It finally has happened.......after 33 years........I received a bad check.......my bank charged me $5 too.......here's the question.....I've called the lady (bad check writer) and left 2 messages ....very nice....explaining that I need to talk with her about the check...no response........now, what do I do?

HI

I used to work in a bank and up here in Canada I would tell somebody to hold the check and keep going back to her bank to see if you can cash it there once there are funds in the account. It's kind of a pain but if you just keep going back and checking you might be able to recover your money. Of course you won't be able to recover your fee that your bank charged you....unless she is willing to pay it herself but if you can't even get a hold of her you might have to consider it a loss. It's too bad that one person has to ruin it!

Hope that helps

I"m not a lawyer, but in some states you can get triple damages. In other words 3 times the amount of the check.

Since you have already called her 2 times and left messages...did you give her a time frame to call you back by?

Your next step is to send her a letter. I would send her a Certified, signature required letter explaining your situation ( research what you're options are) let her know what legal recourse you have and give her a deadline, find out how long need to give her legally.

Don't let this customer get away with this. I have seen people post "bad" checks in their stores..lol

Things happen, and they happen to EVERYONE, but...if she's ignoring you...it takes on a "WHOLE" other meaning!

Sorry that you have to deal with this.

Depends on how much the check was for. If it is a small amount, I'd write it off as a cost of doing business and change my check acceptance policy. If it is a large amount, take her to court and sue her in small claims. You can request your court costs and any out of pocket expenses (except for lost wages).

Do you do contracts with your customers? If you do, you can write on your contracts that returned checks will cost the customer a $25.00 NSF charge, and make the customer initial it.

Debbi

I forgot to add one more thing.
I wouldn't give her the check until you have the cash! The check is the only way you might get your money back unless she gets back to you and pays you cash. If there are funds in the bank the bank will take the check and give you the cash.....hope this makes sense!

Hi,

I suggest you take the check back to the bank around the 1st, 15th or last day of the month. These are the usual paydays for people and her account might ha ve the funds then. Its a pain but maybe u will get ur $$..

Berta

I did forget to mention the bank has stamped on the check do not run through again..........checking account closed

ooh..so..she commited a felony--lol

a check from a closed account is not the same as a bounced check.

With a bounced check there MAY be the possibility of money being in the account someday.

A closed account...well..it's closed! No money or hope of ever being money in the account!

Time to talk to someone at your bank to see what you can do about this....Legally.

Thanks so much for your advice.........I'll talk to the bank..........

go the cops. go to small claims i dont know how much the check is. but it might be worth ur while.

Thats aweful, I would be steaming mad. Even if it was only a small amount I wouldn't let this person get away with this, I mean they proably knew when they wrote the check it wasn't any good. I usually don't get upset this fast, but to think someone did this on purpose

I have come across checkbooks from closed accounts that i thought I got rid of. Perhaps she picked up the wrong checkbook and didn't realize it. I would give her the benefit of the doubt only so that she doesn't give YOU a bad rep by saying you jumped to the conclusion and blah blah blah. Maybe she went on vacation.

Give her a fair amount of time to respond (did you have a good feeling when you discussed business with her?) Sometimes your gut is the best instinct. If she leaves you hanging after fair attempts...then...I would pursue it legally.....good luck

Wow that's CRAZY. Her account is CLOSEDDDDDD. I would contact her again also the cops to see what you can do. If it is a small amount I would just write it off and as someone said earlier change my check policy.


Good Luck. I hope she calls you back.

I would leave her one more messge-like it was stated-maybe she was on vacation, etc. Then if she did not respond in a reasonable timeframe-only you know what that is for you-then I would send a certified letter-make notes of calls and copy of the letter for your records. Then IF she does pick up the letter you will also have her signature so she can't say "I DIDN"T KNOW"-in your letter explain that you have attempted to contact her on 3 occasions-dates, etc. entered here-and due to her lack of response she leaves you no recourse but to send the letter. She has ?? days to respond with the cash or further legal action will be taken. You gave her a product-she did not pay for it-that's fraud, theft and just down right immoral and rude. I'm not saying accidents don't happen but you can be assured the bank let her know she wrote a check on a closed account and they denied it so this shouldn't be a shock to her..you work hard for your money and there is no sense in letting her get away with it-it's the principal-if she had called and explained she didn't have the money you would have been able to work with her etc. Things like this irritate the heck out of me-had it happen to me over something else-not a cake- and the girl refunded the check amount but would not cough up the amount my bank charged-at that point I was happy to get the check amount-but you can be guaranteed I would never take a check again from her! Now I take the checks to the writers bank to cash!!! May cost me extra time but at least I know before I count on it being in my account....THE END!

i got to thinking. her name and addy is on this check. you could always go over there seeing that you have called and she hasnt returned any of ur messages.. just a thought

Couple of things to add . . . if you send it certified, do not put your return address on the envelope. If you do, she will know who it is from and may decide not to pick it up or sign for it. Also, besides sending it certified, send it regular mail and note that in your letter (i.e. sent via regular mail and certified mail). Depending on how much the check was for, it may be worthwhile sending your demand letter via FedEx. Most people would not expect that they would receive such a thing from FedEx.

I'd like to put in my experience here....

DH & I own a landscaping company & have numerous residential accounts. Some of these customers prefer not to be invoiced monthly, but to pay at the time of service or whenever they happen to be at home when our guys are there servincing their lawn, etc. and they receive a hand written (carbon copy) invoice on the spot. In the past, we had a customer who paid on-site, then called a few days later saying that they no longer needed our services due to a relative who was going to take over their lawn care...fine, no problem. Well, their last check came back "ACCOUNT CLOSED"....when my husband went to their house, no one would ever answer the door, nor our phone calls. We went the certified letter route....but they refused to accept it, saying the person the letter was addressed to no longer lived there....LIE. So sending a letter, ceritified or not, is not likely going to help in the resolution of your problem. If someone wrote a check on a closed account....9 times out of 10 they were very much aware of what they were doing and are unlikely to answer your calls or accept your letters. You will probably have to involve filing a complaint with your local police department in order to get the ball rolling and get some results. Also - you're probably not the first person she's done this too. That's what we had to do....when the police knocked on the door, they didn't take the "oh..they don't live here anymore" crap and stepped in the door to see the person sitting in the kitchen hoping they wouldn't be seen. All we wanted was for them to make good on the check and pay us what bank fees we incurred....with the police in front of them & jail time looming, they handed over the cash on the spot and 2 hrs. later we were called to the police station to get our $$ and fill out the paper work. We were only talking about $175 here...not a ton of cash, but worth it to us.

I don't mean to seem like a "gloomy gus" here, but I'm only realistic. It's very, very rare that someone writes a check on a closed account and then just doesn't return your calls "by accident" or some other reason. If you haven't heard from her in 2-3 weeks, I'd say go file a complaint with the police. Unless, it's a small enough amount that you're willing to let it go & write it off. And as far as her bad-mouthing you if it was a mistake...that would just be wrong. If she hasn't answered your repeated calls, it seems she's avoiding you....all you're doing is being an astute business woman and handling your business...and for people who don't write bad checks, what would they care?? You're not in this for free, right??

oh..nooooo...that could be a big heap o' trouble. Harrassment, stalking that sort of thing. People that break the law are usually the first ones to use the law against you.

C'mon we've all seen Judge Judy...lol

The best thing when this happens is to talk to your bank and see what advise they give you to follow and then follow it to the letter.

Make sure as someone said to keep a log of what you're doing...in case you have to go to court.

Sometimes just a nice little "reminder" may get the ball rolling and your money back, but, as I stated before...it's a check on a closed account...and even thought things happen..they can happen to ANYONE OF US, the fact that she hasn't returned your calls is worrysome.

But, you can send her a nice and polite note reminding her to get in contact with you and give her a deadline...it could be ...7 or 10 business days from the reciept of letter type thing and see what she does.

Like someone else said, she could be away, grabbed the wrong check book...things happen, so you try to resolve the issue amicably...but with a deadlilne and a consequence for missing the deadline...

(ps don't mind me...can't keep my eyes open, have to be in school labs by 6"45 am..)

nite nite!

I agree with JennT. Believe it or not (I used to deal with collections in a bank) there are crooked people out there. As much as you don't want to believe it there are. They will do anything to get out of paying for whatever service or product they purchased. They are manipulaters!!!! That's what they do and if it's only for a small amount most people wouldn't bother and they know that, that's why they do it! I would go the police route....in the US it is taken more seriously as here in Canada the police won't do anything if it's less than a ----- amount. Having the police knock on the door might just be a wake up call for this person. I wouldn't worry at all about her bad mouthing you.......your perferred clientelle will know you.....they are the ones that matter! This person will only be mad because you persude her and she didn't get away with what she hoped to which was to STEAL from you!
Here's another perspective: If you had a bakery and someone came into the store and STOLE a cake from you or even money from your till what would you do? and you KNOW what this person looks like, their address, would you let it go? Or would you contact the police? This person has done just that! STOLEN from you! People make a career out of this!

Now I do know mistakes happen and she might even tell you that but from my experience they'll tell you anything to buy time so they can do it again!
I would change my cheque policy, maybe only close friends or REALLY good clientelle can write cheques.....just my opinion. Would hate for this to happen to you again!

Just my two pennies!

I would say it all depends on how much the cake cost. If it was a birthday cake, say less than $50, I wouldn't consider it worth the trouble. Lesson learned. But much more than that, especially if it was a costly wedding cake, I would do something more, just not sure what. It just occurred to me that if you're not licensed, you may draw unwanted attention to your business. If you're licenced, I would take it to the police.

Ali

I may be confused here, but I'm not sure how filing a complaint with the police for a bad check...rather a felony check on a closed account...would be considered harassment or stalking. If someone has not made good on a debt, you have a right to collect, period. That doesn't give you the right to sit on their front porch until they come home or anything, but you are definitely well within your rights to go to their house a couple of times and make a few phone calls to them. If you don't do your own due diligence first, when you go to file a complaint that's what they'll tell you to do. Filing a complaint is a last resort, as in you have no choice because they refuse to contact you or answer their front door. In my state, if the person writes a certain # of checks on a closed account, no matter the amount it's for $1 or $1 million, the bank automatically files a complaint with police and a warrant is issued for their arrest. And it's the same with business owners...if you want to file a complaint you have the right...it's not harassment. Writing a check on a closed account is a felony against both the bank and the person OR business the check was written to.

The banks can't do anything to the person other than file a complaint either. If the account is closed, it's closed....they're not going to give you any money or any real solution either. They just tell you to talk to a lawyer or file a complaint with the police....but they are usually able to back you up with the info they have on the account/person.

It seems, in this instance, that more than one "gentle reminders" (as in phone calls) have been given....unless she has a family member in the hospital or something like that, or is "on vacation", there's no excuse why she hasn't returned the calls if it was an "honest mistake".

If I were in your shoes, unless I could justify losing that money and paying my bank fees that I personally did not cause, I would file the complaint. It's not something you have to pay for, it's a public service. And filing a complaint is just that....filling out paperwork. Where I live, the police are more than happy to help you straighten things like this out without having to arrest someone, if it's possible. It doesn't mean that the person will immediately go to jail...you have to file CHARGES before that will happen, it's just a complaint, something to jumpstart some results....scare the person into doing right...and hopefully they won't do it to someone else. When we filed our complaint against our former customer who wrote us a bad check, from the time we filled out the forms at the station until we had the money in our hands was maybe 4 hrs total....that included talking to a lawyer on the phone to make sure this was the nicest, simplest way to do things first.

I hope you get this figured out.

What a horrible thing to happen!!!! I agree with ThePastry Diva and wouldn't let her get away with it!! She commited a crime and must pay the consequences!!!



Daniela

As a residential property manager, I have to agree with JennT. I receive monthly rent checks from quite a few people, and I have had to report tenants to the police for various forms of fraud (inclucing identity theft). One of the things my tenants know is that if you try to get one over on me, I will take action.

Go to the police. This customer knew she was writing a bad check. You probably weren't the first and you won't be the last. Do not contact this person at all unless it is with a supeona to small claims court (get it served by the sherriff because they like to do it EARLY in the morning when folks are least suspecting it). Don't take this lying down!

Debbi

wow... i think here in tx you go to the DA's office and they do paperwork and send here a notice to pay if not then they do a round up which means pay or go to Jail!!!

my general rule is I accept cash, checks, money order, and credit cards until two weeks prior then its cash or credit cards only.

So sorry this happened to you. I just wanted to also suggest going back to the bank to see if you can find out when the acount was closed (not sure if they can/will give this info. out) but let them know this is for a legal matter. If the bank does give you the date and the check was written after account was closed then YES do file a complaint regardless of how much money is involved. The person shouldn't get away with this crime!

I know when an individual writes a worthless check here in Louisiana, after the District Attorney's office receives 10 on a person, they're arrested for worthless checks. More than likely, this person has others out there too. I'd go to the police department and swear out a formal complaint on this person. DO NOT take the law into your own hands by going to this person's home. Go to your police department or to your District Attorney's office and file a formal complaint against this person.. it's not the matter of the amount of the check, it's the fact that the account was "CLOSED". I'd give her the benefit of the doubt and I'd still send a certified letter, restricted delivery (address and to be signed by only her), return receipt requested. If she did not pick up the letter, I'd file the complaint. She will have had ample time to correct her error. If no response, make your complaint. I wouldn't care if the check was for $5, she knew the account was closed and here where I live, I believe that's a felony offense after so many checks have been written. Unless you stop her, she can and will do it again to someone else.

It used to be that you could take a bad check to the local Sheriffs office...it was called "protesting a check"....not sure if that still holds or not..but the Sheriff would send them a notice.