People bouncing checks

What does it say in your contract? If they hired you to do a job and you did work on it you should get paid even if they try to weasel out of it by saying they don't want it anymore. But, good luck if you don't have anything signed.

Yes, I would if the amount was enough to offset the annoyance of small claim court.

In my area the recovery for bounced checks is 5-times the amount of the check. I'd mention that to the culprit as I gave them the offer to make good onthe bounced check in cash, or face small claims court.

"We don't want the portraits" is not an acceptable response after one orders and pays for them, even if the payment bounced. It shows intent and they might need to be reminded that that could cause them to lose the case before they ever have a chance to defend themselves.

Of course, if they produce cash payment immediately most of this conversation (the threats) would be unnecessary.

Oh, I'm not a lawyer either... I just don't mind being a very outspoken and convincing businessman.

Let's start with: I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.

A check is a promise to pay. It is against the law to write a worthless check. You can't write a bad check for merchandise from a store and then decide that you didn't want the merchandise because your check bounced.

I have had the occasional bad check, I usually just take the check back to the bank it was drawn on and ask if funds are available (I try to go after common pay dates like the 1st of the month.) I'll try this usually about twice before I approach the client. My bank charges very little in NSF fees to me, if your bank charges fees you are entitled to ask for these losses as well, but you'll have to get those from the client, not the bank.

If funds are still not available, or you have NSF fees to recover, this is where you get to practice your customer service skills! Very politely, without being insulting, contact the client and let them know their check wouldn't go through. I give a finite amount of time (a week or two?) for them to provide me with cash or a credit card payment. I have only once had a client not pay in a timely manner, in which case you are entitled to take the check to the Magistrate and file charges to attempt to recover your money. If all else has failed I tell the client the date I intend to take that action, and I have never had someone not come up with a suitable payment before that date.

If this is a significant problem in your business, you may want to look into a wireless credit card terminal and accept credit and debit cards instead of checks, the fee you pay for the terminal and processing may or may not be worth the amount of trouble you're having now.

But you have the right to the money the check was written for and any charges you incurred from the bad check. I'm not sure what your return policy is but for me the service fees would not be refunded in any case.

Good Luck!

Michaela,
As a business owner, bounced checks are unacceptable. With that said, a certain percentage of checks accepted will bounce. That is reality and part of the " cost of doing business." People will make errors with their math skills and some people will always try to get something for nothing. For me, the court system costs me more than it is worth. There are services that will do a collection for this, but once again, for the few checks that are returned, it is not worth the cost. In a smaller community such as mine, I am on good terms with the banks and a simple call to a bank officer usually results in the bank watching an account so that when there are funds, they just send them to us. Rest assured that if the check you received bounces, there are probably other business who have received bounced checks from that same individual. We also service our Middle School and have a check from last year that has never been taken care of. When I photograph that team again, if the student is still on the team and orders, well you can guess what I am going to do.
Warmest regards,
David R. Lewis

In the future you might require checks to clear before product is delivered. You're in the best position to figure out if a few days delay will fit your business model and client acceptance. If your delivery date is far enough out already, it might make no difference. If checks bounce you might have an arrangement for a second bite at the apple and run the check again if you don't get hit with any fees in the process. Otherwise, it may not be worthwhile to chase down these people.

A sad commentary on people's ethics. When I lived in Brasil as well as here in Thailand personal checking accounts are very rare. Why? If you bounce a check, you go to jail - it is like committing a robbery. People use cash instead. For larger transactions there are excellent systems using ATMs where you can transfer money from your savings account into the other person's account even if it is at another bank. In Thailand bills such as water, cable TV, telephone can be paid in cash at Post Offices, Banks, or 7-11s. In Brasil, in addition, they can be paid at home over the Internet using the 20 digit unique bar coded number at the bottom of the bils.
Cash works - it might be the way to go. How many times can you determine that it is not worthwhile to chase people down before you are out of business?

You should contact the customer and let them have a chance at making the check good (with cash is the best method, or with a money order.) If that fails, contact you local law enforcement office and see what paperwork is required to have the bad check writer included on a police report. [In Florida, the customer's telephone # is one requirement on the check, then the state attorney general's local office will take the complaint. If, after a certified letter to pay has been sent and not taken care of (with the cash,) a arrest warrant may be issued. I think there is a 30-day wait for payment to be made in covering the bad check, along with any fee the bank may have charged.]

Good luck!

Cash works - it might be the way to go

Sure. In Brazil or Thailand. Other forms of payment are more customary here. Many people will refuse to pay cash for certain types of purchases. Especially for transactions that are not face to face. The honoring of checks by the issuing bank can be verified which might help avoid any need to chase people down. No good payment, no product.

In some places a bounced unpaid check above 100 bucks becomes a felony. Thus one can have the majority of stuff one has a hard time collecting as being right under 100 bucks; the DA does not want to deal with this small stuff.