My check was rejected today!

[runwad]

I forgot my wallet at home when I headed out to target this morning. No problem I figure I'll write a check. I NEVER pay with checks anymore. I had read an article in the paper before of people's check's being denied because the clearing house thought it was fraud. That was my situation too when I called the automated number. I never write checks, I always use credit to get the rewards and pay off my balance every month. Me writing such a big check threw up warning flags and the check was denied. My question is what do I do about this. Do I start writing checks at stores every now and again and start out small? I don't want to have a checking account and not able to write checks whenever the situation warrants.

 

[mantaz]

Maybe pay for groceries with a check once a month. That way the checks are used occasionally. I only use a check to pay for DD's lunch at school. It is easier and cheaper so to speak to pay all bills online. I save on stamps that way!

 

[RangerPooh]

Hmmm, I wonder if that was why my check was denied at Target back in October? I rarely write checks except for the rent, the occasional bill not paid online, and for book orders. It's just easier to use the card, but I would consider writing the occasional check to see if that helps.

 

[Sam's_Mom]

My check was denied at Wal-Mart. I called the 800 number they gave me and the Telecheck people said my account was flagged due to being sort of like the name and address of someone they wouldn't accept checks from. They fixed it while I waited on the phone. If I hadn't called it would have been denied at other places.

 

[kaywoody]

That has happened to me twice over the last few years. It turns out that my driver's license number was attached to someone else's name and address. They weren't looking for me, yet it cause a major headache and had a store clerk tell me "well, if you didn't write hot checks you wouldn't have this problem". I've never been so mad in my entire life! The first time was easy to clear up, but the second one took two tries for it to go away. Ugggh! I feel for you!

 

[Maddle]

I NEVER pay with checks anymore... I never write checks,...Me writing such a big check threw up warning flags and the check was denied.

My question is what do I do about this. Do I start writing checks at stores every now and again and start out small? I don't want to have a checking account and not able to write checks whenever the situation warrants.

Aside from the inconvenience, I don't know if this is such a bad thing. After all, it shows that there is one more wicket to pass before someone empties out your bank account, right?

Was your check accepted after you made the phone call? If so, and since it is not your normal way of conducting business, I don't think I would do anything about it

Maddle

 

[EvanMaddieMouse]

That has happened to me twice over the last few years. It turns out that my driver's license number was attached to someone else's name and address. They weren't looking for me, yet it cause a major headache and had a store clerk tell me "well, if you didn't write hot checks you wouldn't have this problem". I've never been so mad in my entire life! The first time was easy to clear up, but the second one took two tries for it to go away. Ugggh! I feel for you!

If I had a store clerk say that to me, I would have demanded an apology on the spot. How incredibly rude and disrepectful! I would have been absolutely mortified. I also would demand the manager to come over. It really irks me that "customer service" is so horrible----I actually had a Target worker once say to me, "EXCUSE YOU" when I was moving her pallet a bit so I could get my cart through the space where she was stocking something or other. Gee, I'm sorry that my shopping to keep you working is getting in your way!

Yeah, that ticked me off. I was a waitress for years & years and have the "The customer is always right" ingrained in me, so to be treated shabbily by customer service reps just always gets my goat.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

This happened to me last year on black Friday. There was a problem with our bank and it denied my check. I had all of my Christmas shopping money in that account because it's a savings/checking account, different from our regular acct. I was so mad, but I just had to use my regular checking debit card and transfer the money over later.

This year I bought three laptops at Walmart. I had one, my mom had one and so did my DD. I needed to pay for them all and I was going to use my Disney Visa to get the points. I paid for the first & second one but on the third one it denied it, I guess due to the limit amount per day, so I wrote a check for it. When I got home there was a fraud alert from chase on my voice mail. While I am glad that they were protecting me, it made me mad at the same time. I missed out on those points!

 

[summerrluvv]

This happened to me several years ago at Sears for a larger purchase. I write checks all the time now just so it doesn't happen again.

 

[dfchelbay]

We always write a check at Costco. So maybe write one there. We also pay two bills each month with a check. They only allow automated withdrawals from checking accounts, and we won't allow that. We are more comfortable paying online ourselves, so that we are in control of it. If there's any kind of error or mistake, I really don't want our money locked up or even gone from the checking account until it gets straightened out.

 

[PinkRhombus]

This year I bought three laptops at Walmart. I had one, my mom had one and so did my DD. I needed to pay for them all and I was going to use my Disney Visa to get the points. I paid for the first & second one but on the third one it denied it, I guess due to the limit amount per day, so I wrote a check for it. When I got home there was a fraud alert from chase on my voice mail. While I am glad that they were protecting me, it made me mad at the same time. I missed out on those points!

If all three purchases were for the exact same amount, coming in right after another, they would have flagged it.

 

[swilshire]

I paid for the first & second one but on the third one it denied it, I guess due to the limit amount per day, so I wrote a check for it. When I got home there was a fraud alert from chase on my voice mail. While I am glad that they were protecting me, it made me mad at the same time. I missed out on those points!

You could have called right from there, though it would have held the line up for a minute. Usually a quick call is all it takes to resolve that. Any pattern that looks suspicious will flag the transaction.

A few years ago, our whole family went to Hawaii using frequent flyer miles from several different accounts. Each transaction for the associated fees was separate because of the different accounts, so it flagged a fraud alert.

Sheila

 

[Blue.Fairy2]

That has happened to me twice over the last few years. It turns out that my driver's license number was attached to someone else's name and address. They weren't looking for me, yet it cause a major headache and had a store clerk tell me "well, if you didn't write hot checks you wouldn't have this problem". I've never been so mad in my entire life! The first time was easy to clear up, but the second one took two tries for it to go away. Ugggh! I feel for you!

OMG did you call or talk to her supervisor!?! If it was a major chain call corporate. That was beyond rude and not called for! That said that is probably what everyone in line behind you was thinking unless it has happened to them.

I once had a check denied at TJMaxx for $18 when we had over $2000 in the account. There was 10 people behind me in line and the cashier was also rude. I called telecheck and raised you know what, these people are full of it! They originally told me it was because I had written TOO many checks that day..WTH I had written 2 this one and one at the grocery store. They then told me it was because someone had the exact same account number as me, yeah like that happens. I think these people(telecheck) have too much power and their system is flawed!

I also called TJMaxx corporate headquarters and complained about the Cashier and Telecheck (that is how I found out about the same acct number thing the CS at TJ's told me that and it was confirmed when I called telecheck back) anyway I was livid about the whole thing. TJMaxx sent me a $25 GC for the hassle and I did use it but this whole thing was about 15 years ago and I went from shopping there on a regular basis to only going there a handful of times since.

OP coming from someone it too has happened to the whole expierence is embarassing and avoidable if Telecheck was really a decent company, personally I do not believe a thing they say.

Our walmart when you write a check the money comes right out of your checking acct., if the funds are not there then the check does not get approved a much better system in mho.

 

[3boymthr]

OMG did you call or talk to her supervisor!?! If it was a major chain call corporate. That was beyond rude and not called for! That said that is probably what everyone in line behind you was thinking unless it has happened to them.

I once had a check denied at TJMaxx for $18 when we had over $2000 in the account. There was 10 people behind me in line and the cashier was also rude. I called telecheck and raised you know what, these people are full of it! They originally told me it was because I had written TOO many checks that day..WTH I had written 2 this one and one at the grocery store. They then told me it was because someone had the exact same account number as me, yeah like that happens. I think these people(telecheck) have too much power and their system is flawed!

I also called TJMaxx corporate headquarters and complained about the Cashier and Telecheck (that is how I found out about the same acct number thing the CS at TJ's told me that and it was confirmed when I called telecheck back) anyway I was livid about the whole thing. TJMaxx sent me a $25 GC for the hassle and I did use it but this whole thing was about 15 years ago and I went from shopping there on a regular basis to only going there a handful of times since.

OP coming from someone it too has happened to the whole expierence is embarassing and avoidable if Telecheck was really a decent company, personally I do not believe a thing they say.

Our walmart when you write a check the money comes right out of your checking acct., if the funds are not there then the check does not get approved a much better system in mho.

IMO not always. Every so often I've written a check because I know that the money is there (I have enough to cover the check) but the money isn't free and won't be for a day or so because sometimes we'll depost a large third party check but our bank puts a hold on the other funds in our accounts equal to the amount of the check until that third party check clears (yup twice the amount of the check it's a pain but I deal with it to get free checking) and so if I used my debit card or under Walmart's system if I wrote a check it would get rejected but under a system Target's the check won't.

 

[MrsPooh]

I've had a problem with TeleCheck in the past too and it was a total screwup on their part.

I went to a credit union with my oldest dd when she was 17 so she could open an account to get her paycheck direct deposited. We wanted to put my name on the account just so there was a second person on the account.

The credit union apparently pulls info from TeleCheck to verify you haven't written bad checks lately. Mine came back with a problem and I couldn't be added to the account. I was furious because even with the financial struggles we've had I've not written a bad check.

I called TeleCheck from the car when we left. They had no information based on my SSN or bank info but when they searched my name it came up that another local credit union that had reported that I wrote them a bad check the prior month. I insisted they were wrong but TeleCheck would do nothing - said it was the responsiblity of the reporting credit union to straighten it out. It was nearly impossible to get them to tell me who the reporting credit union was so that I could contact them.

When I called the reporting credit union they had no record of me or anything close to me on their reports they had sent to TeleCheck. Fortunately for me the "reporting" credit union was kind enough to contact TeleCheck on my behalf and straighten it out. Otherwise I would have been fighting TeleCheck forever I think.

 

[Dizneydaz]

I had no idea this was happening. I only write a few checks a month (mortgage, insurance) and pay the rest online. I think I'm going to start writing a few checks a month at stores like Target and WM just to make sure I can if I need to. You know, like if you lose your debit card and have to wait for a replacement.

Thanks for the story. Sorry it happened to you.

I was just relaying this story to my DM and she mentioned that just the other day a woman in front of her had her check denied at the market. She just thought the woman was a flake (don't we all?) Now she says maybe it was just like your story. I guess when we see it happen to someone else now we'll know it's not always that they are trying to write a check without having the funds.

Oh, and not to go off topic but my old bank, WAMU, is now Chase. Found out recently that now when I deposit a check into my account none of the funds will be available until midnight of that day. So if I'm a little tight and need funds ASAP that means I need to take the check to the bank it's written on and cash it there. Thing is now most banks charge a fee to cash a check if you aren't a client. B of A charges $5 to cash a check. Most banks now charge to cash checks.

 

[CajunDixie]

I had a check denied a couple years ago at Pac Sun. TeleCheck decided I had wrote too many checks that day. I explained my debit card magnetic strip stopped working so I had to turn it in to the credit union then wait for about 10 days for a new one. No big deal I thought I'd just write checks when I went to the mall to take DS shopping for his bday. I wrote a check at Yankee Candle and TJMaxx. When I got to PacSun I was told they wouldn't except my check. I explained the situation but they said no go. Finally I got them to agree to hold the clothes until the next day and I'd drive 50 minutes one way to go back. I was livid!!! The next day the manager said they should have never have made me come back they should have called her to over-ride it and taken it. She gave me extra PacBucks and a GC since her people were so rude about it.

 

[smokeyblue]

This is good information, I rarely write checks anymore either. My parents were "flagged" a few years ago but the only place they had problems with was a particular grocery store. My dad would get so livid because money management is something he takes a lot of pride in. They just stopped shopping there altogether because it became such a hassle to have to wait for a manager everytime they went through the checkout lane.

Another good point people have made is the fraud alert systems built into credit cards. A few years ago on BF we got two laptops and Capitol One denied the purchase and we had that lovely message on the phone when we got home! Luckily another card worked. It's probably a good idea to call ahead if you're going on a vacation or making a big purchase.

 

[angeleigh]

I forgot my wallet at home when I headed out to target this morning. No problem I figure I'll write a check. I NEVER pay with checks anymore. I had read an article in the paper before of people's check's being denied because the clearing house thought it was fraud. That was my situation too when I called the automated number. I never write checks, I always use credit to get the rewards and pay off my balance every month. Me writing such a big check threw up warning flags and the check was denied. My question is what do I do about this. Do I start writing checks at stores every now and again and start out small? I don't want to have a checking account and not able to write checks whenever the situation warrants.

The same thing happened to me at kohls. It was the first store I went to and my check was denied. I ended up using my debit card which is from the same account. When I checked with the company it said because of insufficient check writing history with Kohls.

 

[garnet1240]

OMG...

I was at my normal grocery store, where I DO write checks quite often. When I went to pay, my check was declined, cashier could not explain why and called another women over to help. She tells me in a loud voice, with 5 or 6 people behind me, it's because I wrote "bad checks and owe the store money"!

Holy cow,I told her it was not true, she needed to get a manager. She refused and told me to move to the service desk, nothing they could do. She was going to void my $200+ in TDay groceries. It was then, that I told her , I refuse to move unless you can get a manager. Manager came over, "held" my order in the system and we moved to service desk. Again I was told "nothing they could do, don’t know what the code means, no way to over ride it yada yada"

I told him he needed to figure it out, I've been a customer 20+ years and have no problem calling main headquarters from my cell phone right then and there to get an answer.

At this point he tells me "not necessary" to make the call, and over rides it in their system. Didn't he just say he couldn't do that? Hands me a card the check company 800 number and tells me to "have a great day"

When I get home, I do call check company and told the same as the others here...something flagged it as fraud, no records in system for me, so sorry.

This is bull. I perfectly understand check fraud, I've been a bank manager/vp for many years. Bottom line, you either need to take checks or you don’t. But to put customers through this type of insult and embarrassment it just not acceptable.

I did call corp hq for the grocery store, let them know how I was treated, (which was really my main complaint) and told them if they don’t make changes to their policy, I will not be doing business with them in the future.

I gave them a time frame that I thought was acceptable to reply to my complaint, and told them if I don’t hear back, I shop someplace else. Period.

I had no idea this was such a widespread issue....