Writing bad check – is it fraud? What are the consequences?

Yes, writing a bad check is a crime and the person can be charged a processing fee by the bank. Most of the times, it is $40 for each bad check. Besides, the creditors can also sue for writing such types of check and recover the damages along with the total amount. In some states, the damages can be as high as $1000

Jessica, I can understand how it looks at the other side of the table. It is pretty hard to accept especially when you understand what is in the mind of the customer. Does your job always need you to be in the front dealing with the customers?

:lol I couldn't sleep well on a bed that was worth more than my car! :D I will never go for writing bad check.

I'm in retail, and the store manager, so yes, I'm always in front with the customers.

What scares me about these girls, is who knows how many checks they have written! They could be bouncing these things all over town, not even realizing what kind of trouble they could be in.

Yes, the Russell Square is a fabulous bed! But she wouldnt be enjoying it from jail on the charge for writing bad check! And if I would have taken that check without approval, I would be in big trouble too.

LOL@ttthayden. I got lucky and WON my bed at a roll-out meeting. But I did pick the most expensive bed in the store. hehe

AS I unders tand it when a check is "Approved" it not approved as in "Yes! there is $4000 in that account" but more like "that the account holder does not have any out standing check with that particulary check service (commonly Tele-check, SCAN, or Chex Systems)."

The money for the check is not earmarked the way it is when you use your check card. Personally I would be more concerned if I was working in a store and someone tried to pay for something with a check card that was declined, and turned around and tried for writing bad check instead.

Yeah, we get real leary when people are like, "I'll just write a check.." I will always avoid writing bad check.

It's even more fishy when they are all about the check...We had one guy in here and he kept asking, "I can write a check right?" And he was declined.

Yes Check Fraud is a very serious crime. I have been learning about it in researching these payday loan co's. There is a world of difference between a post-dated check to a loan co and writting a live one to buy something.

There is always that writing bad check in mistake but those girls if they are writting many will be caught and prosecuted. Sad thing is many do not even know how much of a serious crime it is. Its the same as stealing.

Don't worry about the post-dated payday loan deals though. The check has to be written for the same day to be considered an offense in most states. Especially if it was written to payoff a loan. Some loan co's will tell you its fraud but its not.

JD, while I completely understand what you are saying - and agree wholeheartedly -- you might want to take into consideration that manhy people have already filed their income tax returns. I already filed, got and spent mine for this year LOL. I did it as soon as I got my W2 and I got back enough to pay for that bed LOL. I walked out with a check when I filed and the next day had the rest. They will also do direct deposit so there was a small chance that she knew it really was going to be in there on wednesday. Just a little something to think about.

I've always been too afraid to write a check if I didn't know the money was there...even if I know it is coming in soon! I'm a scaredy-cat for writing bad check :)

~Mary

LOL Mary, that's a GOOD thing honey!! I got caught like that a couple of times and it sure is nerve wracking!!

Hahaha, I won't even use my debit card as credit, if the money isn't there! I'm THAT much of a scaredy-cat! :)

~Mary

This is one issue where I am with the creditor. Most cases its an honest business selling an honest product and here comes someone writting a bad check. Accepting goods for a check you know is bad is the same thing as if you shoplifted the item. Unlike Payday loan threats you can go to jail for this. This poses a risk to society and should be delt with.

I know first hand that checks if treated with no respect can get you into "SO MUCH TROUBLE THAT WILL LAST FOR A LONG, LONG, LONG, LONG TIME" (did I say a long time?) :!: :!:

I have been writing bad check that I knew were bad for food for my kids but I also knew that the grocery store would send me a notice in the mail and I could pay them back but a check for $4000 for a mattress, nope that is a luxury not a necessity, plus I would guess $4000 is probably some sort of felony and a $150 food check is a mis deameanor.. like I said food for my kids you betcha and I would do it again if the situation arose but for a bed or any other luxury no way

In my home state anything over $100.00 is a felony!No thanks I will not bounce any checks.

mothers will do what they have to do to take care of their children and if that means bouncing a check at the local A & P, I would do it in a heartbeat also. I wouldnt buy a mattress with a bad check either but I would put food in my children's bellies

I would rather go to a food bank or the Salvation Army for food than bounce a check. When you say you'd rather bounce a check, you've not been through the whole experience yet, apparently. You can lose the ability to write checks ANYWHERE, AT ANY STORE, you can lose your bank account and not be able to open another, and you'll slowly start to feel like the lowest of the low, because no one will accept a check from you.

Is it worth it?? No way. Never. I'd do anything other than that to feed my kids. There are resources out there, people - use them.

Sounds like people are wrapped up in what others think of them and in my part of the world you have to fight the crowds for food banks, church food etc.. walk in my shoes before judging..

Like I said if you bounce a check at my local grocery the corporate office sends you a notice and you can pay it back, not everyone is ready to throw the book at you, many people have something called compassion

Hello, What happens to a person when he or she passes a bad check of a 1000.00 or more?

That depends on your state laws, in my state anything $1000.00 or more is a felony.

I agree, been there, done that. It is NOT WORTH IT!! I would walk downstaris to my neighbor and beg for food before I go through what I have not only for writing bad checks becasue I was hungry, gas for car, etc. but what comes after the affect.

It just does not stop by getting a letter from Coporate office saying that "you owe us", it is a Ripple Effect and it does not stop for years and it can effect your life in ways you cant imagine. You will be hungry or your family but it will pass and the effects will also, but you get yourself in trouble by writing bad checks and it will pass but in about 5 or 6 years, and thats the average. No, I would rather be hungry for a day or so, than to go through that Nightmare again.

Luke

"mothers will do what they have to do to take care of their children and if that means bouncing a check at the local A & P, I would do it in a heartbeat also."

Dads too ;)

what woult happen if you wrote bad checks and they bounced but you would put money in your account every month to pay them off.

Hey, KATIE J....I, for one, will admit (with NO shame, I will add..) I HAVE written checks, for things my son needed, KNOWING it was going to bounce. My bank is WONDERFUL about this. I do this very seldom, but, I have done it. You do what you have to for your children. That's just how it is

Thankfully, my bank is very lenient as far as bad checks. I've had to purposely write a couple bad checks for necessities like medicine or to pay a bill.

My bank charges $29 for NSF, plus $3 every day your account remains below zero. They give me two weeks to get my account in the positive before bouncing the check.

In my life I have never bounced a check.

Damn, but that is lenient. Better keep that bank.

lol yeah I'm keeping it. The bank only has branches in Wisconsin and I kept it even though I moved to Ohio 6 years ago.

I have it perfectly set up where I get my paycheck direct deposited and the rare times I get checks in the mail, I hang onto them and mail deposit them once a month.

I bounced a check in a food store before - it was a long story (I wrote it, knowing i had a pay check coming but than my paycheck never came..) it was a mess- i posted it on the bank board but it was fixable and it is fixed. it costs more - bank fees, etc. and i never plan to do it again. but - for my family i would in a heartbeat. and people can judge me for that, whatever - family comes first.

When you have a family to provide for, you do what you need to do. I have just this to say, if you judge me ( because of what I do..), that's up to you. No one is living my life but me. Someone above said, "unless you walk in my shoes..". VERY true statement.

Can the person that wrote bad checks make arrangements to pay them back without criminal charges

ira- that is something you need to work out with your bank and whoever you wrote the check to. i'm assuming it also would depend on amount of the check and how often you bounce them.

My bank automatically gives us a 600 dollar over draft protection. I try to never use it but sometimes it is necessary.

I did have an ex step mother who went to prision for writting several bad checks. So it is important to take care of those quickly.

In my state person who wrote check did this knowingly that they do not have funds in account when written......fraud fraud..bigger sentence.....they can pay them back in my state without criminal charges as long as they pay before it is sent to d.a.

I am sad to say but with the country in financial turmoil and famlies going bankrupt you are going to see alot more of people doing things that they know are wrong and would never do before. I do not condone it or condem it. All I can say is that I pray that I am never in that position, agian, where I have to write a bad check knowing what is down the road for me because of it.

i wrote a post in the banking board about this. My family member has wrote a check for $251 for a grocery store. I still think it was an honest mistake but if he needed food, i dont care. i don't care if i sound like a bad person neither.. :(
Anyway, we live in NJ, anything over $200 is a 4th degree crime, he owes his bank $35 in fees, which he can pay next week and he can pay the store back on Feb 6 (or before). this thread seems to be pretty caring, and I really am worried about him. could this be worked out? i have bounced a check before but never this size :(

hi bea2ls,

I would think that the grocery store would give him a chance to make good on it. That happened to me once and they called me and I was able to make an arrangement to go in and pay when I had the money...

bea, I've had bad checks for stores before. Never for that large of an amount though. (And you're not a bad person!) I had to pay the checks off, which I did. However, in my state anything over $100 gets kind of ugly. But if he's able to pay them, he should be good. Have they threatened him with court yet or anything?

thanks everyone, he called and made arrangements to pay them on feb 6. he said they were very nice about it. i was worried because i didn't think he knew what he could be facing. but again i am paranoid :)

Tell you friend to call the store again when it gets close to the payment date and remind them that he will be coming in to pay in full. The store will appreciate knowing he's not one of those people who say they're going to pay and then conveniently 'forget'

good advice :) oddly enough his bank seemed to have reversed his NSF fee.. i know he was in contact with them but this was a surprise to him, i think. it showed up as "credit memo" (it came after the statement was closed) I know he said he was going to make good on it and was in contact but of course i worry lol. im scared it's bad but idk if he asked them about it.
either way i will mention to call them again before he comes in. im grateful it seems to be okay.

does anyone know if it is illegal for an emplooyer in the state of pennsylvania to issue a paycheck if they know they have insufficient funds

Honestly, I don't think it's legal anywhere for an employer to issue paychecks when they don't have the funds.

Check the labor laws in PA. I know here in Jacksonville, we have a "wage and hour board" we can call if an employer starts messing around with our pay.

Anyone else have any ideas?

i totaly understand but what if you try to pay and they dont work with you

lisa- what state are you in, where did you write the check and how much was it for?

If I wrote a check but my bank account isn't closed until I pay a certain amount will I be charged with fruad still?

c saw3 -

are you saying that you wrote a check on an already-overdrawn account, which can't be closed until you pay the overdraft amount?

If so, you are risking fraud charges, in my opinion, because if that's what you did, you knew there was no money in the account when you wrote the check, and the bank can prove it - especially if they've already been in contact with you and discussed the fact that your account is overdrawn & payment needs to be made, or if they sent you a letter to that effect.

I would be VERY careful not to make an already bad situation much worse.

i agree, i would try to pay asap. most places i found are understanding and can set up a payment date.

IF I WROTE A CHECK FOR A ENGINE RE[PLACEMENT BEING THIS ECONOMY IS WICKED JUST LAID OFF IWROTE IT FOR $1500 WHAT WOULD BE A PENALTY FOR THIS??

There are many reasons why people are reported to chexsystems. Millions of Americans from single parents, women and minorities to divorcees are unbanked.

1. People with small and limited income are more likely to have an NSF occour which in many cases will result with being reported to chexsystems.

Many times these people will rack up tons of fees in overdrafts that they can not pay which will also result in the account staying negative, eventually closing and later being reported to chexsystems.

2. In times of economic hardship where people are struggling to make ends meet, many resort to using payday loans. This year, 2009, we see more and more people that have been reported to chexsystems for these defaulted loans.

3. Small businesses are a huge growing number of those now being reported to chexsystems for " fraud". We see small businesses that will accept checks from their customers that turn out to be
" bad checks".

A growing number of banks are now blaming small businesses for these bad checks and closing their accounts, reporting them to chexsystems and worse, reporting them for
" suspected fraud or fraud"

4. And of couse there are many young people that have made bad decisions at one time in their life. Not thinking of the consequences later just to find out when they need a checking account but are unable to open one due to chexsystems

5. Identity Theft is a growing problem that unfortunately can land many of us in chexsystems. It is VERY important that if you have been a victim of Identity theft that you follow all the correct steps to ensure that you will be hurt the very least.

curious, if the check bounces i am pretty sure it is illegeal. states have different laws but for an amount that big, i am sure that will lead to trouble.
btw, great tips as always, mca :)

i wrote a check to a car dealership of a $1000 post dated. my cousin was going to lean me the money but things did work out. the car had problem and i gave the car back, and i asked for my check back. they would not give it back. now he is threating me about court. what should i do