I tried to open a bank account. Denied because they said Telecheck rated me a Code 4. The automated message referred me to a small bank where I had an account in 1994. I closed the account, but for some reason they kept charging me a monthly service fee, finally charging the account off in 1996 and reporting it to Telecheck. I tried to call them and just pay the reported amount. But, they kept giving me the runaround. Is Telecheck bound by the FCRA? Alos, does anyone know how to get a live person when you call them?
In some instances they are also governed by the FDCPA: http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/letters/klayman.htm
Telecheck and Chex Systems are bound by the FCRA and FDCPA and they are a credit bureau as well. Yes, they are all of the above. You can and should demand a free copy of your credit report from them. If they fail or refuse to provide it to you for free then you have them on a violation. Suppose you have one already so they demand that you pay them for it? What to do about it? Well, this will sound like the silliest thing you ever heard and maybe it is. But it ought to be fun trying it anyway. Go to a merchant you have bounced a check at before and try to write another check so you get refused. Sounds like a stupid thing to do don't it? Well maybe it is and maybe it isn't. What is a check? While it is usually thought of as an instrument of debt just like a Federal Reserve Note is, such is not the case. It is an instrument of credit in exactly the same sense that a credit card is, that's what it is. Nothing more, nothing less. So when the merchant turned you down he denied you credit, didn't he? Of course he did. So when you are denied credit what is supposed to happen next? He has 14 days in which to send you a letter telling you why you were denied credit isn't he? If he don't, he has violated the law, hasn't he? So you send him a letter informing him of his violation of the law and telling him that you are going to sue him if he don't provide you with the denial of credit letter as provided under law. If he believes you he may just write you such a letter in order to keep from getting sued. After all, he essentially has two choices if he wants to avoid a potential lawsuit. He can write a letter that complies with the law or he can write a letter of refusal. Either way he writes a letter so why not just comply and get it over with. If he falls for the dumb trick and sends you a letter then you provide that to the "credit bureau" and they have to give you the free report they refused to give you before on grounds they already gave you one. And what if it don't work? So what? You probably had fun trying anyway. Just don't get dumb enough to actually sue him. (LOL) But there is a much more serious side to the business of hot checks. Many stores will put a list of people who write hot checks on their cash registers, in store bulletin boards or support pillars around the cash registers somewhere. If it is anywhere in public view that is holding you up to public ridicule and you can easily win a huge damage award if they get that stupid. Most stores know better any more but there are still a few dumb ones around. If you see your name on a list like that go get your camera or a friend. Those digital cameras are great for that and they are starting to get pretty cheap in the pawnshops now. Most of them are pretty small and don't need a flash under most conditions. And if they catch you taking the shot so what? They can't do anything to you but tell you to leave and don't come back. And then of course since telecheck especially demands that you send them the money they claim you owe them by Western Union and won't take the money any other way they also violate the law by doing that. And then since they are under FDCA as well you make them validate the debt. Check up on your state laws too. Many states have laws that say the merchant has a right to collect an extra fee for a hot check and in most states it is a $25 fee but in some states the max is only $15 and some states don't say anything about a 3rd party collector being able to collect any other fees. And if your state is one of the states that demand license of 3rd party collectors are they in compliance with your state laws? And so all of the law applies to them as well as other credit bureau, 3rd party collector and credit bureau laws too. You have got far more leverage with them than you do in almost any other situation. So give 'em hell Harry! Never call a 3rd party debt collector.
