Advice please!

[BelleLovesTheBeast]

Someone recently wrote me a check and tonight when I went online to balance my checkbook I noticed that the amount of the check had been removed. Tomorrow I'm going to the bank to find out why. So my question is

How do I get my money from the person who wrote me a bad check? (FYI he hasn't returned my phone calls, text messages or emails in 23 days.)

Thanks for any advice you have. It's greatly appreciated. This situation is completely stressing me out.

[Magic Smiles]

Good Luck.

[crazypoohbear]

Contact the bank first and see what they say.
You need to find out if there was NSF, stopped payment or a hold put on the check.
That should give you some idea where you stand with this person.
IF it was NSF then leave a message or text saying that the check was returned, you are sure it must be an oversite or an "issue" with the bank and could they please take care of it or call you and advise you what they would like you to do with the check.
If they stopped payment on the check, leave a message and ask if they knew the check had been stopped. Perhaps it was a case of fraud in the person's account or the could have stopped payment on the wrong check. or they think they don't owe you the money after all. If that is the case then you will have bigger issues :(
Good luck
but initially I would leave a non judgmental message that it must have been a bank error or over site and ask how should I handle this??

[lovewalt]

This happened to my husband once.He was able to get the check back from our bank and took it to the bank the check was written on.That bank was able to pay him.
Good Luck.

[dnickels]

Some of the things already mentioned are good ideas. My dad deals with bad checks quite a bit and people avoiding calls so here are a few things he's done that may be helpful down the line when people don't pay and won't return his calls.

-he's asked a law enforcement officer (sheriff in his small town) to come along with him. It's amazing how quickly the person manages to come up with cash or a good check when they realize that writing a bad check and not making good on it is the same thing as theft.

-tell the person you'll be turning the matter over to collections. If they care about their credit at all this will usually be enough to spur them to action. Of course if they already have horrible credit it might not make any difference but it's better than letting the person slide.

[Marci]

If the check bounced because of NSF, they should have returned the check to you for resubmittal. When they return it, I would take it directly to the bank that it is drawn off of and cash it. If theres no cash when you take it, try going on Thursday or Friday, normal "pay" days.

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

My hairdresser called me a couple of months ago to say my check was returned to them because my account was closed! And it most definitely was not closed!! Their bank made the error by putting in the wrong numbers. I went down and gave them a check drawn on the same account and surprise! It cleared the bank.

If this wasn't an oversite or honest mistake you can also file in small claims court. You can even have the other party be responsible for your filing fee.

Good luck!

[Georgesgirl1]

This happened to DH once- a month of paychecks bounced all on the same day...YIKES! He went to the bank that they were drawn on and they held them until there was money in the bank. They said they would hold them for 30 days and cash them the moment any money hit the account. We had to pay a nominal fee (I think it was $30), but it was well worth it in the case of a paycheck. We ended up getting almost all of the money, and luckily DH was able to find a new job that was better than the old job within a week! We could have pressed the issue and gotten the rest of the money back in small claims court, but that would have required him missing days from his new job so it wasn't worth it in our case. I guess it all depends on how much the check was for.
Good luck!

[BelleLovesTheBeast]

Thanks for the advise. I went to the bank to find out why and it was NSF. Since both accounts are with the same bank I could find out what I needed. The rep at the bank said I could file a report with the police which I'll do if I can't get the money. However I now have the returned check and can try to deposit it again. So I'll be at the bank tomorrow to try again.

[pianobabe]

Good luck. I hope it works out.