When someone lays a rubber check on ya ~ what do you do?

[In_The_Wind]

I was at my bank yesterday. :wtf: Imagine my surprise when the teller said my balance was $300 lower than it should have been.:grr: I spoke with one of the managers and guess what the check bounced.:nuke:

Laws have changed in the recent past and giving someone a check that can't be cashed carried heavy legal penalties these days.

I've yet to receive any explanation.

What would you do in this situation?

discuss

[MissHoneychurch]

1. Money is a delicate topic

one need to trust a person a lot to lend money to. But when a check bounces I would start thinking if the person is really as trustworthy. But before taking legal actions I would try to find out the reason and want an explanation and solution.

[In_The_Wind]

7. any explanation would have helped

First I was ask to hold the check and I agreed.:shrug: I waited and deposited it over two weeks ago as per the check writer's request.

[unblock]

2. depends, but usually a polite oral / in-person question does the trick

9 times out of 10, a bounced check is an "oh, shit, i had no idea i was so low, i'm so embarassed, let me double-check; ok try again after by next paycheck clears" situation.

the 10th time is when you tried to cash where you had a pretty good idea that the check writer never has two bits in his account anyway....

my brother bounced a check to me for his contribution to a wedding present for my other brother, and never made good on the check, and that was almost 16 years ago. he "still can't believe" that i haven't gotten over that. of course, i "still can't believe" he hasn't paid me....

[In_The_Wind]

9. in-person isn't possible

unless I want to go for a long drive:mad:

I received an *oh shit* email two weeks after I was given the check and that's when I agreed to hold the check.

However, at that time I also offered to accept two or three checks which I was willing to deposit one a month for three months. I think I was being more than just understanding about this.



Family can be the worst about settling money discrepancies. By now I'm sure the brother who was getting married knows his good fortune came only from you.... atta boy ~ you did a good thing. Bummer that it still leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

:hi: thanks for your thoughts and your true story.

[tjwmason]

3. Depends on the person

The cheque could have bounced because of an mistake on the part of the issuer (as happened to me once, I used the wrong account - as soon as I knew I gave a replacement from the right account, which actually had money in it).

If it's a friend or long-term acquaintance, a telephone call could well be the best option.

[In_The_Wind]

10. It is someone I've only known for 6 months.

I'm going to wait a few more days before contacting anyone else other than my bank to find out how much this is going to cost me in additional banking fees.

[salin]

44. Definitely add on the fees

and "charge" the person for them. Of course if the person is a deadbeat - you will never get the original money, let alone any fees.

[ronnykmarshall]

43. Cheque?

I love they way you folks talk! :silly:

[GOPisEvil]

4. Start with the registered letter.

Offer the person the opportunity to make the check good with either a cashier's check or cash.

If that fails, have your attorney send them another registered letter.

If THAT fails, it's time for small claims court.

[Sgent]

5. None of the above

I'd first call and ask for the money, plus the fee the bank charged you for depositing a bad check (usually 2-4 dollars). Give them a week, and then turn it over to the bad check division of the local district attorney.

During that week I'd call the bank listed on the check daily and see if funds are available. If so, I'd drive to that bank and cash it.

[In_The_Wind]

17. in New York the fees are as follows

$10.00 is charged to my account each time that check bounces in.

I don't write rubber checks but the penalty fee is $30 every time a check bounces out of a personal account. If I had depended on the $300 from the check in question to cover my out going expenses it could have become very costly to me. Which is the reason that I don't count money as mine until I actually do have it.

[ScreamingMeemie]

6. A friend of mine did this to me once...so I ended up paying 50 bucks

to highlight her hair. I did the highlights, the check bounced, she was on a cruise (ha!) and I never did get reimbursed for the very cheap price of getting her hair done. It was 20 for the highlights (Which is verrrrrry low) 5 for the product and 25 for the returned deposit fee...We are not friends anymore.

[In_The_Wind]

14. the penalties can build up

I deposited the check into my business account. It didn't cause me any other problems because I didn't need the additional cash to cover any of outgoing payments. Most of my payments out of this account are done by auto-pay so it's a stable account. First time this has happened!:mad:

That's too bad about your friendship :cry: it must have been something special for the two of you to go on the same cruise together.

[mermaid]

8. None Of The Above

Sue their ass! Immediately. And press charges.

And if they don't cough up the cash, IMMEDIATELY...kick their goddamned ASS!!

THAT is what I would do if any son of a bitch gave me a rubber check.

And they would go on my list of peope I will never accept a check from, ever again, unless I can take it stright to THEIR bank and cash it.

[northzax]

13. what charges, exactly, should be pressed?

bouncing a check is not a crime, if you make good on the amount.

[mermaid]

15. IF You Make Good On the Amount.

Otherwise, it is criminal. It's called Theft By Check.

And, yes, I would see someone prosecuted for writing ME a bad check, unless they IMMEDIATELY coughed up the dough. Pull it out your ass, borrow it from your mom, I don't care, but you pay me RIGHT NOW...THIS SECOND...or we'll just mosey on down tot he D.A's office and file charges.

To say nothing of the civil suit in small claims court.

NO ONE is gonna get away with fucking me over! Too many times in my life, I was a nice girl and let people get away with fucking me over, but no more.

[In_The_Wind]

19. IF the amount is covered I'll get over it but I won't take another check

I am a understanding person. I can be talked to and reasoned with but I (now) know the person who issued the check has already been notified by their bank about the problem. This could all have been avoided by one "I'm sorry" call or email before I found out about it yesterday.

The moral of this story is ***If you're gonna fuck me ~ kiss me first*** cause IF I don't like it ... you're in deep doo-doo:nuke:

Thank you mermaid for your own very personal feelings which coincide with mine at this point in time.

[sundog]

11. hunt them down mafia style

no, really...

i call the customer... it's a small town, so everyone knows everyone... they are usually good about paying up

[In_The_Wind]

16. Thanks for the advice ~ I do have some old *friends* I can call on.

Small towns are like that ~ I hope this can be resolved just as easily. The thing that bothers me the most ... is the lack of any type of *I'm sorry* behavior. I am reasonable. I always will continue to be. Mistakes can happen.

However ~ ignoring the problem will only make it worse.

[northzax]

12. phone call or email

along the lines of "hey, bob? that check you asked me to hold on to? it was returned to my bank, and I really need the money now. How bout you send me another check or a money order, now?"

give them a chance to make good, then get nasty if they don't.

By the way, bouncing a check is not a criminal act. Writing a check on a closed account, however, is.

[In_The_Wind]

20. OK here goes (since I know they Google search my name they will see this)

Hey You ... yes you ... you know who you are. Your check bounced. Please correct this situation ASAP! Before I forget I'm a lady ~

[ronnykmarshall]

45. Money order!

Don't ever except another check.

[davsand]

18. Get your money and then NEVER accept another check from them.

OK, you can call the bank that is written on and you can ask "Will this check, in this amount, clear if I present it today?" and they will answer.

If you know what days the person gets paid call within 24 hours of payday. Once you have your cash in hand NEVER put yourself in position to have to deal with this again from this person.

I went out with a guy one time who wrote me a bad check for money I lent him. I called the guy up and asked him what had happened and he fed me a big line of crap about a bank screw up. I told him I'd just cash the check at his bank and not worry about it.

The next day I went to his bank and they refused to cash the check again. It took me several days and several phone calls but finally, I got my money for that bad check.

It soured the relationship, you might say.


Laura

[Wapsie B]

22. I'll go with that.

Get the money somehow.

[In_The_Wind]

23. You are quite right!

I just received an email about "the bank screw up". :nopity: Since we do not live in the same state driving to the bank isn't an option.



I am truly happy to hear that you got the money and sorry about your relationship. It's too bad when money can come between people but it does show that the relationship wasn't working in the best interest of both parties.x(

[davsand]

24. See if electronic funds transfer is possible.

Can you get a kind of "Pay Pal" transfer thing set up? Since you got the "bank screwup" email you now have a perfect opportunity to ask for some kind of automated fund transfer.

Even IF it is from out of state you should be able to get your cash.

BTW, Don't think a thing about the defunct relationship. He obviously didn't think too much of me to write me a bad check anyhow... :)


Laura

[ronnykmarshall]

46. The good old "it's the banks fault" line.

I wish I had a dime for everytime I heard that.

[salin]

47. It happened to me once

on a major purchase (the bank screwed up) - years ago. The bank took care of the problem and cleared up any related issues. If it is a bank problem (probably only 1 out of 50 times - but I did have that 1 time) - the bank will take care of it post haste.

[ronnykmarshall]

50. That's why I love working for a bank.

I can keep tabs on my account every day.

Online banking is great too.

One time I used my ATM card to buy groceries and they debited my account and then turned around and credited me TWICE. Not only did I get the purchase for free, I also got the same amount credited back again. So I came out ahead.

I showed my statement to our adjustments department and the boss rolled her eyes and said "Don't worry honey, they'll find this *wink* *wink*."

It was for such a small amount (around $20) they wrote it off as a small claim loss. My bank wasn't out the money, the other one was. Which was ironic because we merged with them a couple of years later.

Oh the guilt I still feel!! :silly:

[Deep13]

21. File a police report.

Writing a bad check is theft in most states.

[In_The_Wind]

29. I'm very close to doing just that.

Because during the day today the person who gave me the check actually sent me an email telling me that the check was paid on May 23rd. As of yesterday (June 7) - my bank was telling me that funds are not available and that the uncollected check will be returned to me. So I may have no other choice but to take legal actions if I want the money.

The biggest problem that I see with this option is - if there isn't enough money to cover the bounced check ... how will this person be able to pay the original check amount, bounced check fees and the legal fees which will become part of the restitution that I will be entitled to.

Garnisheeing wages often leave a bad feeling with the employer... so they might even wind up with more problems over this.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

25. As a business owner...

I always have to contend with the possibility that this will happen, and because I do depend on the money for outgoing expenses, it would be a problem for me.

Was this a customer of your business? If so, I would demand a different form of payment in the future.

If it was a friend or acquaintance, I would hope for a sincere apology or good explanation, and if I didn't receive one, well...I don't think I would trust that person anymore. Have you told the person how upset you are?

[In_The_Wind]

28. actually yes - the person is aware of how upset I am with them

It seems as if one of our mutual acquaintances has read my post on DU and relayed the entire problem back to the person who gave me the bad check.

Now the bull is really starting to fly. I received a communication saying the bank said the check was cashed on 5/23 and even gave me a bogus account number which the check was paid into. The account number which the payment supposedly went to isn't even close to my number - so there is one more lie added to the situation.


:wtf: lies only lead to more lies :mad:

[RevolutionStartsNow]

30. Ugh

People who lie to cover other lies, unbelievable...I am trying to teach my kids to fess up after the first lie, not to dig themselves in deeper.

Was this a good friend? Money and friends just don't mix very well, but then again I would do anything for many of my friends, including loaning them money if they really needed it.

Do you think you'll ever get the money?

[In_The_Wind]

34. perhaps

I'll have the original check back in my hands very soon. It actually bounced in my account for the first time on May 31. The email that I received yesterday told me I was the liar:wtf::nuke:that the check cleared on May 23rd. It Did Not! And the problem is becoming more difficult to clear up as the lies continue to build! :mad:

[RevolutionStartsNow]

40. Sounds like...

this person has painted him or herself into a corner by not fessing up after the check bounced.

It's almost an unfixable situation. Unless the person has some great attack of conscience, they aren't going to suddenly admit to both passing a bad check and lying about it clearing.

I hope it wasn't a relationship that you valued very much. Behaviors around money issues will often reveal a side of someone we never saw before.

I believe you said you only knew the person for a few months before this, so it was awfully nice of you to help them out in the first place. :)

[ronnykmarshall]

48. It's getting ugly now.

First off, NO bank would ever give out your account number to a second party.

Second, when you get the orginal check photo copy that sucker and send Mr/Ms Can't Balance My Checkbook To Save My Ass a copy of it.

Keep a tab of EVERY expence you have. Bank fees, phone calls and even the cost of the damn stamp.

It's time to SUE!!!

[progmom]

41. This is a DU-er?

I'm a little confused about this. But if this is someone associated with DU, isn't there a better way of going about this? :shrug:

[In_The_Wind]

53. This has nothing to do anyone at DU.

However it has been helpful to hear how other people feel about situations like this one.

People who know me well are lurking on DU even if they haven't joined yet. I can only guess that someone might have passed on information about this - because the day I started this thread is the same day that I started getting emails about this problem.

[progmom]

54. Oh - ok. I misunderstood.

How was NY?

[In_The_Wind]

55. I enjoyed meeting a few more DUers.

of course I was very happy to see the people from the Boston meet-up again.

Last night we were discussing the possibility of a Woodstock meet-up sometime in October. One of the NYC DUers suggested a week-end camp out here in the Catskills because he would like to bring his wife and children to see the changing leaves.

[jmowreader]

26. Step one: stop working for them

A guy wrote me a rubber paycheck once.

Once.

I was working on a very complex project for this guy--a 200-page real estate book with about three thousand four-color pictures of houses in it. I'm about two-thirds of the way through it, and he handed me my paycheck for the week (complete with at least 55 hours of overtime--yes, I worked that long). I took a lunch break and went to his bank to cash it.

"We're sorry, but this check isn't good."

I got the teller to write me a note to that effect, then went to the police station.

I got my money and put in my notice.

"When will you be leaving the company?"
'Oh, about as soon as I can make it to that door over there.'
"What about the book?"
'Ya might have thought about that before you handed me a bad paycheck.'

The guy promised me a thousand dollars if I wouldn't leave until I finished the book. This time he paid with a certified check. Fool me twice...won't get fooled again.

[In_The_Wind]

27. I don't work for anyone else.

This was a personal check to repay me for monies that I had laid out on the behalf of the rubber check writer.

[Left Is Write]

32. I got a paycheck that bounced once.

Years ago. I was eighteen, the summer after I graduated from high school. I made $65 a week writing contact cards for a tiny little phone book company. One Friday, I went to deposit my check into my savings account, and the passbook balance said I had much less money than I'd thought. The previous week's check had bounced! (Apparently, the owner of the company was transferring funds back and forth between his personal account and his business account, and he didn't have enough in the business account to cover the checks he'd cut.)

I went straight to him to get my money. He paid me in cash, plus fifteen more for my bank fee, and he offered me a whole extra week's pay in cash if I didn't say anything to the other employees. One of them was a good friend of mine. I didn't take the bribe money, and I did tell Jenny my check bounced.

[BikeWriter]

31. When this last happened I showed up at his door with a shovel...

and a .40 caliber in each boot. The boy saw things my way.

[In_The_Wind]

33. It's not worth getting my hands dirty!

I do believe what goes around comes around!

I would love to drag and drop some of the lies out of the communications from the person who took advantage of my kindness but I've decided to turn those over to my attorney if I do pursue it legally.

I did have a similar situation a few years ago. The only thing I did was to let people know about what had happened to me so that it wouldn't happen to them too. You see - he had stolen money and tools from others in our community - we all wanted to help him. However ~ his karma finally caught up with him and with his girlfriend who assisted him in making choices which have proved disastrous for both of them ... it is sad when people insist in self-destruction.

Perhaps you did the man a favor and made him rethink the wisdom of his evil ways.

:hi: :think: maybe I do need to hire a collection service... give them names and addresses of all the deadbeats that I've known and sit back and wait.

[BikeWriter]

35. Sometimes bikers will do collections for a percentage. :-)

[In_The_Wind]

36. ;^)

You're a riot:rofl: but the percentage on my last collection problem would be far greater than what we're looking at today. :mad: :banghead: :grr: The trouble with that one ... is ... you'd have to travel to Vermont.


:hi:

[BikeWriter]

37. If I were up there I'd go talk to them for free. :-)

[In_The_Wind]

38. I know you would.

It doesn't happen often enough to totally sour me on people but it really is disappointing when it does.



Thanks for making me laugh :hug: and your offer.

[BikeWriter]

39. LOL! You're very welcome. :-)

[ronnykmarshall]

42. Banker feller here.

Your first option is to have the check re-deposited. I would notify the person that wrote you the check and tell them what happened.

IF it is returned again, small claims court. Sue for:

1. The amount of the check.

2. The return fees charged to you.

3. The court cost.

You'll win. But you may not see the money. That person will should be charged with fraud.

[salin]

49. Great advice... and after reading the thread - I am very interested

in an update - nosey person that I am.

[ronnykmarshall]

51. Yeah me too!

I wanna know the scoop.

[progmom]

52. interested to see if this has been resolved too

:hi:

[In_The_Wind]

58. communication was all that was needed from the beginning of the problem

the promise is for two equal payments and I'll be happy to return the bounced check ... I do believe everything will be alright after all

[KamaAina]

56. Ever have your *boss* bounce a paycheck on you?

Used to happen all the time at this little ad agency I worked with years ago in Conn.

Said boss was affectionately known as The Little Dunce, not for his superlative check-bouncing skills, but because he once asked the art director to run some errands for him on her lunch hour! She, not exactly a wallflower type, looked down at him (she's tall, he's not) and said, "No I won't, you little dunce!"

It practically goes without saying that the Dunce is a repuke...

:dunce: :dunce: :dunce: :dunce: :dunce:

[progmom]

57. yep

I left a job because of it. We all fought over who got to take a lunch break first to cash our paychecks on Wednesdays. The earlier you got there, the better chance you had of getting your money. x(