Check bouncers facing big fees

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

By Warren Wise

The Post and Courier

Under new program, merchants will be able to recover losses easier, more quickly

A warning to bad check writers: The Ninth Circuit Solicitor's Office is coming after you in Charleston County.

Under a new program, merchants will find it easier to report fraudulent checks and collect their money through a system overseen by the office's newly formed Worthless Check Unit.

"While theft with a pen is more subtle than theft with a weapon, it is still a crime and an unfair loss suffered by the business community," Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said Tuesday.

Wilson couldn't put an exact figure on the amount of money lost by business owners in the county because of bad checks, but she said it is most likely in the millions of dollars.

"The advantage of this program .... is that it increases the speed and rate of financial recovery," Wilson said.

Merchants or others who receive bad checks can go to www.scsolicitor9.org and download the form from the Worthless Check Unit section, fill it out and mail it to the solicitor's office with the fraudulent check.

The Worthless Check Unit will give the person who wrote the check an opportunity to make the check good, and cover the expenses to the victim and the Worthless Check Unit.

Anyone who does not comply will face criminal prosecution.

Except for the cost of a stamp, it's free for businesses and others stuck with a worthless check.

"This program takes the work out of it for the merchants," Wilson said.

"It's a no-brainer," Worthless Check Unit director Polly Cillpam said.

The program is not expected to cost taxpayers any additional money. It is being funded by the fees collected on bad checks.

"It's paid for by the person who takes advantage of the merchants and writes a bad check," Wilson said.

The Worthless Check Unit is now staffed by two employees, but Cillpam said it is expected to expand to possibly five as the program cranks up and retailers begin to take advantage of it.

"It's a more streamlined approach," said Jim Camp, president and chief executive officer of the Better Business Bureau of Central South Carolina and Charleston.

Before the program was launched, a business owner had to pay for and send a certified letter to the bad check writer and, if not reimbursed, take the case to court. Wilson said some merchants chose to absorb their losses instead of fighting back because of the red tape and expenses involved.

Under the new program, a person who tries to pass a bad check of up to $500 will pay restitution and $121. The distribution breaks down like this: $30 to the victim, $41 to the county and $50 to the Worthless Check Unit.

For bad checks of $501 to $1,000, the fee to the Worthless Check Unit doubles to $100. For fraudulent checks over $1,000, the fee triples to $150.

The program is not yet available in Berkeley County, which is part of the Ninth Judicial Circuit, but Wilson's office hopes to roll it out there soon. About two-thirds of the state's counties have similar programs, including Dorchester and Colleton.