Certegy Check Services and declining to honor checks

[May mom]

I figure tuggers are so varied that maybe one of you knows anything about this.

I went to Lord and Taylor yesterday, wrote a check on an account with money in it. The check didn't go through. Paid a different way. On my receipt, it says Cenergy Check Services was unable to honor my request due to information in my check transactions file. I've never bounced a check and neither has my husband. And in thinking back, about 2 months ago, my husband tried to write a check that was declined in a different store and I called the credit union right away and they said it wasn't them and they didn't even see an attempt to write a check. I brushed his off as some type of clerical mistake with the new salesperson at that store. But now I am pretty upset and worried. Has this happened to anyone else? My receipt also says I can call a number and get a copy of my check transactions file. But I've never heard of this company before so should I trust them. Did some research this morning on the web and there are a ton of complaints (similar to mine with money in the bank to cover the checks.) Any ideas? Thanks much.

 

[loafingcactus]

People still write checks? ;-)

Seriously though, why not bypass the whole issue by using a credit card? Credit cards offer a host of consumer protections that you don't have when you write a check, including the point that if your purse is stolen you cancel the card and you aren't out for any fraudulent charges... Carrying around your checkbook is kinda risky.


Eta: Or a debit card. This is still safer than carrying/using checks.

 

[chellej]

You will have to call the number to get it resolved. I had it happen once on a check that I had stopped payment on. The bill had already been taken care of another way but the stop payment went through the system as a bad check.

 

[Icc5]

Cenergy

I figure tuggers are so varied that maybe one of you knows anything about this.

I went to Lord and Taylor yesterday, wrote a check on an account with money in it. The check didn't go through. Paid a different way. On my receipt, it says Cenergy Check Services was unable to honor my request due to information in my check transactions file. I've never bounced a check and neither has my husband. And in thinking back, about 2 months ago, my husband tried to write a check that was declined in a different store and I called the credit union right away and they said it wasn't them and they didn't even see an attempt to write a check. I brushed his off as some type of clerical mistake with the new salesperson at that store. But now I am pretty upset and worried. Has this happened to anyone else? My receipt also says I can call a number and get a copy of my check transactions file. But I've never heard of this company before so should I trust them. Did some research this morning on the web and there are a ton of complaints (similar to mine with money in the bank to cover the checks.) Any ideas? Thanks much.

My wife and I both work at a grocery store that uses Cenergy for check approval. I'm in receiving so I don't see what goes on but I do know that sometimes if another check has been approved by them a short time ago the system will act up, sometimes (just like timeshare exchange companies) there is a bug in the system, etc. It could be about 20 different reasons. For the most part with the millions of transactions thru them they aren't really too bad. Nowadays so many people try scamming the system that they do have to be very careful. The biggest problem we deal with seems to be they don't give very good customer service.
Bart