SCH corp, ACCS corp, American Corrective Counseling – Chapter 11

I just received mine in the mail today. I can't even begin to understand what this post card really means??

me, too. I cannot figure out this card. If someone knows who to contact, please post it.
thanks

me too...no idea what this is about...

I got this today too. They must go by a different name...

I dug a little info up. From what I can tell, SCH Corp., ACCS Corp., et al. are essentially one company. They are contracted by merchant banks to collect on bad checks. To make a profit, they charged exorbitant "service charges" and for "classes" that they made sound manditory. Long story short, they're going bankrupt. A pdf of their filing is available on-line but this site won't let me post it.

I believe the postcard went to people who may have paid SCH/ACCS Corp uneccesarily and may be entitled to money back. We may also file an objection to the sale and bankruptcy.

Here's the thing, that link on the card is NOT good. I think SCH/ACCS is operating under the name AGS. I called an old phone number for them and got and an AGS operator who confirmed for me that SCH/ACCS Corp was, indeed, going bankrupt i.e. filing Chapt. 11.

This whole thing seems shady. I wanna know how we're entitled and what kind of proof is required. Was there a class action suit? I would definitely research ALOT more before volunteering any personal information; however, there is an expiration date May. 18, 2009, so keep that in mind as well.

I found a blogger's site called: Ethics Scoreboard. Google it for the link on Unethical Website of the Month.

When I get some good verifiable info, I will post it.

I have no idea what this is about. Please Please if anyone finds out in plain englis what is going on please e-mail me at personal information removed - Jason

I have some answers - I too went digging for info.

Leenie H is correct - SCH & co. are collection agencies that go after bad check writers.

I wrote 2 bad checks Walmart in 2003, but I went & paid them in person & the fees shortly after. However, they had already reported me to the States Attorney's office, who began sending me letters about the "Diversion Program", stating I must compy or risk being prosecuted, fined large amounts of $ & possibly thrown in jail. The letter had the States Attorney seal & all.

Well......I never complied because I already paid. I kept calling the number listed to explain. The letters would stop, then start up again, but I never paid attention because I knew they didn't have much of a case if they pursued me for I had proof I paid in cash on the bad check.

Well, about a month ago CNN did a mini report of these bad check "diversion programs" and made it out to be a scam. Who knows - they probably were talking about these firms! Anyway - they chided how these firms charge unreasonable amounts of money to just be in the diversion program and used State's Attorney seals to make it appear that the letter was indeed from the States Attorney threatening you with jail time. Bud Hibbs talks about this on his website if you want more details.

I know this is getting long....but read on. I'm not an expert here, but I've had some luck winning lawsuits on FDCPA violations. I think this postcard is hinting that if you did indeed participate in the bad check "diversion programs" you may be entitled to something because the letters SCH sent you may have been in violation with FDCPA laws by threating you with jail time and using the States Attorney seal. This is why they state you must file a "claim" against SCH & co. by a certain date.

EdCombs, a Chicago based consumer rights attorney has won several lawsuits on my behalf for FDCPA violations - the most recent being $2,500 against MidCo & NCO. So I emailed the details & asked what they thought of this.

For my case - he said that since my bad checks were written in 2003 they only had 3 years to sue me (in IL) so they missed the boat on that. I was worried the junk debt buyer (since SCH plans to sell their assets) would be able to come after me - he said they could try, but the don't have much of a case due to the SOL running out.

EdCombs also told me that in order for me to have a valid claim against SCH I would have had to have received one of their letter that violated FDCPA law dated from 1 yr or less ago - again this is IL law. Since the last letter I received was about 2-3 years ago I have no claim.

So - I suggest this if you got this postcard.

Did you write a bad check & participate in the diversion program and pay their fees? Or did you receive one of their letters recently - remember - it will look as if it is from the States Attorney, not a collection firm. If so, you may have be due money back because it seems they may have violated some FDCPA laws, which is what I believe they are referring to when they talk about if you think you have a "claim" against them. Weather or not you will get money back, I don't know as they are filing bankruptcy, but I would suggest looking into filing a claim as they are selling their assets off to another collection agengy - - and they may wind up coming after you.

Check out Bud Hibbs site on what he wrote & see what laws apply in your state.

I know this was long - but hopefully helpful to all those that seemed concerned!

I found your whole message very informative. I am puzzled, I too received this postcard today, however, I have never written a bad check.....ever? I am simply going to disregard this card...I have never been contacted by this company for anything that I am aware of unless I received some sort of advertisement (junk mail) from them.

i do remember a few years ago getting a letter to go to a debt counceling service or send money I sent money but of course have lost the letter and have no memory of the money ....

I got some more info on this too. I tried to post this before, but it didn't seem to go through - so hopefully this is not a 2nd post.

Leenie H. is correct. This is a collection firm that States Attorney offices turn bad checks over to for collections. SCH & their affiliates pocket most of the money by charging a high priced ???Bad Check Writing Diversion Program???. They send letters that appear to be coming from States Attorney offices, complete with government seals, threatening that if you do not enter their ???Bad Check Writing Diversion Program??? you risk being fined maximum fines & jail time.

Bud Hibbs has a report on his website & CNN recently did a report on this making it out to be a scam. They said that the collection agencies that do this violate FDCPA laws by threatening jail time and using States Attorney seals to make it appear that some government authority is after you as a scare tactic and threatening jail time, which is only applicable in most states if they know for certain and can prove that you intentionally wrote a bad check with fraud in mind.

FOR THOSE WHO GOT THE POSTCARD: The postcard is stating that SCH has filed for Chap 11, and if you think you have a claim against them you need to file such claim by a certain date. The postcard also states that someone is already in line to buy SCH???s assest - junk debt buyer is what I???m thinking, so they will keep the ball rolling on collections.

I???m not an expert here by any means, but I believe your ???Claim??? would be one of 2 things (or both in some cases. 1) they violated the FDCPA, by sending you threatening letters that appeared to be from the government, and 2) if you participated in their ???Diversion Program??? they basically deceived & scared you into participating with jail time threats.

Since they are filing Chapter 11 you have to act by May 18 (I think it was) if you feel you have been wronged. I???m assuming this means you have until May 18th to file a lawsuit against them. They are probably already in trouble for FDCPA violations & had to send that postcard out to everyone they sent their bogus letters to, however, I know of no class action suits against them.

EdCombs, a consumer rights attorney in Chicago, has helped me win several FDCPA violation lawsuits - the most recent was against NCO & MCC - I won $2,500. So last night I emailed them the details & asked what they thought.

In 2003 I wrote 2 bad checks to Walmart, but paid them shortly after - they had already reported me to States Attorney, who turned it over to SCH. I began getting the ???Diversion Program??? letters, but did not comply as I knew I paid and they would have nothing on me if they tried to pursue something in court. The entire time I thought the letters were from the States Attorney, now I know they were from a collection agency!

EdCombs said the IL SOL to sue on a bad check is 3 years - so SCH missed the boat on that & their junk debt buyer can try to get me to pay but all I have to do is send C&D letter & state the SOL expired.

EdCombs also told me that in order for me to have a claim against SCH (again this is IL) I would have had to have received one of their letter less than 1 year ago according to IL SOL on that subject.

He didn???t say anything about if I had a claim because I participated in the Diversion Program, because I didn???t participate in it. But I bet if you did you would have a claim for paying their fees & participating the program since they basically threatened you with jail time if you did not comply.

So, I would suggest this: If you got these letters recently - or if you participated in the diversion program I would investigate if it???s worth it to file a ???claim???. That???s all I have for now - I???ll try to see if I can get more info for people who are concerned.

Long post, I know, but hopefully helpful!

Thanks for all the helpful information! I too was wondering where this had come from. And while I haven't written any bad checks in more than 10 years, I had my purse stolen a little over a year ago and the only check recovery place I had problems with was Telecheck. And if this company handles Walmart then it looks like Telecheck is part of the company in question. I faxed them (on 3 different occasions) nearly 15 pages of affidavits, police reports, etc and they still sent my case to the local prosecutor's office to have criminal charges filed against me for not making good on the check. The PO cleared me and actually apologized that I was victimized, but Telecheck still refuses to take my check. Serves them right, huh? :-) Everyone gets theirs in the end. Too bad I can't get 'dealing with idiots' compensation!

I received the postcard in my deceased mothers name. She had written some bad checks due to senility and wouldn't doubt that she was a victim. As an elderly person, she believed almost all of the mail she received and paid anyone that asked for money at the end. I am going to file a claim just in case.

Thanks for the info. I too received those letters after writing bad checks to Wal-Mart. I simply ignore them and they stopped coming. I was wondering why a class was required to take care of a bad check and why the fees were so high. I'll ignore the post card as i did the letters.

To all affected, PLEASE SUBMIT A CLAIM & BLOCK ANY SALE. After researching my own files, ( I keep allot of past paper) I found this company, four letters & a certificate of completion WITH THEIR NAME boldly printed on it. I admit, I had a check to WALMART for $18.??, Which I did pay BEFORE "the class", which I thought was required by the "States Attorney or Jail". This at a cost to me of $204.00. The letters I received (as stated by others) DID have a states attorney seal. If you look closely you can see that it is faded, and not even close to my states seal.
I ask/put forward, there has got to be an attorney (hopefully federal) that is or has knowledge of this SCAM. Or A family member that has an attorney in the family that has an idea. I am not asking for a free way to resolve each of our problems, but can someone advise or tell us how to start a class action suite &/or block this sale if it is even an option. I can't believe it isn't.

Just read a entry, after posting my reply before. WALMART DOES USE TELECHECK. And I have encountered the same problem. They refuse to clear after 3 years. And other companies are attached. I am a manager, went to WALMART to buy items for the company, with a COMPANY CHECK (not related or connected to me in any way) I don't own or have an interest in this company. I AM AN EMPLOYEE. The WALMART asked for my drivers id, and then refused the check. They (TELECHECK) refused to honor any check, to this date, for this NON-PROFIT CHURCH. All because of a check ($18.??) that has NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM, THE CHURCH. I called and explained they have nothing to do with my accounts. They refused to do anything. It is ironic that WALMART WILL NOT TAKE MY CHECK, But they gave me a credit card/which I pay with a check. GO FIGURE. I'm not surprised at all that TELECHECK IS PART OF AMERICAN CORRECTIVE COUNSELING SERVICES. Deep down is this all WALMART TO BEGIN WITH. TELECHECK,SCH CORP.,ACCS CORP.,AM. CORRECTIVE COUNSELING SERVICES, INC. And is WALMART just trying to dump them before they get caught.

I seem to be having trouble adding comments to my post - hopefully this is not another 2nd post!

I found out from EdCombs there is a class action against American Corrective Counseling - which is named on postcard. All I could find was a court doc dated 02-07.

Also - the link does indeed work. If you go to the one listed on postcard you will see Claims Info & Asset Sale Info.

I know I read something that Bud Hibb's had to say about this on his site, but now I can't find it.

I wanted to post some links here to what I found, but I'm being told I have to remove links - does anyone know why you can't post links here?

I received this postcard as well, and started doing some research. After reading everyone's post here I found that this company is the one that does the financial counseling as an alternative restitution to possible criminal action for bad checks and other bad debts. They also make false claims to "fix" credit problems and teach financial responsibility.

Anyone who paid for this class through their county or state law enforcement agency is entitled to be included in the bankruptcy as a creditor. Simply because we paid for the class.

I'm not an attorney, but I am pretty sure that just because we file a claim it DOES NOT mean that we will get any money back, but we will be listed as a creditor and will have to be considered in their restructuring plan.

Good luck everyone. go to the website on the postcard for doucments to fill out.

I to wrote a bad check to Wal mart, about 6 yrs ago, and received the letter stating I had to take the "Bad Check Writing Class" or else...... I don't however have any paper work on it so I guess I cant do anything??

May This has to do with writting a check with fee for a court appointment. The orginal lawsuit was in Santa Clarita I do believe. So, if you had to pay some type of extra fee for a court ticket/bail on a ticket than THEY MAY OWE YOU A REFUND RO MONIES FOR WRONG DOIJNG i.e. EXCESSIVE FEES

Sorry for the spelling typing too fast, but check out
[PDF] Pending Class Action Lawsuits Against "Check Diversion" CompaniesFile Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
01-21151 and 03-02661. These two class action lawsuits against American Corrective Counseling Services, Inc., and the Santa Clara District Attorney???s Office ...
CheckDiversion.pdf - Similar pages. the website seems to be down at this time and this site will not allow me to link the web site

If you paid fees for a court ticket they may have been excessive and the way you were given the notice may in deed be illegal. The company may owe you money and that is why the "successor " has no liability to PAY YOU LATER

does anybody know what we ae suppossed to write on the claim form

ok this was such great information. i did actually go to this class and was out of $483.00. i had paid the check before i went to the class also. since i was 20 years old i was scared and just went. yes i am gonna file the claim but where can i get the proof . that was a few years ago

I have written only one bad check and it was to McFrugals, a discount store. Are they owned by Walmart? I have no paper trail on this, as it happened while I was dealing with cancer, but I know I paid them about 600.00.
Is there any way to collect? Don't they have some information if they're sending me cards?

ACCS is indeed a debt collector. They pay district attorneys a fee for permission to send out letters on DA letterhead and threaten prosecution. They filed this bankruptcy to get out from under four class action lawsuits. They are going to continue to operate, under a different name. Go to check restitution. com for further information.

Thanks for all the information! Glad you all are here..since in order to read that post card..you need a decoder! I too had written a check for around $23 to Wal-Mart around 2003, 2004 and went to their stupid diversion class...because I was terrified about going to jail. It was the worst 12 hours of my life. I was a freshman in college and certainly wasn???t trying to cause any problems. Wal-Mart won???t even except return or exchanges from me since then, I have to have friend return my items..since they ask for your ID???.interesting to know that Wal-Mart is behind a scam. It I'll be filing a claim too...too bad time cannot be compensated!

I also recieved this postcard and I had no idea what this was about until I started to read all the posts'. I to wrote a bad check at Wal Mart for like $60 or $80 and I paid the fees and then some plus I went to a class. Now I don't have any paper work of any sort. It was so long ago I don't remember how much I had to pay in fees and for the class. Once I paid fee and went to the class I have never recieved anything from anyone about the bounced check again. So what do you all recommend I do ???? Should I file a claim or just leave it alone??? Now I'm very confused about all this stuff

We got one of those postcards with my husband's ex wife's name. We cannot think of anyway her name would be linked to our new address. Do you think she issued out a bad check and used our address?

The lawyers who are representing plaintiffs in 3 class actions against ACCS have a website - checkrestitution.com. You can also leave a message at (888) 995-7778.

I don't think Walmart is the culprit here.

Traditionally merchants had to pay businesses like Telecheck to handle bad checks. About 10 yrs ago some states offered to handle bad checks for free. Merchants no longer had to pay Telecheck, instead all they did was fill out a form & turn your name in to States Attorney Office.

States Attorney hired business like SCH to go after bad checks - this way States Attorney really had to do no work. I think it's clear SCH is in trouble for FDCPA violations, which is why they are filing Chap 13, which is why it's important you file a claim if you got the postcard and did indeed comply with their demands.

If you still can't write checks at Walmart: If you complied with the check diversion program your name should have been cleared & you should follow up on it. Many of you have mentioned Walmart - have you called Walmart to ask why your checks are not taken? It may be that these "diversion program" companies failed to let the merchants know that you complied & paid the fees - part of the fees was to pay your dishonored check as I understand it.

If any of you do follow through w/Walmart it would be interesting to hear what you found out on why they are not taking your checks. Keep us posted.

CNN REPORT: Bounced-check collection deals draw fire March 2, 2009 - This is the report I saw on this earlier this month. Tried to post link but it didn't work.

DETROIT, Michigan (CNN) -- Michelle O'Neil and her husband Michael are young, scrambling to stay afloat financially and, by their own admission, not the best money managers.
Both acknowledge they wrote two bad checks, totaling about $200, as they were moving from Florida to Michigan in late 2007. The bad checks, they say, were mistakes. But nearly a year after they settled in a Detroit suburb, letters and phone calls followed from Florida.

"They told me they were part of the attorney general's office," Michelle O'Neil told CNN. "And that was scary in the sense that I've never had any legal problems. I'm a teacher."
But the calls weren't coming from a state agency. They were coming from a company hired by a Florida county prosecutor's office to collect on bounced checks.

The firm -- American Corrective Counseling Services, or ACCS -- splits the money it collects with the prosecutor's office. But it also makes money from financial management courses that people who wrote the checks are required by law to attend at their own expense. And the company's contract with the prosecutor's office states those classes are its "principal business activity."

The $14 check Michael O'Neil wrote to a Florida drugstore ended up costing him $285, including the $160 class fee.
O'Neil said he and his wife tried to make good on the checks with the merchants involved and pay any fees required. But he said the companies told him it was too late -- they had turned the matter over to ACCS.

The couple had been in Michigan for 10 months before they got their first notice from the company, which warned that "the State Attorney will not discharge the report(s) of criminal activity against you until all program requirements, including attending class, have been met."

They make you feel like a criminal," Michael O'Neil told CNN. "They try scare tactics, harassment and everything. And you take a look and ask, 'Seriously, is the attorney general of Florida after me for a $14 bounced check?' "

The short answer is yes. Prosecutors are outsourcing some of their bad-check collections to companies like ACCS.
But Jennifer Osborn, a California student who bounced a $92 check to her college bookstore, said the company's money-management class was useless to her.

"It was boring. It was pointless," Osborn told CNN.
Congress changed federal law in 2006 to allow district attorneys' offices to contract out bounced-check collections to private collection firms like ACCS. Prosecutors hire them as part of pre-trial diversion programs aimed at keeping people like the O'Neils from going to court, and in Florida, educational courses are required parts of those programs.

But the practice has drawn criticism from the consumer watchdog group Public Citizen, which has filed lawsuits in three states to stop it. Deepak Gupta, the group's chief attorney in Washington, said companies like ACS are effectively "renting out the prosecutor's seal" to collect money on cases prosecutors would not otherwise pursue.
"ACCS doesn't really care about these classes, about teaching people how to balance their checkbooks," Gupta told CNN. "It's really about collecting their fees."

ACCS, based in San Clemente, California, says it has contracts with prosecutors' offices in 17 states. In court papers, it says its actions are reviewed and authorized by local prosecutors, and calls its classes "remarkably successful."
"Less than 2 percent of the persons who complete the course commit repeat bad check offenses," it states.

In Los Angeles County, the largest prosecutor's office with an ACCS contract, supervising attorneys say they have had no complaints about the firm. Assistant District Attorney Sharon Matsumoto told CNN that the contract helped the county collect on 80,000 bad checks, bringing in $2 million in 2008.
"This particular function is one that we can legally outsource to a company experienced in doing this," Matsumoto said.
But another metropolitan prosecutor said he was wary of private debt collection firms acting on behalf of law enforcement.

"I did not favor the concept of having some office outside of the DA's office that would make contact with the public, and those folks would not be employees of the district attorney's office," said Paul Howard, the district attorney for Fulton County, Georgia, which includes Atlanta. "I felt that there should be a level of accountability that the program did not present."

In lawsuits filed in California, Indiana and Florida, Public Citizen accuses ACCS of violating the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by moving against people without establishing probable cause, as prosecutors would be required to do.
"In fact, in many cases, stores are sending these checks directly to ACCS, and ACCS is sending out collection letters with prosecutor letterhead, and no prosecutor has actually reviewed those cases," Gupta told CNN.

But ACCS attorney Charles Jenkins said that probable cause "is already established because of what the prosecutor requires of the submitting merchant" -- namely, an affidavit stating that the check bounced, and efforts to obtain its money from either the purchaser or the bank had failed. When the firm decides to send out its initial mailings, "it is already a matter for the local prosecutor," Jenkins said.

And according to court records, the form letters have been approved by prosecutors. The National District Attorneys Association lobbied Congress for the legislation that allowed such contracts, arguing that its members would be able to resolve bad-check cases more efficiently under the new law. The measure was part of a lengthy 2006 bill overhauling financial regulations, which passed both houses of Congress unanimously.

"The way it had been represented to us is that it was a way to avoid criminal prosecution," Rep. Barney Frank, now chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, told CNN. "So I would be surprised if someone were to be prosecuted for one check for a few dollars."
Frank, D-Massachusetts, said the complaints raised by people with the collection process were "the first time this has been brought to my attention," and he told CNN that perhaps the law needs "some looking into."

ACCS recently filed for bankruptcy protection, a day before a federal judge in Florida was to hand down a ruling in one of the lawsuits filed against it. In court papers, the company named the law firm it hired to defend itself as one of its largest creditors. ACCS is still doing business, however.
As for the bad check writers, those interviewed by CNN say they had no criminal intent. Their sin was poor math or bad money management.

"I am disappointed in the system," Osborn told CNN. "It should not have happened at all."

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!... everybody for your replies, especially you, munchkin130. I - for one - greatly appreciate the research you've done, and appreciate the time you've all spent posting.

I wonder if she wrote the bad check while she and your ex were married, and they tied it back to he's SSN?

Hi
I have also received such postcard, however I did take one of these classes and I have kept the certificate I received after completion of the class.

In 2007 I wrote a check to a local grocery store, Save Mart for $113.46 and paid a total of 368.00 to ACCS Corp!!! Fees of 254.00 which I will file a claim form for!

I also went on my DA's website to verify if in fact they used this company for Bad Checks, and they did! But if I had not taken the class they would have reported that to the DA's office for possible further possecution.

Anyway, thank for you for your blog postings. If I had not read them then I would have disregarded the post card. So thank you!!!

From California ;-)

I just found this website......

checkrestitution.com

I also received this postcard in regards to this class action lawsuit. I currently live in Collinsville, Il.
I recieved something in the mail 6 months prior to receiving the card. One of the employees who work for these companies stole 130 people's identity. This is in regards to a employee who works for this company participation in identity theft.
The ACCS company and SCH Corp work with the state attorney's office in some states. So, if you pass a bad check and it is sent to this company. They send it to the state attorney bad check program. Then they contact you and you pay the check and a $300.00 fee. Then you have to take a brief bad check class either in room or home study. If this is familiar to you, you may want to contact the state attorney bad check program for your area. You can at least get the case number for which the check was handled. From their you can get the exact amount of the check. For all of you that this applies to. I would definetely fill out the required for that allows you to participate in the class action lawsuit. I am really not happy about someone selling my identity to a stranger. Identity theft is a serious thing and it affects us all. I hope this information has helped. I have listed the website address below informing the website to go to for filling out claim form.
If you call 866-685-6985, they will give you instructions how to file your claim.

Stephanie

I am one of the first to this site on sch/accs scam. I am the one who had walmart refuse checks & MY EMPLOYERS check. (Linked by my driver id only) I HAVE repeatedly talked to Walmart & Tele check!! Each blames the others files & neither has resolved this problem in 5 YEARS. Yet Walmart has give me a credit card, again which I mail a check or online pay (from the same bank) But try to write a check IN the store it is refused & I am given a number for Tele check. I state it again go figure.
So yes, I'm sure others have tried to resolve this problem, with the same result. Could say alot more about Walmart but thats a different problem.
I believe they are at-least a contributing factor in all this, at the tail end maybe.

Hello;
This has to do with Breuners Furniture Corp. I purchased furniture from them about 4 years ago. Call the Delaware courts and request a claim form. I HAD to pay Breuners $1200.00 OVER the cost of the furniture I purchased & had to pick the furniture out from the floor...I was upset. They wouldn't give me what I ordered, I couldn't get my $$ back so I paid the extra $$ and got what I could get. BAD BUSINESS.

Thank you so much for the useful information. I did write a bad check last year. It was an accident we had moved and my husband wrote it before we left not realizing I had already closed the account. After 4 months we returned and I got a letter about the diversion program. Claiming I had to pay for the check, their fees and the for taking the class and if I didn't I would have a bench warrant issued for me. I was scared to death and took the class which I thought was a joke but did because I did not want to go to jail. Now I'm hearing this was a fraud????? I do still have my paperwork as well as copies of my registration for the class that I did online. You bet I'm filing a claim!!!

I received the postcard as well. Thank you for all the information.

I too received this letter, however I don't recall ever receiving anything from this company in the mail... I did write a check to walmart maybe over a year ago but I never received a notice in the mail or anything. I will just disregard it until some debetor calls me I guess.

I have seen this before. I got a post card too!!! This is a scam. They are going to sell their debt to another collection agency for pennies on the dollar and try to come after you again under a new company name, still them, and report this debt against your credit report. (double dipping and after SOL) I am currently fighting a similar scam with WorldWide Asset Purchasing II (aka worldwide purchasing I-IV, Northland, aka aka aka etc... you get the picture!!!) Be wise about your credit during this time...corporations like this are getting desperate and taking advantage of people who don't know their credit rights. It takes time to fight this stuff but, if we are aggressive enough then they will hopefully back off this losing battle. I am dealing with credit issues that don't belong to me. I was naive to the credit reporting system and now I am paying the price. I never thought that I would get hit with identity theft. I am knee deep in it now!!!!

I paid these ****ers $300 in 2006 - I went to the class and everything -- I'm definately filing

Thanks munchkin for tht very gd info regarding ths post card I am n tht category and hv recieved at ltr from them and had to attend a bad check writing class.

The San Diego County District Attorney Seal is a photo copy on the form and it says the District Attorney Bad Check Enforcement Program. The weird thing was I had an employer bounce a check to me, which caused an avalanche of fees and consequently I had two checks bounce I did not realize had not been paid thru the many transaction attempts on the bank statement. I had so many fees on top of fees I thought they had just kept resubmitting. I live very close to the county line for Riverside County and San Diego. One Check was in each county. San Diego sent me this package but Riverside did not. I checked the records and neither check had been paid. I actually forgot about the Riverside one until now, but I had to pay $355 for this online stupid course. After rereading their letter I can now see what a shabby "official" letter. Okay so I will file a claim. I just wish to share one last thing here because it is pertinent to the bought and sold kind of debt practice. I know someone who wrote a bad check. It was for a lot of money, he had an emergency and felt he had no other option. After he recieved some awaited money he returned to the place he wrote the check, in this case pechanga. They never even sent him one letter, he wanted to pay it back, they told him they sold it to a collection agency, and that as far as they were concerned it was a closed matter. Of course I doubt he could write a check there, but anyway, about 3 or 4 months later this local in Temecula collection agency started calling and phoning him. He explained he would at that time have to work something out because he did wish to pay it back. They refused his offers of a payment plan. Then he finally got a yes, he was about to go to an arranged time and place the next day, and that afternoon about 4 pm, someone from the agency called him and said he could negotiate a better deal that the other guy he spoke to could. Hmmm, then he suggested my friend pay him in cash a "payoff amount" which was like 1/4 of the whole bad check debt. It was almost double of the payment he was going to make. At first glance wow a way to scam a collection agency, it was almost thinkable. However, when he voiced his thoughts that is this guy was legit then why not do it at the office. He changed demeanor instantly . He was no longer the "cool" guy there. So thinking this guy was maybe just a bad employee, my friend decided to write a letter and call and make a complaint to the company on the outside chance they were not aware. Well they started threatening him with prosecution, harrassment etc. So I suggested he call the Sheriff and ask about whether or not a purchased bad check was prosecutable. My friend did not wanna risk getting into trouble but he certainly did not like this entire sense of scum bag biz practice. The Sheriff told him do not pay them one penny. He said that (at least in this county and state) a collection agency may not pursue bad check prosecution in courts because they bought a debt, that my friend did not write them a bad check, so they had no legal recourse than to attempt to get money out of my friend. Of course normal collection laws apply in some cases but in this case, the sheriff said bad checks are in a sort of different area. So the 3 times the check amount and a criminal record threat are not exactly enforceable unless the merchant or telecheck initiate criminal actions. At least this is how I understood what he said. My friend never paid and disputed the credit report entry. I thought this might be helpful for someone else, sorry to run on.

I also received the postcard, this was my situation, I had checks stolen. I reported the checks to the police, obviously they were falsely presented propably by some criminal all over the Chicago area. Despite police reports, I received threatening letters; I guess SCH did not care to look into police reports.

well I thank all of you for clearing up this stupid post card. What a way to scare a person ONCE AGAIN!!!

I am trying to file a claim but the claime form is a little confusing. Can someone please help?

I got a bad check postcard, and since it happened just this past january I hope to get some payback to those crooks that ran that class. I paid 286 dollars and my check was only about 40 dollars!!

Hello everyone,

I am still confused about the claim form. It was about three years ago I wrote a thirysomething dollar check which cleared a day before payday, and to make a long story short, I received a letter from the bad check people. I felt so low, but I ended up paying twohundred and some change. I don't even remember the exact amount and a 10 dollar fee, plus the check amount. If I am due monies I would like to collect, but the little claim form is confusing and Im not sure what to put on it if I do decide to send it in. Also, I was cleaning and shredding papers not even two weeks before I received this postcard and think I got rid of all that stuff. Please advise, should I just leave it alone?