Q. What is the best way to recoup the money lost by accepting bad checks?
A. Some bad checks can be spotted at the time they are presented, but realistically, retail clerks will unknowingly accept bad checks despite their best efforts. Retailers traditionally have used collection agencies or sued for restitution in small claims court.
An attractive alternative to collection agencies are programs that link retailers with local district attorney’s offices, known as bad- check restitution or check enforcement programs. Their primary goal is to obtain restitution for the victim while deterring repeat offenders in a self-supporting system.
First-time bad-check offenders are given the chance to avoid criminal prosecution by attending a mandatory intervention class in addition to paying restitution. All of this is accomplished without any cost to the retailer or taxpayers.
At least 13 counties in southern Michigan have such programs in place. The district attorney’s offices in Bay, Branch, Genesee, Huron, Ingham, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, Saginaw, St. Clair and Washtenaw counties use programs administered nationally by American Corrective Counseling Services (ACCS). See www.checkprogram.com/partnering/html for links to ACCS’s programs in Michigan.
Wayne County offers the Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney Check Enforcement Program, administered by Bounceback, Inc. (www.hotchecks.net/Wayne).
Merchants in Wayne County are required to register with the program first. Registration forms—as well as complaint and other forms—are available at the website or by calling the program at 800.701.9486.
Merchants in counties using the ACCS programs have access to the programs through their district attorney’s offices without prior registration. Victim hotline phone numbers vary by county. For more information, contact the district attorney’s or prosecuting attorney’s office in your county.
The programs target checks that were returned as “NSF”
or “Account Closed.” Checks that are stolen or forged, post-dated,
two-party, or those received as payment on an account or as an extension
of credit are not eligible.
According to their proponents, bad-check restitution programs work because:
• Bad-check reports are easy to file, and follow-up action is prompt.
• Upon recovery, 100 percent of the face value of the check is
returned to the victim.
• There is no minimum dollar restriction.
• Bad-check offenders must complete an eight-hour educational class
at their own expense.
Both ACCS and Bounceback claim to have excellent recovery rates. According
to ACCS regional manager Cynthia Wise, recovery rates “equal or
exceed those found among the best collection agencies in America.”
Do you have a retailing question? Ask the Michigan Retailers
Association
by mail: 603 South Washington Avenue, Lansing, MI 48933;
by fax: 517.372.1303;
by e-mail: mra@retailers.com.
