Check Tips

Whenever you take a check, use caution. If you feel suspicious, ask for another form of payment. You should learn to trust your intuition. Bad checks are bad business. A check is not an IOU; the funds should be in the bank at the time of the transaction.

For more information on the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Bad Check Restitution Program, contact the Victim Hotline and let them help you: 1-800-842-0733.

Below are some tips when accepting a check.

• Ask for a driver's license. Look at the card and record the numbers on the front of the check. No license, no check.

   

• Ask for both the home and work telephone numbers.

   

• If you feel suspicious, encourage the customer to use their ATM card, credit card or suggest they pay with cash.

   

• If you have a check guarantee service, use it and follow the recommended guidelines for check acceptance.

   

• Do not accept a "post-dated" check or agree to "hold" a check for any length of time.

   

• Each check should have a complete address on the front. No P.O. Box addresses.

   

• No "counter" checks or checks printed by the bank for a new account.

   

• Each check should be signed in your presence. No previously signed checks.

   

• Each check should be for the amount of purchase only.

   

• No out-of-state checks.

   

• There is added risk with accepting a two-party check or cashing a payroll check.

   

• Use caution when taking a check from out of your area. Ask why the customer is shopping or doing business so far from where they live?

   

• Network with other merchants, especially if they operate a similar business. Share information.

   

• Never risk taking a check for an amount high enough to cause financial hardship for your business. Ask for cash or a cashier's check.