WalMart And Telecheck Rebuttal said "Telecheck probably acted in your best interest" Aberdeen South Dakota

Several comments on this situation are inappropriate. The personal habits are not the issue. Telecheck is acting as a creditor to client retailers and granting them short term credit guarantees based on their records and the prospect that the consumer's check will go through. They are doing this outside if compliance with FCRA and Debt Collection laws.

Further, if two individuals are in different locations accessing the same account or many checks are going through, instead of freezing the processing, a simple phone call from the store letting telechec know that you have been and will be writing checks should be sufficant to start things up again. It is with the banks. Telecheck will not do this and it's a poor practice.

Instead of discussing samantics like whether they are freezing the actual account or refusing to process checks at client retailers... you should be discussing what laws may be being broken and how those of us who don't care for credit cards, particularly for regular daily transactions, are discriminated against by a frankly monopolistic firm with a poor record for customers service and questionable legal ligitimacy.

Why don't we try to keep things constructive and on topic and refrain from making statements about peoples personal habits...

I had some things marked on me buy this red tape happy company"
For more than three years " It all started when i made a deposit from my account in Olympia Washington from and ATM machine"
I deposited 576.50 to my account "
My mother called me some months later and told me my sister was trying to kill my mother"!
In Princeton Illinois where i am now STUCK" They put this horrible thing on my account saying "Key bank' National Association# account (((ROR redacted))) Deposit risk Office 2420 s state St Tacoma W.a. 98405 Reason Transaction involving return items' from own accountant" another transaction' institution category suspected fraud Activity
what kind of insane criminal did you think I was or am"! these people get away with this stuff and we let them who will govern what they do next! So there saying"WHAT HERE"! These big corporations and there bad debt planning is bad "
When you think of it is it ok to say" If we do not draw the line to this error thinking where will the bad monkey swing" I say make them pay they can start with me they owe me 20000.000 dollars and i want it now! Well whatever one hundred dollars and hour is for four year's at hmm say ten percent interest for doing this to
A MAN OF GOD!

That's nice. Hopefully, since they've transferred the jobs from Daytona Beach, Florida to the Dominican Republic they will train the new call center employees to react with the same level of professionalism. God bless America and the original poster.

No. I have never worked for them. I am sure I am more educated than someone who would work in a Telecheck call center.

I had it happen to a relative and someone from Telecheck took the time to explain to my relative how it works and why. Most likely because my relative was not irate when he called. The relative called Telecheck and asked why in a very nice way and was met with a very helpful answer in return.

Nikki,

I was wondering.....did you used to work at their call center in Florida? You seem to know quite a bit about the way they operate inside. I know they closed some call centers and can't quite remember if they are now sending the calls to the Dominican Republic or some other country other than the USA. Thanks for your insight. It helps people to understand what's really going on.

When Telecheck sees you are writing many checks, they will at once stop "guaranteeing" any more checks and put a hold against your account for the amounts of the checks you have written in the past so many days. They don't know which checks have already cleared, so they may freeze enough money to cover all the checks written, and verified by them, in the last week or two (I'm not sure of the exact time frame). This is done in the best interests of their customers, the merchants. If you were to write "bad" checks all over town, Telecheck would have to answer to the merchants why they verified so many checks. You know that saying "cover your a**?". That's what Telecheck is doing.

If they froze all the money in your account, perhaps you only had enough money in the account to cover the checks? However, if you had say $5000 in your account and you only wrote $1000 in checks, and they froze your entire $5000; now that is a rip off.

Here's what Telecheck says on their web-site:

"How It Works

TeleCheck uses check writer negative and activity databases and other proprietary risk management tools to determine the risk of accepting a check. With the warranty service, if TeleCheck approves a check that is later returned, you will be reimbursed up to the check warranty maximum if all the warranty requirements have been met."

But maybe you're right and the part about "if TeleCheck approves a check that is later returned, you will be reimbused...." is a typo. Anythings possible, I guess.

Also, in this case "Plaintiff Gulender Ozkaya filed this putative class action on May 30, 1997, alleging that defendant Telecheck Services, Inc. violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act , FDCPA" or "the Act" guess who won? Clue: not Telecheck.

Side note: also report this to your state Attorney General so they can keep up with the number of complaints, like West Virginia.

I don't think so. I haven't seen anything anywhere of them buying debts incurred from unpaid checks.

The info posted about the AG actions is very informative. However, I noticed that there was NO mention of the FDCPA - as I stated, I don't think the FDCPA applies.

If I understand some of the AG concerns and the settlement reached, it was about Telecheck charging a fee for checks that were not honored for lack of funds. Telecheck would debit the checking account for this "returned check" fee without any agreement with the consumer that this fee could be debited directly from the checking account. Herein is the problem. They certainly can chage a "returned check" fee as most business do - heck, I charge one myself. The rub is that Telecheck was taking this fee directly from the checking account - no agreement was made with the consumer that this was an authorized electronic debit.

Telecheck SHOULD have mailed a billing to the check writer for the fee rather than "helping themselves" to the fee directly from the checking account.

I don't think so. I haven't seen anything anywhere of them buying debts incurred from unpaid checks.

The info posted about the AG actions is very informative. However, I noticed that there was NO mention of the FDCPA - as I stated, I don't think the FDCPA applies.

If I understand some of the AG concerns and the settlement reached, it was about Telecheck charging a fee for checks that were not honored for lack of funds. Telecheck would debit the checking account for this "returned check" fee without any agreement with the consumer that this fee could be debited directly from the checking account. Herein is the problem. They certainly can chage a "returned check" fee as most business do - heck, I charge one myself. The rub is that Telecheck was taking this fee directly from the checking account - no agreement was made with the consumer that this was an authorized electronic debit.

Telecheck SHOULD have mailed a billing to the check writer for the fee rather than "helping themselves" to the fee directly from the checking account.

I don't think so. I haven't seen anything anywhere of them buying debts incurred from unpaid checks.

The info posted about the AG actions is very informative. However, I noticed that there was NO mention of the FDCPA - as I stated, I don't think the FDCPA applies.

If I understand some of the AG concerns and the settlement reached, it was about Telecheck charging a fee for checks that were not honored for lack of funds. Telecheck would debit the checking account for this "returned check" fee without any agreement with the consumer that this fee could be debited directly from the checking account. Herein is the problem. They certainly can chage a "returned check" fee as most business do - heck, I charge one myself. The rub is that Telecheck was taking this fee directly from the checking account - no agreement was made with the consumer that this was an authorized electronic debit.

Telecheck SHOULD have mailed a billing to the check writer for the fee rather than "helping themselves" to the fee directly from the checking account.

I don't think so. I haven't seen anything anywhere of them buying debts incurred from unpaid checks.

The info posted about the AG actions is very informative. However, I noticed that there was NO mention of the FDCPA - as I stated, I don't think the FDCPA applies.

If I understand some of the AG concerns and the settlement reached, it was about Telecheck charging a fee for checks that were not honored for lack of funds. Telecheck would debit the checking account for this "returned check" fee without any agreement with the consumer that this fee could be debited directly from the checking account. Herein is the problem. They certainly can chage a "returned check" fee as most business do - heck, I charge one myself. The rub is that Telecheck was taking this fee directly from the checking account - no agreement was made with the consumer that this was an authorized electronic debit.

Telecheck SHOULD have mailed a billing to the check writer for the fee rather than "helping themselves" to the fee directly from the checking account.

ATTORNEY GENERAL DARRELL McGRAW SETTLES LONG-STANDING LAWSUIT AGAINST TELECHECK,
WORLD'S LARGEST CHECK GUARANTEE COMPANY

Attorney General Darrell McGraw announced today that an Agreed Order has been entered in a lawsuit filed by his office nearly five years ago against Houston-based TeleCheck Services, Inc., and its affiliates. The order, which was entered today in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, provides that TeleCheck will pay $450,000.00 to the State of West Virginia and will file a compliance plan addressing its debt collection and consumer reporting practices in relation to West Virginia residents with the Attorney General's office within 180 days.

According to its website, TeleCheck is the world's leading provider of paper and electronic check services to retailers, financial institutions and other businesses that subscribe to its services. As part of its check guarantee service, TeleCheck maintains a comprehensive database of check writer information to assist merchants in predicting whether a check will clear.

McGraw's office sued TeleCheck in response to West Virginia consumers' concerns about the company's check guarantee services and debt collection practices. The plan to be filed by TeleCheck will outline guidelines to enhance its employee training programs, in keeping with terms of the settlement. The plan will address:

Heightened monitoring of conformance of debt collection practices to the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act, when applicable;

Conformance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act to the extent it is applicable to TeleCheck's business practices;

Enhancing processes for the accuracy of consumer records;

Enhancing processes for the expeditious handling of consumer communications;

Enhancing processes for the removal of disputed information when the accuracy of such disputed information cannot be verified;

Enhancing processes for the timely and thorough investigations of consumer disputes.

According to the settlement, TeleCheck will ensure that consumers have given their "express verifiable authorization" before payments are debited from their checking accounts via the consumer's actual or digital signature, tape-recorded oral authorization by the consumer, or other type of authentication.

According to the settlement, TeleCheck will comply with the Rules of the National Automated Clearing House Association ("NACHA") when debiting dishonored check fees from consumers' accounts. The NACHA rules currently require advance written authorization by the consumer. Also, TeleCheck will publish a quarter-page notice in five major daily newspapers in West Virginia to alert consumers who have been victims of forgery, identity theft, and/or counterfeiting, of the steps they may take for assistance if their checks are declined by TeleCheck merchant subscribers.

Attorney General McGraw stated, "My office filed this suit in response to complaints of consumers who believed their checks were declined without understandable cause by TeleCheck merchants. Consumers also believed they were experiencing undue delay in the investigation and removal of inaccurate information in Telecheck's database."

Any persons wishing to file a complaint about a consumer matter or to alert the Attorney General about unfair or deceptive practices may do so by calling the Consumer Protection Hot Line, 1-800-368-8808, or by downloading a complaint form from the consumer web page.

Telecheck purchases checks that are in default therefore, they are a debt collector and are bound by the FDCPA. As I said earlier, call the NCLC (National Consumer Law Center). They are consumer advocates and can help you find an attorney who can validate the specifics of your case and lay out the best course of action. I know how frustrated you are and need a place to vent, but you definitely need professional advice at this point so you won't be stranded again.

Do a google search on WSMV, Telecheck, and Lawsuit and you'll see my story. My checks were rejected over 30 times within a two year time frame. I sent them ten letters and when it came time for them to produce the letters in court, they could only find a few of them. These letters contained my driver's licenSe number, social security number, checking account number name and address, all of the information someone would need to commit identity theft. One peculiar thing was on top of one of my letters was the fax header "innovis marketing". We wanted to know who Innovis marketing was any why Innovis had my letter that contained all of my most private information. Their lawyer said this was the header on their fax machine and they did not know how to change it! Imagine that! The worlds leading producer of data doesn't know how to change a fax header!!! In the meantime, the judge ordered them to send another fax so we could verify that the story they told was the truth. Well guess what? THEY THREW AWAY THE FAX MACHINE. THIS WAS A KEY PIECE OF EVIDENCE AND THEY THREW IT AWAY!!!!

I say all that to say, when you order your consumer report DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER.

The heat is on Telecheck and YOU NEED AN ATTORNEY to inform you and your wife your rights under the law. Look what happened in West Virginia. A fluke, I think not.

There are many reasons your account could have been blocked from use at Telecheck terminals.

The main one being the age of the account. If the account was less than 1 year established, it is considered to be a probationary account.

If you have had ANY problems with that account prior to this such as NSF situations, etc, your account will be restricted.

My question is, WHY would anyone carry around a checkbook anymore? This is just plain stupid. Use your debit card, unless you are trying to float checks. I think this was the actual root of the problem.

And checks are far less secure than a debit card. You have more protection from your bank on a debit card transaction than a check transaction.

I havent recently seen any checking accounts that dont offer a VISA or Mastercard branded debit card for free with your account.

Much more to this story, I'm sure.

Nothing more. Companies as Walmart pay Telecheck to process checks that customers write at their point-of-sale points - cashiers. Telecheck either approves the check and then processes it electronically throught the ACH to the bank that the check is written against or Telecheck DECLINES to ACCEPT the check. If it's declined, the subscriber (Walmart et al) will not accept the check as payment.

That's it. No freezing of anyone's bank account. The ONLY agency that can have a bank put a freeze on a bank account without a court order is the Internal Revenue Service.

Telecheck is not a debt collector so the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act does not apply to them.

I'm so sorry you are having this problem, but you are not alone. Telecheck can and does freeze consumer accounts whenever and for how ever long they feel like it, but only to Telecheck merchants. I've read numerous letters just like yours and there is no reason for me to believe that you or any of the other people are lying.

You and your wife should call and order your Annual Telecheck File Report . When I finally received mine (after asking for two years) mine was entitled annual Telecheck File Repo (yes repo, you read that right) but they have since added a t. If the information on your report is inaccurate or incomplete, dispute it. If they don't handle the dispute in accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act or the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, bring all of this information to an attorney and see if you have a case. The National Consumer Law Center is a good place to go for a legal referral.

I'm in a lawsuit with this company and if you do a google search on Telecheck and lawsuit you will find a very brief interview regarding my situation. I was asked to tell my story to a national news organization, but unfortunately, I will not be able to discuss the particular details until after the trial (Feb. 08) and then EVERYONE will know how they treat consumers.

If you handle your checking account responsibly, there is absolutely no reason that you should not be able to write checks. This is America, and Telecheck is not God. anymore.

I told you before that Telecheck cannot freeze your checking account without a court order. The worse they can do is refuse to process your checks when you write one at a point-of-sale.

Telecheck doesn't service the world. ANY establishment that doesn't use telecheck for check processing would have no problem with accepting your checks or your bank card attached to the checking account.

If your checking account is/was frozen, you need to speak with your BANK to find out why.

If you do not have an ATM card for your checking account, perhaps you should consider getting one. I use my bankcard every time I fill up at a gas station.

How could you be "stranded" for days because Telecheck will not accept your (probably no good) checks?? Haven't you ever heard of a debit card? Credit card? Good ol' fashion cash?

If checks are your ONLY means of paying for things, then I too would question how good your checks are. Your lack of planning by not having a backup payment method is no one's fault but your own!

How could you be "stranded" for days because Telecheck will not accept your (probably no good) checks?? Haven't you ever heard of a debit card? Credit card? Good ol' fashion cash?

If checks are your ONLY means of paying for things, then I too would question how good your checks are. Your lack of planning by not having a backup payment method is no one's fault but your own!

How could you be "stranded" for days because Telecheck will not accept your (probably no good) checks?? Haven't you ever heard of a debit card? Credit card? Good ol' fashion cash?

If checks are your ONLY means of paying for things, then I too would question how good your checks are. Your lack of planning by not having a backup payment method is no one's fault but your own!

How could you be "stranded" for days because Telecheck will not accept your (probably no good) checks?? Haven't you ever heard of a debit card? Credit card? Good ol' fashion cash?

If checks are your ONLY means of paying for things, then I too would question how good your checks are. Your lack of planning by not having a backup payment method is no one's fault but your own!

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/281/RipOff0281233.htm

Another consumer mentioned the telecheck may have done this in your best interest since both you and your wife were trying to access one account from multiple, far away from each other, locations. Sh** happens in life-that's just the way it goes. I guess you just didn't like to hear the truth in the other thread.