What do you do when paid with a worthless check?

Hi Guys... I just stumbled on this thread and thought I would throw in my 2 cents.

First off I'm a very small time maker having sold only to people I know and it has always been cash in hand at their insistance. Second I'm a cop so I'm also one of the most cynicle S.O.B.'s on the planet. (can i use that short form in the forums?).

Gone are the days of the "hand shake" deal with anyone you do not know well and that is in reality what a sale by cheque is.
If you are going to accept a cheque today there are certain things that should be understood. 1) Bad cheques,(stolen, fake, closed account & N.S.F.), are one of the largest areas of fraud in North America.
2) You,(the seller), are doing the buyer a favour by granting him/her credit and they should be grateful.

3)Anyone who takes offence at a request to provide proper identification, (see below for my definition of proper I.D.), should be politely thanked for their interest in your goods but advised that due to past problems you are not able to accept cheques in any other manner. You are sorry this past trouble has neccessitated this course of action but a bad cheque doesn't put food in your childs stomache.

4)You will no doubt get someone who will get all pissed and make a scene but this is exactly the one you do not want to sell to. The bravado of con artists is unbelievable and they will often try to embarass you into relenting.**Beware ..all this fuss can be a diversion to take your attention away from the table and allow an accompliss to make off with items.

Here are a couple of ways to help you protect yourself.
1) Require 2 pieces of Government issued Photo I.D.( Drivers licence, military or police I.D.,passport,state or provincial medical card).
2) Look at the damn I.D. !! If there is anything unusual about it politely decline it.
3) Record all the info on the back of the cheque.

Here are a couple of ideas that will scare off all but the dumbest or terminally ill paper-hangers.

Keep a digital camera at your table and take a picture of the buyer holding your knife. It can be a condition of sale for your "scrap-book" so you will have a face to put to the knife if the customer should have a problem or wish to order in the future.

There is a great device on the market through police supply houses. It is a chemically treated peel and stick paper oval just big enough to receive a thumb-print. You stick it on the back of the cheque near the customers signature then have them press their thumb to it. A chemical reaction occurs and their thumb print is instantly visible. After a few seconds it becomes permanent.

Here is my definition of Proper I.D....ALL OF THE ABOVE + A SAMPLE OF BLOOD FOR D.N.A. PURPOSES !!!
Only joking... kinda.
Seriously... No matter what form of payment you accept, cheques, credit card, direct debit, and even cash you stand the chance of getting stung.
The old adage of "Buyer Beware" has become a double edged sword. It is the Seller who it seems is most at risk now.

Sorry for the "Book"

J. Ziegler aka Kraut
 
Kraut, those are all good points for the makers who accept checks to remember. You struck a tender spot though. But vefore I put the foot-in-the-mouth icon up let me tell you that I write checks for bills and items that need to be mailed. I pay cash for everything else.
My checks don't bounce either.

1) Require 2 pieces of Government issued Photo I.D.( Drivers licence, military or police I.D.,passport,state or provincial medical card).
In this country we are not required to have ID. A drivers license is just that, a license to drive. I point that out whenever I don't show ID to a police officer her who asks for ID.(this doesn't include while I'm driving because I haven't had a ticket since 1965)
The DMV's here do sell an ID but since I don't have to have one, I saved my money. A passport is just that, a passport. I suppose it should be used for ID if one were in a country that required ID, but I don't go such places.
As you may have noted, I am a little funny about Government issued ID.

Yes George, I do have a big mouth and here it is:footinmou :footinmou :footinmou :footinmou
 
Hey Peter... I agree with you. Even though I am technically a member of the "Big Brother" complex by being a cop, I do still get my back up when I am required to proove who I am. There is something offensive about being asked for I.D. no matter how politely it is done. Unfortunately the way society is going I think we are all going to have to bite the bullet when it comes to letting go of a small piece what we have come to hold sacred. I mean our right to privacy and ability to move about without interference by the authorities.
The thought of this burns me up but the alternative is unacceptable.
This said, we have to be vigilant that Big Brother does not usurp anymore of our liberties than they can proove is neccessary to keep us safe. Should this occur then it will be time "to fix bayonets and form square". Of course being Canadian we will have to rely on you Yanks to provide the rifle on which to fix our bayonets as we won't have any guns when our candy-assed Government gets done.

I think it will become a neccessity here much sooner than in the U.S. that a national identity card will be required. This in part as sign to your country that we are doing more to secure our border and prevent this once proud country from being a back door for attack on you. Hell, I personally would be prepared to agree to a microchip implant if I thought it would prevent another attack on your country.
Damn ! I've gone off on another tirade. Sorry fellas I seem to have gotten way off this posts subject.

All the best

Jim Ziegler..........Pro Patria
 
Damn ! I've gone off on another tirade

Don't be sorry. It gives George something to make fun of!:D :D
 
Which brings us to Edward R Schott.
maker18.jpg

He was the "knifemaker" from Connecticut that posted on this forum about 2 years ago that he was selling all of his CPM 3V and 420V. A number of folks sent him money orders and have yet to receive it. Maybe he's still packing it up for shipping ;)

It is still up on a site:
http://www.angelfire.com/ct/schottknives/index.html
 
OH MY GOD.

I seriously thought the only people with my last name were me and Marge Schott of the reds. Now i come to find out that not only does this ugly guy have my name, but he is involved in knives and even had a link called "schott knives" and is some kind of scumbag. I always advertise mine as "schott knives".

If his shady dealings affect my business, he is going to need that knife.

Talk about bad luck...mine....
-David Schott
 
One possible reason for a stopped check is Identity theft.If the buyer had someone gain access to his account (or lost his checkbook) the bank freezes his account and stops payment on all checks.Contact him and hope it is simple and legitimate.
 
bladsmth said:
One possible reason for a stopped check is Identity theft.If the buyer had someone gain access to his account (or lost his checkbook) the bank freezes his account and stops payment on all checks.Contact him and hope it is simple and legitimate.
Click to expand...

not on this one Stacy
Tom started this tread after the blade show two years ago
the a$s hole did stick him,

I trying to help Tom but the guy had a mailing address in one of those privately owned mail box building , the guy was Bogus and the owner of the biulding would not help.. :grumpy:
Tom didn't ck for ID so it was a wash...
 
I realize this thread is 3 years old, but in general I have learned a thing or two about bad checks since no one feels they need to pay for their healthcare:

1) If there are insufficient funds, you can hold onto the check and try to run it through the person's account two times, I think. Yes, it would be best to get cash or a CC from the person and also charge them the bank fees, but if you can't get that, then try to time it so that maybe you hit their account on a payday, for example. I had a bad check for about $40 passed to me and it went through twice and never scored enough money to clear. I went to the person's credit union in person, explained the situation, and the teller handed me $40.

2) For anything less than about $500, and that's even pushing it, something like collections is a waste of time. You can take someone local to small claims court, garnish wages, etc, and it's no big deal, but how often are we going to get local checks?

Personally, if I ever do knife shows I'm going to accept cash, and if possible, credit cards, but like my man Fitzo, I don't trust the average person further than I can throw them. :(
 
There is a lot to be said about the persuasion power of human contact. I once had a guy try to scam me for 400$ in a non-knife related sale. After some nasty email exchanges, I did some extensive internet searching and came up with his home address, his wife's name, his employer and his church. A simple list of those things and my plans to stop by and visit to discuss the matter fully in person ended any problems. If he had called me on it and said he wanted to meet, I would never have. I dont need to die over 400$. But you can bet money I would have contacted everyone he associated with to explain the situation. Scam artists hurt honest business enough that im willing to lay down some ruin on them over it.

I would never accept a check in person. A good scam artist printed it on his 120$ inkjet and there is zero to trace them to. Any normal person with a checking account has the meant to take money out of it. I'd tell people to go do that or I am not interested in selling the knife. There are enough non-check currency formats that anyone refusing to use an alternative is highly suspect in my book.
 
Chiro75 said:
Personally, if I ever do knife shows I'm going to accept cash, and if possible, credit cards, but like my man Fitzo, I don't trust the average person further than I can throw them. :(
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keep in mind
you can reverse a cc payment just about as easy as a stop payment on a check maybe easier money wise..
but this leaves a paper trail for the customer unlike and bad check printed up bogusly
take photo ID's and write the info down,,

on Banks and checks
before you deposit a check, call thier bank with the check info and ask if there are sufficient funds to cover the check, this helps in turned check fee's. some banks will tell you and some won't now.
if the customers bank is lets say Bank of America, you can walk into any of them and get cash on the spot for the check if the money is there , Steve was lucky, or they had funds in a saving that covered it.... or the teller was saving someone A$$

for Cards
http://www.knivesby.com/credit-card-fraud.html
 
As a knife customer who has purchased knives at shows by means of personal check, allow me to make a suggestion. Take trust out of the equation: "Yes, I'd be happy to take a personal check. I'll send you your knife just as soon as it clears." You might be out $10 or $15 for shipping, but isn't your peace of mind worth that much? And, these days, your customer may be happy not to have to put his/her new knife into their checked baggage.
 
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