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Bounced Checks - Wisdom From the Success Factory

In summary, it is illegal to bounce checks, and it is not common in the content industry. Merchants who cash checks before submission avoid bounced checks by verifying funds with the bank and wearing logo wear.
raebates
Staff member
18,357
This was the email that went out today from The Success Factory. We've had some good discussions here on handling bounced checks. I thought this advice was great.
Today's TipSubject: Bounced checks – a tip from a fellow TSF subscriber… Bouncing checks is illegal. It is also fairly rare in this business. In my career I have probably taken less than 10.To collect I would leave one polite message asking for it to be taken care of and then my next message a week later if I had not heard from them would say:I am calling about the check you wrote to me that was returned. I have left you one message and not heard back from you. I am so sorry but I wanted to let you know that we have to turn all bounced checks from last month that have not been cleared up over to the District Attorney by Friday.It is amazing how quick they will return your call!Shop 24/7 on our website - Great resources to help you with your business!
Feel free to share this email with a friend and invite them to sign up for FREE email tips on our website!
Thanks for respecting our copyright by including our company information when you share these tips with others.
Copyright 2011 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved
 
txtloves.gif
it! I bet that does work! LOL
 
I tell my hosts to let their customers know that I cash all checks before I submit shows, so if a check bounces, that person's order does not get submitted with the show. This way, I'm not out the money to cover their order, and if they want their stuff, they have to talk to me.
 
So you drive around to the various banks & cash the checks for their financial institute? That's a LOT of work girl. ;)I couldn't imagine having to do that with 2 little ones in tow.
 
That does seem like a lot of work. I had a bounced check last week, and it has caused chaos in my account. It was $120 check, and it caused my bank to return my Pampered Chef debit. So now all orders I have placed on hold. I ended up with several overdraft charges because of her check being returned, and no way am I going to get those charges reimbursed by her. I said from now on I only take cash, or credit. I can't go through this madness again.
 
I call each bank and verify funds... I've only run into one bank that wouldn't let me do it. This saves the driving around. All you need to do is say that you are a merchant, which technically we are and give them the account number and name... then get your booty to the bank and deposit/cash.
 
vanscootin said:
I call each bank and verify funds... I've only run into one bank that wouldn't let me do it. This saves the driving around. All you need to do is say that you are a merchant, which technically we are and give them the account number and name... then get your booty to the bank and deposit/cash.

When I call the bank, I am told that they cannot give me any information because of privacy concerns. I have, however, physically gone into a bank and asked if the check is good. If there is a problem with the check, they will hand it back and say "do not cash this today" without saying that it will bounce. I will try the "I'm a merchant" angle and see if that helps. I really hate to drive all over town to cash checks.
 
I, too, take all checks to the bank where they were drawn. If it is a credit union or bank with no branch near me, I will call to verify funds, but most of the time, I prefer to go to the bank, wearing logo wear, and explain that I'm a Pampered Chef consultant, which at least raises awareness. None have bounced. I am blessed to live and work in an area with most bank branches less than a mile from my house and office.If my OWN FAMILY will bounce a check on me, why wouldn't a stranger?
 
Lessons learned from previous direct sales company: I have guests write checks to the host, using the "you can write your check to "host" as you're probably more comfortable doing that since you know her well". Takes all the pressure off trying to ensure I don't have bounced checks, and the host puts those on her cc when we close the show.
 
  • #10
The bounced check did not cause the chaos, you maintaining such a low balance that your payment to PC was denied because of this bounced check is what caused the chaos. This is the risk involved is accepting checks. An alternative would have been to let the shopper use their debit card and you could have entered your sale on the spot through the order portal.


FeliciaD said:
That does seem like a lot of work. I had a bounced check last week, and it has caused chaos in my account. It was $120 check, and it caused my bank to return my Pampered Chef debit. So now all orders I have placed on hold. I ended up with several overdraft charges because of her check being returned, and no way am I going to get those charges reimbursed by her. I said from now on I only take cash, or credit. I can't go through this madness again.
 
  • #11
I only use my PC checking account for depositing shows and my commission check. There is never very much "extra money" in there. So, if a customer's 120.00 check bounces, it would cause chaos. I have certainly had that happen before. I am grateful I've never had a show debit returned, but it could happen with a large show.

I have had several checks returned in the past year. I don't think the people did it on purpose. I think a lot of people today don't know how to balance their checkbook. I never have the customers make their check out to the host because if 1...or even 2...small checks bounce I can usually cover it, but if the host's check bounces I would be in trouble. Its the risk of taking checks.
 
  • #12
freds said:
The bounced check did not cause the chaos, you maintaining such a low balance that your payment to PC was denied because of this bounced check is what caused the chaos. This is the risk involved is accepting checks. An alternative would have been to let the shopper use their debit card and you could have entered your sale on the spot through the order portal.

Maybe I'm having a bad day, and I probably shouldn't be typing this, but I have to say it is quite bold of you to be so judgmental of someone in your very first post in this community.

Many of us use our PC checking accounts simply for clearing checks and receiving commission deposits. It's much easier to do it that way, than to try and keep it straight when intermingled with personal checking account activity. Most of us rely on PC for additional (or sole) income, and don't want to leave said income laying around just in case someone bounces a check.

While I agree that it is a good idea to have a cushion, or overdraft protection, the point of this thread was not to point fingers and assign blame on anyone.
 
  • #13
NooraK said:
Maybe I'm having a bad day, and I probably shouldn't be typing this, but I have to say it is quite bold of you to be so judgmental of someone in your very first post in this community.

Many of us use our PC checking accounts simply for clearing checks and receiving commission deposits. It's much easier to do it that way, than to try and keep it straight when intermingled with personal checking account activity. Most of us rely on PC for additional (or sole) income, and don't want to leave said income laying around just in case someone bounces a check.

While I agree that it is a good idea to have a cushion, or overdraft protection, the point of this thread was not to point fingers and assign blame on anyone.


What She Said.

Good post Noora.


And to just add a bit - it's probably a good idea for anyone new to this Community to read here first http://www.chefsuccess.com/f18/hitc...ss-unofficial-new-users-guide-list-faq-32274/
before posting too much. We have a reputation as being a helpful and supportive community on this board - it's sort of the secret to our success.
 
  • #14
While I would have said it a bit gentler, I do agree that having a "cushion" in your account is the best business practice.
 
  • #15
DebbieJ said:
While I would have said it a bit gentler, I do agree that having a "cushion" in your account is the best business practice.

I consider a sufficient "cushion"in my PC account to be $100. In the poster's instance, the check that bounced was for over that amount. And what happens when it's a host's check (written for her order and all of her outside orders) that's over $600? (yep - been there.)
 
  • Thread starter
  • #16
Like Becky said, I do keep $100 cushion in my account to cover any mathematical errors I might make or the occasional free spice that I forget to cover. No one can anticipate every contingency. Plus, I must disagree that it wasn't the bounced check that caused the chaos in FeliciaD's account. If the customer's check had cleared FeliciaD wouldn't have had a problem.
 
  • #17
ChefBeckyD said:
I consider a sufficient "cushion"in my PC account to be $100. In the poster's instance, the check that bounced was for over that amount. And what happens when it's a host's check (written for her order and all of her outside orders) that's over $600? (yep - been there.)
True, hard to anticipate that. Thankfully bounced checks seem to be few and far between, but they ALWAYS cause some big problems, don't they? :yuck:I am so glad that PC pays for our credit processing so we can easily take credit card/debit card payments. I found that once I started telling my guests that I prefer CC for payment, they GLADLY use it. I don't get that many checks at shows anymore. I close most shows over the phone so my hosts have to use their CC to pay. :)
 
  • #18
freds said:
The bounced check did not cause the chaos, you maintaining such a low balance that your payment to PC was denied because of this bounced check is what caused the chaos. ...

:thumbdown: I think you've missed the point of this thread and this forum. We come here to learn tips to help us in our business and help us to be better consultants. We learn as much as we can and try to help where we can. None of us know anyone's financial status. She could have had $119.99 in her account, but the 1 penny caused her to be overdrawn. Some of us choose to have a cushion in our account, but there's really no magic number to know what a good cushion is. All of us have various opinions on what's a good number. $5 might be the magic number for one person where $5,000 might be the magic number for another person. There's really no right or wrong answer. Each person has to decide what works for them. You also have to realize that not everyone has been exposed to the same level of education in financial literacy as the next person. And even those that have learned financial literacy can still have hard times. How many millionaires went bankrupt before they got it right? Living paycheck-to-paycheck doesn't necessarily mean the person is doing something wrong. They may know financial literacy & have used their financial literacy to get a nice little nest egg started & then lost it all to pay for cancer treatments for their child. Or they may be living off a minimal amount each month and investing 75% of their paycheck into long-term investments. What if she had $2,000 in the account until the week before when her account was hacked & they pretty much cleaned out her account before she caught it? We don't know what we don't know. So it's really unfair to blame someone for not having an extra $120 in their account because none of us know her financial situation. She could be the Millionaire Next Door who can bail herself out of this position ~ but was just venting about the fact that she was inconvenienced.

As Noora said, many consultants choose to have a separate account for their PC money and then transfer it out ~ for all we know, these consultants are living off their spouse's income & their entire Pampered Chef income is going into long-term investments each month.

My theory is that the finger pointing should go where it belongs ~ at the person who wrote a bad check, not the victim. Most of us wouldn't tell a woman who just got her purse snatched that she shouldn't have been carrying a purse. Nor would we tell someone who was just carjacked that they shouldn't have been driving a car. Choosing to be prepared for a bounced check and being aware of your surroundings so that you are less likely to be a victim is common sense to some. But it's really not okay to belittle someone for having a different plan or a different level of education on a particular subject.
 
  • #19
Rae & I were on the same page with who's at fault ... it just took me longer to post with munchkins in the house begging for dinner! LOL
 
  • #20
Ok let me rephrase my post to be a helpful post. If you decide to accept checks, you should have a cushion of atleast the largest two checks that you are posting to your account. If you do not have the means to have this buffer you should perhaps not accept checks from you customers. I also agree, tips are not about placing the blame or fault on someone. It does no good to point fingers. That also applies to OP blaming a customer for bouncing their check and causing a cascade of fees, when in actuality it was only a contributing factor.

FYI Just because that was my first post on this forum does not mean that I am starting off day 0 in sales in general... I have been conducting commerce for over 15 years.
 
  • #21
freds said:
Ok let me rephrase my post to be a helpful post. If you decide to accept checks, you should have a cushion of atleast the largest two checks that you are posting to your account. If you do not have the means to have this buffer you should perhaps not accept checks from you customers. I also agree, tips are not about placing the blame or fault on someone. It does no good to point fingers. That also applies to OP blaming a customer for bouncing their check and causing a cascade of fees, when in actuality it was only a contributing factor.

FYI Just because that was my first post on this forum does not mean that I am starting off day 0 in sales in general... I have been conducting commerce for over 15 years.

it's probably a good idea for anyone new to this Community to read here first http://www.chefsuccess.com/f18/hitc...ss-unofficial-new-users-guide-list-faq-32274/
before posting too much. We have a reputation as being a helpful and supportive community on this board - it's sort of the secret to our success.
 
  • #22
Sheila said:
:thumbdown: ... My theory is that the finger pointing should go where it belongs ~ at the person who wrote a bad check, not the victim. Most of us wouldn't tell a woman who just got her purse snatched that she shouldn't have been carrying a purse. Nor would we tell someone who was just carjacked that they shouldn't have been driving a car. Choosing to be prepared for a bounced check and being aware of your surroundings so that you are less likely to be a victim is common sense to some. But it's really not okay to belittle someone for having a different plan or a different level of education on a particular subject.

Do you know from first hand that the person gave the OP a bogus check, knowing that it would bounce before the order was delivered? You don't. For all you know the person who wrote the check to the OP could have had a paycheck that bounced and that caused the check to bounce that they wrote to the host. It can be a chain reaction, people generally do not write rubber checks in an attempt to defraud a person that they know personally.

As my prior post, I apologize that I offered some hard facts to consider, rather than coddling the OP with pictures of kittens and "there there" "everything's going to be ok".
 
  • #23
freds said:
Do you know from first hand that the person gave the OP a bogus check, knowing that it would bounce before the order was delivered? You don't. For all you know the person who wrote the check to the OP could have had a paycheck that bounced and that caused the check to bounce that they wrote to the host. It can be a chain reaction, people generally do not write rubber checks in an attempt to defraud a person that they know personally.

As my prior post, I apologize that I offered some hard facts to consider, rather than coddling the OP with pictures of kittens and "there there" "everything's going to be ok".

Oh my, how ridiculous this has gotten! No one asked for kittens in bubbles, just some common decency in reaction to a tough issue when you are a new poster and don't know these people. You want facts? Let's start with the fact that first, she was not the OP, Rae was and just offered advice on the situation. Second, read her post. She shared her troubles and what SHE was going to do about it herself in the future. She shared an experience. She didn't ask to be coddled or ask for money. She stated what happened, the trouble it caused and what she will do in the future. There was no need to jump down her throat. Regardless of whether or not the customer INTENDED to bounce the check they did and caused issues. I'd like to know how many people who "accidentally" bounce checks go through the true process of making it right with everyone and covering fees. Finally, our customers do not always know us personally and often view us as "the company" or "Pampered Chef" so they sometimes do intend to deceive the "big business." All people asked was a little kindness when you are new. Apologizing in a non-apologetic manner is not kind, it is even more rude. I hope your interactions here are more pleasant in the future and that you don't deal with customers in the same way. Good luck to you.
 
  • #24
freds said:
FYI Just because that was my first post on this forum does not mean that I am starting off day 0 in sales in general... I have been conducting commerce for over 15 years.

I wasn't questioning your experience in business. On the contrary, many new consultants have no previous business experience at all, and CS should be a place where they can come and ask questions and share their experiences without being made to feel like their inexperience is a bad thing. I was merely pointing out that it does not make for great first impressions for a first post to be so judgmental and patronizing.

You will find out that the people here are very helpful and very welcoming. CS is a great resource of information, and even friends.
 
  • #25
janetupnorth said:
Oh my, how ridiculous this has gotten! No one asked for kittens in bubbles.

Please no kittens in bubbles!! I HATE those commercials and want to know what the creative geniuses were smoking when they came up with that whole awful campagin. Also, what did they give to the DQ executives to get them to agree to it? It must be the same company that came up with and keeps beating that poor dead horse for GEICO with the caveman....
 
  • #26
Jane, yes, that one always gets me too! Some of the things on TV are much more odd than funny!
 
  • #27
freds said:
Ok let me rephrase my post to be a helpful post. If you decide to accept checks, you should have a cushion of atleast the largest two checks that you are posting to your account. If you do not have the means to have this buffer you should perhaps not accept checks from you customers.

That's all well and good for you. My husband has been unemployed since March. I don't have the "cushion" available as we are slowly sinking financially. So, I was supposed to turn down the full-price sale last month of a Knife Block Set just because she didn't want me to use the credit card she'd used three weeks earlier? That's crazy.

There are risks with checks, yes, but to date the ONLY check that has bounced on me in three years was from my HOST for less than $30. Until it becomes a problem for me, I will continue to accept checks and have them written out to me. I hated as a host when the consultant wanted me to write one big check. Its a risk and we have to decide what level of risk we are willing to accept and if we are burned, we may re-evaluate our policies and change them. It's our business to do as we want to.
 
  • #28
freds said:
Do you know from first hand that the person gave the OP a bogus check, knowing that it would bounce before the order was delivered? You don't. For all you know the person who wrote the check to the OP could have had a paycheck that bounced and that caused the check to bounce that they wrote to the host. It can be a chain reaction, people generally do not write rubber checks in an attempt to defraud a person that they know personally. ...

No, we don't know. But from my years of experience as a Police Dispatcher, I've learned that accidents are quickly explained with an excuse that can be validated. The post was made on Fri Dec 16th & said the check bounced the week before. As of Dec 16th, the consultant had no expectation of being reimbursed for the fees that her bank charged her. So that's 6-11 days (Dec 5th - 10th) since the check had bounced with no good excuse or indication that the customer was trying to resolve the issue. That's a pretty good indicator to me that the customer's in the wrong on this incident.

Our point to you was not who's right/wrong in the bounced check issue. We were simply trying to make a point that it's not okay to jump in on this forum and start attacking the other users. There's a pretty good rapport going on here and a lot of people who will stand up for others when we see something that appears to be an injustice against them. I think a couple of the other ladies will agree with me that we are just asking you to play nice and be respectful of the other posters in the forum.
 
  • #29
Jane, I've only had one bounced check too ... from a host. And she called me before my bank notified me. I looked on line & saw the reversal & saw that my bank charged a fee even though her check didn't overdraw the account. The host ran to the ATM, got the amount of the check AND the fee that my bank charged & drove to my house to pay me. She made good on it as soon as she learned about it and explained what happened that caused the check to bounce. She hosted another show a year later with zero issues. I've probably been lucky that I've not had to track people down! :D But I also encourage cards so I don't have to drive to the bank with toddlers to deposit checks or cash. LOL
 
  • #30
Sheila said:
But I also encourage cards so I don't have to drive to the bank with toddlers to deposit checks or cash. LOL

I hear ya! I bank with Chase and love love love love love their iPhone app!!! I can deposit checks using my phone and NEVER have to go to the bank. People rarely give me cash, so my bank trips are now few and far between!
 
  • #31
Sheila said:
No, we don't know. But from my years of experience as a Police Dispatcher, I've learned that accidents are quickly explained with an excuse that can be validated. The post was made on Fri Dec 16th & said the check bounced the week before. As of Dec 16th, the consultant had no expectation of being reimbursed for the fees that her bank charged her. So that's 6-11 days (Dec 5th - 10th) since the check had bounced with no good excuse or indication that the customer was trying to resolve the issue. That's a pretty good indicator to me that the customer's in the wrong on this incident.

Our point to you was not who's right/wrong in the bounced check issue. We were simply trying to make a point that it's not okay to jump in on this forum and start attacking the other users. There's a pretty good rapport going on here and a lot of people who will stand up for others when we see something that appears to be an injustice against them. I think a couple of the other ladies will agree with me that we are just asking you to play nice and be respectful of the other posters in the forum.


And the open forum is not the only place where the attacking is taking place. There doesn't seem to be a full understanding of playing nice or being respectful.
 
  • #32
Oh wow Deb! That would be cool! My bank on the base in Japan didn't have a drive through. So I had to get the munchkins out and go inside to make deposits. Ack! Oh, and the building was ON the street, so the parking lot was in the back & we had to walk all the way around to the front to get inside. LOLI hear you Becky. Respect is earned not awarded. ;)
 
  • #33
Sheila said:
Oh wow Deb! That would be cool! My bank on the base in Japan didn't have a drive through. So I had to get the munchkins out and go inside to make deposits. Ack! Oh, and the building was ON the street, so the parking lot was in the back & we had to walk all the way around to the front to get inside. LOL

I hear you Becky. Respect is earned not awarded. ;)

I think USAA also provides a similar service.

ETA: Yep, they do: https://www.usaa.com/inet/pages/mobile_banking_dm
 

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