Collect on bad checks

The ongoing problem of bad checks costs local businesses and merchants valuable time and money every year. In spite of taking all the proper precautions, it is highly probable that a merchant or business occasionally will receive returned checks from its bank, usually due to non-sufficient funds or because the account has been closed.

When this happens, the merchant should contact the check writer immediately to request payment for the bad check, extending a five-day grace period to take care of the matter. If the check writer does not comply, the merchant can then report the check to the local county prosecuting attorney’s office or municipal court for assistance.

Thirteen Michigan counties now participate together in a bad check restitution program: Bay, Branch, Genesee, Huron, Ingham, Ionia, Isabella, Kent, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland and Saginaw. The prosecuting attorney’s offices in Wayne and Washtenaw Counties offer similar programs.

All assistance is provided at no cost to the merchant, and filing a check with the program is easy. The primary goal of the program is to obtain restitution; a secondary goal is to hold check writers more accountable for their actions without creating an added burden to the criminal justice system.

Check writers reported to the program must pay restitution and attend an eight-hour intervention class. Restitution is then returned in full to the merchant, along with $25 in statutory fines. If the check writer fails to cooperate, the case may be forwarded for criminal prosecution with penalties ranging from court fines to possible jail time, in addition to paying restitution.

For further information on the Bad Check Restitution Program in the 13 counties listed above, merchants can call Diane Sloan at 877.592.2704 or Jennifer Wojcik at 877.592.2703. In other counties, contact the prosecuting attorney’s office.

If your county has no bad check restitution program, ask the prosecuting attorney’s office for one.