Telecheck Services, Inc. voilation of my check writing rights Huston, Texas
I was at
the Dentist office this morning and had written a check for 71.00
dollars. My check came back disapproved by Telecheck. I called the 800
number to find out why and was told that my check was not disapproved
because of lack of funds or because I an outstanding NSF check, but that
my check was disapproved because "I did not write enough checks and
that the behavior was outside of my check writing activities".
This is a total violation of my rights! It was embarrassing and uncalled
for. This company has NO RIGHT what so ever to place me on their black
ball list because they just want too.
This is class action lawsuit stuff and if they do not remove my
name/drivers license number immediately from there service a law suit is
exactly what they will be finding themselves in. IT is a PROMISE!!!
When I tried to call their customer service number I kept getting a busy
signal. I tried twice. I will also be filing complaints with various
other organizations. They can use the excuse all they
want by saying this is an attempt to stop check fraud but it will not
work. This is a violation of my rights to write a check when I feel
like it and they will NOT get away with this type of conduct.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Patty
Nashville,Tennessee,
U.S.A.
You Do have legal rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act
#4Consumer Suggestion
Mon, June 20, 2011
Under Federal Law, telecheck is considered a "Specialty Credit Reporting Agency" and is overseen by the Federal Trade Comission. By Federal Law the dentist was required to give you the name and address of the company that rejected your check (telecheck) otherwise known as an "adverse action notice". You then have the legal right to request a copy of your consumer report at the address listed on the courtesy card. They, by law, are required to suppy you a copy of your consumer report and you also have a legal right to dispute information contained in the report. I would encourage you to write to the Federal Trade Commission and also to the Better Business Bureau of Houston and outline your situation in detail. If Telecheck is not complying with the law they could be fined from $100 to $1000 per violation.
If you hire an attorney have them subpoena the BBB records. Last time I checked they had a rating of "F" which is a very bad rating.
Robert
Irvine,California,
U.S.A.
Your kidding right?
#4Consumer Comment
Wed, February 23, 2011
Please point us to the area of law that says you have a "right" to write a check?
Telecheck is a check guarantee service, basically insurance for the merchant if the check comes back as bad. They have certain parameters they use to approve a check, if you don't meet those parameters they DO NOT have to approve it.
I have yet to see a Dentist or Doctor who doesn't accept Debit/Credit Cards so there was nothing keeping you from doing that instead. Unless you were trying to "float" the funds because you actually didn't have the amount in your account at the time.
Flynrider
Phoenix,Arizona,
USA
Check writing rights?
#4Consumer Comment
Wed, February 23, 2011
" This is a total violation of my rights!"
Could you elaborate on these rights? I've never heard of them.
A large part of the problem is your dentist. He has engaged the services of this check guarantee company. Basically, the service guarantees that any check approved by them is going to be good. If a check turns out to be bad, the company takes the hit and the dentist still gets his money. In order to make a decision whether or not to guarantee the check, the company has to review your past check writing activity in its files (they have no access to your bank account). If there is not enough data indicating that you are a good risk, the company will decline to guarantee the check, which is what happened to you.
" This is a violation of my rights to write a check when I feel like it "
They're not violating your rights. A bit of research on your part will show that you are imagining rights that don't actually exist. Neither are they saying that your checks are no good. They are merely refusing to guarantee your check because they lack enough data. It is actually your dentist that is refusing to accept your check (unless it's guaranteed by Telecheck).
You can scream "lawsuit" all you want, but no self respecting lawyer would touch this one. You cannot force the company to guarantee your check, and it is the merchant's perogative to decline to accept your check without said guarantee. Ultimately, it is the merchant that is refusing to accept your check.
"if they do not remove my name/drivers license number immediately from there service..."
That's funny. If they were to do that, it would guarantee that your checks would never be accepted by a merchant that uses their service. How would that help?
Bottom line. Unless you write a lot of checks and establish a history with the check guarantee company, you'll find that your checks will be accepted at fewer and fewer merchants. Merchants these days do not want the risk of accepting bad checks. That's why debit cards have become so popular. When a merchant swipes the card he knows immediately whether or not you have the funds in your account to fund the transaction. Checks are becoming a thing of the past.