Why did my Hostess Bounce $200 on Me?!

[pampered.chris]

I have to say I love the Pampered Chef in everyway, but sometimes I wish they wouldn't be so fast at shipping the products to the hostess!!
This girl received the show yesterday and I found out online last night that the check was returned yesterday. So now I have to hunt her down to recover $200 and the charge from the bank of $10 and my charge of $30, and the other $16.50 that she owes me for an adding error, on her part that I requested a week ago. One of the bad points, she lives an hour and a half away from me. ERRRRRR!!!!

I haven't had a bad check from someone in a LONG time. I am sure it is a mistake, but I have bills to pay!!

 

[vwpamperedchef]

Get a credit card and I would pass the fees off on her. And Call HO immediately to see if they can put a hold on shipping out the orders.

 

[pampered.chris]

The order was delivered to her yesterday. She has everything.

 

[vwpamperedchef]

Well I would call her and be very polite about it. You could request a money order.

Since she has the products, this may be an expensive lesson to you. I always ask for debit cards instead of checks. Most people oblidge. I do however get the occasional checks. I strongly encourage credit/debit cards.

You would think she is the host and would know better. Heck, she might have a logical explanation.

Give her a call and let her know. Will your bank re-deposit it again?

 

[pampered.chris]

The bank deposits the check twice, sometimes 3 times prior to charging your account back for it.
In our area, people don't like to give out debit/credit cards. It is really tough to get them. People will give you a hard time when you ask for a debit/credit card from them. Makes it tough. That is why I accept checks. B/c I have lost customers simply by asking for the debit/credit card.
I called her and left a voice mail. I was very polite. Asked if she received everything in her order and if everything was okay, if she had any issues with it, then mentioned the returned check.
I have only ever had to deal with this maybe 2 other times since I started in 05. I am sure it is a simple "oops" error, it is just a hassel.

 

[cwinter474]

I personally go to the bank and cash any check over $150, before I submit the order. Unless it is a proven host. I have one hostess that books for me regularly, great shows but her checks always have issues.

 

[stefani2]

I have only had 1 bounce on me before - and I was PO. It was for a MUCH smaller amt than $200! It is nice to offer checks because of the convenience - but at the same time they can be SO INconvenient!

 

[lcucinella]

I had this happen & my director told me to call her about the check. If I do not hear anything from her send her a certified letter W/ return receipt. If you still do not hear anything you can go to the Sheriffs dept. & file a bad check claim witht them.

My situation never got that far, but at least it is a route on how to proceede next.

You can also try taking the check to her bank & see if funds are available. If they are go to your bank & try to re-deposit.

 

[ShanaSmith]

If you don't hear from her, which you probably will. Once you get the check back you can take it to her bank and they can tell you if the money is available in her account and cash it if it is. It is a pain! I have only had to do that one time, but it is an option.

 

[NooraK]

If you do have to take it as far as taking the check into her bank, try doing it on the 15th or on a Friday. If she has direct deposit for her paycheck, she's more likely to have money in the bank on those days.

 

[pampered.chris]

Taking the check to her bank isn't an option, nor is cashing the check at her bank as she lives an hour and a half away from me.
I agree checks can be inconvienient too.

But on the bright side, she did call me. In her busy life she forgot to transfer the funds from her savings to her checking and once I thought about it, I remembered her saying something about needing to do that. She is sending me a money order today.

However, I called the magistrates office to find out what "protocol" is, in case i need it. While every state is different, here in PA, as long as you have made contact, phone call or email or first class letter (not required to be certified or return receipt) you must wait 10 days after contact before going to the magistrates office. They will not charge you to file an order in their office as long as it is bad check. Then they do the collections.

My particular magistrates office wouldn't be able to help me as the hostess lives across state lines from me. But luckily, she is sending her money order today!!

Thanks for the help!!!

 

[katie0128]

Since 9/11, all banks use what is called Check 21... they electronically transfer funds between banks each night at the close of business. What I have started doing works really well. I enter everything into P3 and verify all my totals match, then deposit the checks in the bank that night. The next evening I verify all check have cleared and then I sumbit the show. I doubled checked with my bank (USBank) the other day and they verified that it should take no more than 48 hours for a check to clear (unless it is for a very large amount) and once it shows as cleared on their website, the funds have been transfered from the person's account into mine and all is good. After having two bad checks in one month, I decided that this extra day is worth it. I also explain to my hosts and customers that if they pay by check, that is fine. However, the order will not be submitted until the check has cleared. So far, no one has had a problem with it.

 

[pampered.chris]

Since 9/11, all banks use what is called Check 21... they electronically transfer funds between banks each night at the close of business. What I have started doing works really well. I enter everything into P3 and verify all my totals match, then deposit the checks in the bank that night. The next evening I verify all check have cleared and then I sumbit the show. I doubled checked with my bank (USBank) the other day and they verified that it should take no more than 48 hours for a check to clear (unless it is for a very large amount) and once it shows as cleared on their website, the funds have been transfered from the person's account into mine and all is good. After having two bad checks in one month, I decided that this extra day is worth it. I also explain to my hosts and customers that if they pay by check, that is fine. However, the order will not be submitted until the check has cleared. So far, no one has had a problem with it.

That is interesting to know, but I deposited the checks last Tuesday and it took a week to come back on my account.
so do you call the bank and ask them to verify the checks have cleared? I would think the bank wouldn't allow that b/c it would take up too much time.
Just curious. I like the sound of it, just don't know if my bank would help me.

 

[erinyourpclady]

OT.....my brother wrote me a check last summer for the cost of my niece's plane ticket. I told him I could hold it until he was sure that I should deposit it. I deposited it at the end of June...and right in the middle of our move (beginning of August), I noticed that my account was $400 short!
I STILL do not have my $....but that is a WHOLE other story! LOL!!

 

[legacypc46]

Two quick comments:

I was talking about this with my bank earlier this week. In their case, it can be a week before my account indicates whether a deposited check cleared. You may want to check with your bank on how they process deposits.

When I explained my concern about bounced checks, they told me I should be able to call the bank the check is written on, identify myself as a vendor and ask if there are sufficient funds to cover the check. The banks can only answer yes or no...but I plan to try it the next time I get a 'bad feeling' about a check.

 

[vwpamperedchef]

Glad it worked out for you!

 

[Kitchen Diva]

I would always deposit all checks within 2 days of my shows- which was generally at least a day before I closed them.

 

[Chef Endora]

I don't submit any shows unless I have the $$$. I spend my day off on Main St. & hit all the banks. If I want to meet a deadline & submit the show, then I have it delivered to me. Peace of mind makes it worthwhile.

 

[katie0128]

Two quick comments:

I was talking about this with my bank earlier this week. In their case, it can be a week before my account indicates whether a deposited check cleared. You may want to check with your bank on how they process deposits.
When I explained my concern about bounced checks, they told me I should be able to call the bank the check is written on, identify myself as a vendor and ask if there are sufficient funds to cover the check. The banks can only answer yes or no...but I plan to try it the next time I get a 'bad feeling' about a check.

Wow! I even asked the guy at my bank (who happened to be the branch manager) if all banks used the Check 21 process. He said they have to. It started after all the planes were grounded after 9/11. Since the physical checks couldn't make it from place to place, no money could be transferred either. So they did this Check 21 thing to allow banking to continue without the need for physically presenting the checks. I'm heading to the bank this afternoon, so I'll this branch manager (today's bank is a different branch).

 

[chefann]

Check21 means that they pull the money from the check writer's account right away. But it can still take a week for it to clear to your account. It may show as deposited, but that doesn't mean that it has completely cleared yet.

 

[katie0128]

Somedays I think it would be easier to just deal with CASH - no bouncing, no declines - just cold, hard cash!