotten one bad check - It was for a minor amount and the person that wrote it, called us ahead of time to let us know. She immediately made it good.

I have not bounced a check but sometimes things happen. I am sure she will make good on it.

 

[sss3]

luvrulz reminded me of this, I only had two bad checks in 30 yrs. One was made right.

 

[mmoetc]

Send her a letter requesting payment. Make sure you get delivery confirmation. In this letter set out a specific date for the check to be made good before legal action is taken. Contact your local DA. They often have a form letter businesses use for this purpose. Depending on your local prosecuter they may or may not take these things seriously but sending official government forms often gets the other party to do so.

 

[hawgsquatch]

You say she is a good customer right? Then if a check for such a small amount has bounced, then she obviously is having some kind of personal dilemma. She may be to embarrassed to communicate it to you. Send me your info by PM and I will cover it. I was feeling like showing some Faith today anyways.

Be part of the solution not part of the problem.

 

[AmericanStand]

In this state you take it to the states attorney at county courthouse. Usually he will make a call and cash will show up in a few minutes !!! If not he can prosecute and get the money, UP to three times as much as the check.

 

[unregistered41671]

You say she is a good customer right? Then if a check for such a small amount has bounced, then she obviously is having some kind of personal dilemma. She may be to embarrassed to communicate it to you. Send me your info by PM and I will cover it. I was feeling like showing some Faith today anyways.

Be part of the solution not part of the problem.

It is admirable of you to offer to cover the check, BUT IMO, trying to collect on a bad check is not being part of the problem.

 

[AmericanStand]

Hawgsquatch you have embarrassed me,
Your post posted while I was writing mine above. How much better yours is! I will leave mine up for those reading this thread and dealing with those of bad heart but I vote yours as the best way to deal with the problem.

 

[soulsurvivor]

If you do regular business and take checks as a part of that transaction it might be a good idea to talk with your bank on how to best protect yourself. Sometimes banks offer business services that provide for overdraft charge protection and free printed checks for a small annual fee. It's important to speak with the bank employee that has the authority to set up these types of accounts.

 

[Terri]

UGH!

Isn't the usual fee for a bounced check $35?

 

[Allen W]

Too bad business can't display bad checks anymore, kept you aware of potential hot check writers.

 

[hawgsquatch]

It is admirable of you to offer to cover the check, BUT IMO, trying to collect on a bad check is not being part of the problem.

Agreed, after reading this it didn't quite ring with what I was trying to communicate.

 

[TRAILRIDER]

At my bank (where I work and bank) we don't charge people when they deposit a bad check. But we do if they write one.
And if you call to verify funds on a check we are careful to say "The check is good at THIS time." Because it may be good right then, and then the account holder can walk in and withdraw the cash the next minute. Unfortunately when you get to the bank with the check you called about or deposit it into your account it isn't good anymore. But yes, it was good when you called.
Now in my case, since I work there, if I write a bad check I get fired!
As they say "Cash is King!"