1St Bad Check... What Should I Do???

[kearstin]

Hey All -

I knew it would happen eventually and it did. I had my first returned check. It's been put through my account twice so in addition to what the check was written for I also have the two $10 charges.

Since I've not had to deal with this until now, I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do. How do you guys handle the situation - call the customer, send a letter or what??? Also, do you charge the customer for the returned check fees that you incur?

TIA!
Kearstin

 

[ChefJWarren]

I recently had my first dealing with this also! I tried calling the customer 4 times and she totally ignored me. The products were shipped directly, so she already has them! Luckily my county has a bad check department and they walked me through each step I should take. For now, I am waiting on the "green" certified card to come back to me. Its been over two weeks, so I assume they are still trying to contact her. If she never claims the letter or doesn't pay me within 10 days, I can file a complaint against her with the county and they will send a constable to her house! She then has to pay me ($170), the returned check fees and the county fines.

Just call the customer and maybe you will have better luck. Maybe the customer just made a simple mistake and will pay you immediately.

 

[pamperedbecky]

Even though I've had about 4-5 returned checks, I've been lucky where the person has been so apologetic that they have no problem re-sending a check (if they're SURE there's money in the account - or I mostly ask for a cashier's check) and I let them know I have to charge them the bank fees that I've been charged as a result of the bounced check. Luckily people have been willing to pay me. That's good to know that some counties have a department like that where you can collect from people.

Good luck!

 

[kearstin]

And if the phone calls don't work do you have a form letter that you send? Should I offer to send a copy of the check and my statement showing the fees, etc.?

 

[chefann]

Someone had posted previously that there is a "bad check letter" template in Word that you can use. Send it certified mail, so you know she got it.

The small claims division of your local district court should be able to provide a list of documentation that you need, just in case you do have to take her to court.

 

[kaseydee]

You need to check w/your state laws. In Arkansas if you accept another check for payment of a hot check you loose your right to collect for that check if it bounces. They say either money order, cashiers check or cash only. Plus everyone knows your get charged for returned checks it just varies from bank to bank. Ours is $3 and our state law reads we can get a flat $25 fee for returned checks which is what just about all stores here do. If you don't thats profit out the door.

 

[finley1991]

Your state.gov website should have the bad check form letter and info.

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

Call the customer and explain what happened. Hopefully she'll realize what happened and make it right.I've only had two checks bounce ... one was for a party I was hosting for another vendor, and another was paid but got bounced on her account so SHE paid the fees! Both of these checks were from FAMILY so now I make a point to verify funds at the bank where the check is drawn, and cash it there if at all possible. If my own family will bounce a check on me, why not a stranger?In my previous line, there was a lady who wrote me a check on an account that was closed. Of course, they direct shipped to everyone so she already got her stuff. She had written a post-dated check and berated me for not waiting until the 3rd ... I kept explaining that I DID and that the account was CLOSED. She was so deaf she kept saying that the account was LOW because it was after the 3rd. She never did pay me! Lesson learned. I have never taken a post-dated check from anyone since.

 

[Jennie4PC]

I have had 2 bad checks the 1st one she paid me in cash with the fees and the 2nd one just barley happened. She said she didnt get paid till Fri (last week) show was on Wed so I told her I would hold the check. I havent gotten a hold of her yet but my bank sends the check back to me so if I dont get ahold of her I will go to her bank and cash the check

 

[DebbieJ]

Yes, pass on your fees to the customer. Call her, tell her her check bounced, tell her you need cash or a cashier's check for the full amount plus $20. All retail stores do it, so she shouldn't argue.

 

[LibrarianChef]

I'm so sorry this is happening. That's so uncomfortable to be calling and not getting a response.

I know this doesn't help on direct orders, but I recently moved to a plan (on shows) where I only accept one final payment from my hosts at closing (unless a guest pays with credit card). I encourage them pay with their bank debit card, if possible, so that we're not worrying about their check clearing before PC withdraws the money from my account. Most seem to prefer that, anyway. Then they just close over the phone with their card number once the checks all clear their account.

I'm so glad everyone else has shared how to handle a returned check on here because I wouldn't know WHAT to do if my host's check was returned after a show was already submitted. I did have a host once ask me to go ahead and close her show because she'd bring me a check in the morning. I didn't tell her, but figured I'd wait to submit until I got the check in-hand, at least. By 6pm the following day I still didn't have a check so I was kind of glad that I didn't close her show just in case.

I'm wondering if I should re-evaluate my whole payment policy even further so that if they pay with a regular bank check, it must clear my account before I submit. Is that as extreme as it sounds? I hate to make it a hassle for anyone else, but I don't want to have to deal with bounced checks and such if I don't have to.

 

[kristenlee]

Before jumping to any conclusions just call the customer, it may of just been an oversight. If it is not,then look into other steps in collecting your money.
I have had a few bounced checks and all of them were just oversights and they gladly paid me and the fees I received. The other one would not pay me and said she was keeping the products I went to her house and told her if she was not going to pay me she could not have the products, so either give me cash or the products. Her husband was there, wanted to know what was going on, so I showed him a copy of the bounced check and told him how she said she was keeping the products and not paying me (he had actually heard her tell me this from the other room), he asked her when she started stealing and he made her give me the products back, she was very embarassed that I told her husband. He was very apologetic, I wish he would of paid me since she had used the products, but hey, maybe she will think twice about screwing someone over again.