I cant believe it?

[gabagoo]

My receptionist comes up to me after going online and looking at the bank account. She says you will not believe it.

A customer BOUNCED a $25 cheque. WHAT? I exclaim. how the %$%# can you not have $25 in your account?

Now this is not a large company but they do very well so I cant figure it out. It wasn't even work for the business but some small lettering for the guys B O A T!!!!!!

Man that really pisses me off..... Now he has to pay an additional $25 plus the original $25. How stupid can you be?

 

[Salmoneye]

In Short, stupid. In his defense I had a very large check come in once and I paid bills assuming that all was good. My bank didn't put a hold on it. When that big check was returned insufficient it caused several of my checks to bounce. I had to run all over explaining thing and straightening it out. I can happen.

 

[gabagoo]

In Short, stupid. In his defense I had a very large check come in once and I paid bills assuming that all was good. My bank didn't put a hold on it. When that big check was returned insufficient it caused several of my checks to bounce. I had to run all over explaining thing and straightening it out. I can happen.

I find it amazing that your bank would not put a hold on a cheque that you had insufficient funds to cover just in case it did go nsf.

We always keep at least $10,000 -$20,000 in our current account so that our banking runs somewhat seamlessly.

I know that can be hard for small companies but it makes banking so much easier.

 

[The Vector Doctor]

Living paycheck to paycheck. Alot of people do it.

 

[TheSnowman]

Yep, it's real easy to hide. Think of all the celebrities that were LOADED and they were so in debt, they'd never get back above water.

 

[SurfaceSigns]

I think we've all been there at some point in our lives. The most recent problem on the business side seems to be the banks reducing or pulling lines of credit with no notice.

The worst thing that has happened to me was in the late 90's, I was hit with $25,000 in chargebacks from a client who had been using cloned credit cards to make purchases over a 4 month period. We had done everything a merchant is supposed to do to verify the card was valid, and still got burned. At one point we were even accused of being involved in the scam.

 

[gabagoo]

I think we've all been there at some point in our lives. The most recent problem on the business side seems to be the banks reducing or pulling lines of credit with no notice.

The worst thing that has happened to me was in the late 90's, I was hit with $25,000 in chargebacks from a client who had been using cloned credit cards to make purchases over a 4 month period. We had done everything a merchant is supposed to do to verify the card was valid, and still got burned. At one point we were even accused of being involved in the scam.

$25,000!!!! that would sink me!!!!

 

[Salmoneye]

Gabagoo, I find is surprising as well but I have had several banks do this over the years. I think that sometimes the hold must be related to my average daily balance and not my current balance.

 

[SurfaceSigns]

$25,000!!!! that would sink me!!!!

It hurt, I won't lie! Credit cards are a tricky thing, they advertise all these features to protect the card holder, and pretty much leave the merchant blowing in the wind if there is a problem. Sure, they tell you that if you follow their protocols that you're fine, but the simple fact is that they always have some fine print that allows them to hit the merchant with the chargeback. I find this funny, as they use the hight dollar value of chargebacks every year as the main reason they need to offer such high rates to consumers on the cards, but what they don't mention is how much of that THEY actually eat as a loss.

 

[wildside]

just so ya know it could be a lot worse... a buddy owned a daylight donut shop... about 10 years ago he had someone actually write a check for $0.84 for 2 donuts, thats right folks

by time it was all said and done the donuts cost about $180, it went through court and fees, and late charges and attorneys, i guess the person almost went to jail over writing worthless checks, but he said it wasn't about the 2 donuts it was the principal of it

 

[Just Another Sign Guy]

lol i had a root canal (and there is only one dr who does them locally) i paid them my co-pay which they said was X amount of $'s which was different than what i normally pay and i told them as much but they said i owed that amount and i paid it.

a few weeks later i get a personal check from the dr for the difference in the amount ($50)that i told them was above what i normally pay for my copay.

the check bounced...and he is the only person who offers those services and i am scheduled for another procedure so i'll be damned if i am going to send him a nastygram and have him out for vengeance the next time he is rooting around in my mouth.

 

[jiarby]

I can relate!!

I got arrested & went to court over a $6 check in the 1980's. I bought some groceries, but because I was so poor I could only afford $6! I thought I had enough by a couple bucks but apparently did some math wrong and the check bounced by less than $1. Bank charged an NSF fee. Store also charged NSF Fee. Store put the check through again a few days later. Because of the NSF fee I was now $xx over drawn. It bounced again. Another bank NSF. The store dinged me again. Now I owed the bank almost $50 and the store $50, plus the original $6. The store says "no more checks... you gotta bring a money order or cash.

There was no way I could come up with it fast enough so I blew them off. About 2 years later I came home to find a business card in the crack of my door from a county sherrif/ He says "call me about your hot checks". Uh oh...

I report downtown, the process me and then release me on a pre-trial PR bond. He said if I show up for the court date that they usually write it off as deferred ajudication and if I am straight for xx months then charges are dropped. But.... there were court costs as well, a penalty fee, the bank charges, and the store fees. I figure I was out $250 by the time it was done.

It even came up in a background check about 10 years ago for a job I had. I got called to HR to explain why I was hiding my criminal past! This was 15 years after the fact and had no idea what she was talking about. She showed me the report. It showed that I was arrested for passing fraudulent checks. Oy Vey! I explained and got to keep my job, but what a hassle. All for less than a buck!

I know I was cutting it too close, but ever since then I try to keep a comma in my personal account, and 10k in the business one. These days checks clear instantly like a credit card. I probably wouldn't even get past the cashier now!!

 

[Salmoneye]

Wow, what a story. It is really hard to get a DA to do anything about them these days. I have never heard of such aggressive police work for an amount that small. Good story and better safe than sorry.

 

[SeaWriter]

Really wanty to send him a mesage.........next time you see him take $25 out of your wallet and give it to him and tell him " you'll loan him the money to pay you".
I've done it.....really sends a message.

Oh and get ready to duck.