Bit I did it before...

[mattm04]

While waiting in line at the service desk to drop off a few things I am behind the MOD a a older SC, arguing about a Check. We use TeleCheck or whatever it's called.

SC: *Holding some papers including a check and a receipt* Yooooooouuu caused this!!!! You!
MOD: *looking at papers* Ma'am from what I can see you wrote a check with on on <date> but also write several other checks. According to you bank your bank didn't have enough funds to cover them.
SC: I have always done that, but because of your newfangled computer you took that money out of my account tooooo quickly which is why my checks bounced and I have hundred of dollars of fees.
MOD: Ma'am what you did is illegal. It's call floating a check. You have to have enough money in you account to cover all you checks.
SC: I had a system. You ruined it. I expect youuu to cover these fees you caused!
MOD: We can't do that.
SC: Fine. I call the BBB and MYYYYYYYYY Bank!! *throws checks, bank statements and receipt at the manager and walks out*

The MOD takes the papers walks to the office, makes a phone call or two then walks back down to the sales floor and to the in-store bank. Yes, the SC used the same bank as the the branch we have in our store.

[EvilEmpryss]

OMG! She threw information with bank account numbers, addresses and all, and then left them?

If her accounts weren't already empty, I'd say she needs to be more concerned about identity theft!

[mattm04]

OMG! She threw information with bank account numbers, addresses and all, and then left them?

If her accounts weren't already empty, I'd say she needs to be more concerned about identity theft!

Yep. Lucky the banks the SC used had a branch in our store so the MOD gave all the stuff to them to deal with after contacting corp.

[UncleImpy]

I never, never understood this. Kiting/floating a check is ILLEGAL. In Texas, if it was under a certain amount, I believe it was misdemeanor fraud, but in any event...


...ugh. Of course. SCs think they are special and the rules dont apply to them. Even those annoying law-type-things. Sigh

[Samaliel]

I'm not sure, but I think, here in France, it is legal. Or at least, not explicitly illegal. Some stores even offer to cash a check at a later date as a convenience, so that you are not overdrawn.

Of course, when most stores switch to instant check processing, this will make up for one hell of a suck storm...

[jjllbb]

She should be fined for being an idiot.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I'm not sure, but I think, here in France, it is legal. Or at least, not explicitly illegal. Some stores even offer to cash a check at a later date as a convenience, so that you are not overdrawn.

Of course, when most stores switch to instant check processing, this will make up for one hell of a suck storm...

It's only illegal if you get caught. But there's a difference between writing a check on the assumption that it won't get cashed right away, knowing that there is not going to be enough in the account if it does, and post-dating with the agreement of the recipient to wait until that date to cash it.

I don't think post-dating is illegal, per se; if both parties agree to a specific date to cash the check, no problem. The problem comes when the store does not agree to accept a post-dated check but the customer tries to pass it off anyway (my company won't accept a check unless it has the current date on it). The problem with that for stores is keeping track of what checks to cash when. For a smaller, single-owner type place, that might not be a huge issue, but for a big corporate chain, where they likely get dozens of checks every day and are expected to account for them at the end of the day, it's not so doable.

Back in the days of actually mailing a check and waiting for it to be processed, no one would know if you wrote a check the day before your paycheck went into the account, since it could be a week or more between when you mailed it to when the bank received it for processing. Nowadays, even the checks I write for utilities are actually taken out electronically. When I look at my bank account, the check to the electric company is actually an electronic check, even though I've mailed them a paper check. They process it electronically then destroy the original. The only lag time is the time it takes for the check to get from my place to theirs.

Last time I wrote a check to the car dealer for service (which was years ago), they ran it through the computer and then gave it right back to me. I switched to using my credit card then.

[Astrokitty]

IIRC, any store that does the electronic check thing has dozens of signs and notices all over the store, but specifically at the register where you can't miss them unless you're an SC...oh

Silly Kitty.

[mattm04]

I don't think post-dating is illegal, per se; if both parties agree to a specific date to cash the check, no problem. The problem comes when the store does not agree to accept a post-dated check but the customer tries to pass it off anyway (my company won't accept a check unless it has the current date on it). The problem with that for stores is keeping track of what checks to cash when. For a smaller, single-owner type place, that might not be a huge issue, but for a big corporate chain, where they likely get dozens of checks every day and are expected to account for them at the end of the day, it's not so doable.

My parents did that ONCE. Due to mother nature and her desire to send lightning down from the sky and destroy our well we had to have repaired ASAP since we had no water. By the time the crew finished it was almost 9 PM and they wanted payment. Due to the nature of replacing all the electrical components of the well including the motor in the ground an digging up wires, etc it cost a lot of money.

This was before electronic banking was popular. The company, which was a small family run shop, understood that is situation like these many people don't have that much money in a account to not cause problems with other checks. The agreed to take a post dated check for the next day so we would have time to transfer the funds. Then again a emergency repair for thousand of dollars is much different than a hundred dollar grocery bill.