County of Colusa
District Attorney's Office
Bad Check Restitution Program
Matthew R. Beauchamp, District Attorney
Check Acceptance Tips.
The best way to reduce your losses is to avoid taking bad checks from the start. The following tips are suggestions to help you establish good procedures for accepting checks.
Institute
a check acceptance policy.
A clearly posted check acceptance policy for your employees
and customers can go a long way toward reducing your losses. Policies
should state which types of checks can and cannot be accepted and include
the consequences to bad check writers.
Confirm
the identity of the check writer.
All I.D. can be forged. The most reliable form of I.D. is that
which contains a photo and a physical description. Take the I.D. in hand
and write the I.D. number, birth date, address and other descriptive data
on the front of the check. Ask questions. If the I.D. does not belong
to the person writing the check, they may be thrown off guard.
Whenever
possible avoid accepting checks written on a new account.
Approximately 85% of all bad checks are written on accounts
only a few months old and bear check numbers between 101 and 150. Use
caution. Do not accept counter drafts.
The
signature should be legible and signed in the presence of the individual
accepting the check.
Do NOT accept previously signed checks. For a company check,
it is vital that the signature is legible. If not, print the individual's
name on the front of the check.
The
complete address should be imprinted on the check.
Require a street address, in addition to a P.O. Box number.
Obtain a phone number as well.
Accept
checks only written with today's date.
Pre- or post-dated checks are not accepted in the Bad Check
Restitution Program and cannot typically be criminally prosecuted. This
restricts any recourse you may have against the check writer if your own
collection attempts fail.
Make
sure written amounts and numbers correspond.
Banks will not honor checks with discrepancies between written amounts
and numbers.
Avoid accepting checks drawn on an out-of-state bank.
REMEMBER,
you are not required to accept a check from anyone.
If you feel uncomfortable or suspicious, trust your intuition!
Ask for another form of payment.