Special Kinds of Checks
Special kinds of checks
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Rent Checks |
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All hot checks for rent are usually prosecuted as issuance of bad check (IBC). You must comply with the following for the Hot Check Task Force to prosecute your check case as felony theft by check. First, the total amount of the checks must exceed $2,500.00. If you enter the lease agreement because you are relying on the check being paid immediately by the bank and the check writer occupies the premises, then we may be able to file a charges for theft of service if that check is dishonored by the bank and the first month's rent is also paid with a bad check or not paid at all. An eviction notice must have been given immediately upon receipt of notice that the check has been dishonored by the bank.
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Periodic Rent Checks |
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If the check writer gave you a check on the day the rent was due and the check writer continued to occupy the premises, then we may be able to file charges for theft of service if that check is dishonored by the bank. You must have served the tenant with an eviction notice immediately once you received notice that the check was dishonored by the bank. If the check was given to you in order to halt eviction proceedings, we may be able to file charges for theft of service if the check is dishonored by the bank. The lease must expressly state that occupation of the premises is contingent upon timely payment of the rent and the eviction notice must have been given immediately when rent was not paid, or if the rent was paid by bad check, immediately upon notice of the bank's dishonor of the check. If you don't give the tenant an eviction notice immediately when the rent is late, then you waive theft action in criminal courts! You must have withdrawn eviction proceedings because a check was given which you believed would be paid by the bank and the tenant remained in possession of the premises. Copies of your eviction notice and eviction papers mus tbe submitted with your checkThe most important element to be satisfied in order for us to file criminal charges is that the eviction notice must have been served at the first sign that the tenant has not paid in a timely manner!
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Stop Payment Checks |
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When a customer directs, in the appropriate manner, a bank to stop payment on a particular check the bank is required to refrain from paying that check. If you receive a check for merchandise or service you provide and the bank returns the check to you unpaid because it received a stop payment order, you may be able to file a complaint against the check writer for theft under certain circumstances. On September 1, 1995, the law changed regarding steps one must take to initiate a theft case involving a stop payment check. Prior to that date, if a check writer wrote a check for either merchandise or a service and later stopped payment on that check, the deciding factor for prosecution was whether or not the account held sufficient funds to pay that check as well as all other lower numbered checks still outstanding. Checks written after September 1, 1995, the law differentiates between checks written for merchandise and those written for services. If services were obtained by writing a check that was later ordered stop payment, the letter sent is the same demand letter as for an NSF (insufficient funds) check and the process remains the same as before with the account balance the deciding factor. Checks written in order to obtain merchandise, however, which were later ordered not paid by the check writer are treated differently. The following paragraph describes in detail the steps necessary to initiate a theft investigation. A check written for merchandise and later not paid because of a stop payment order require that a special stop payment demand letter be sent. The letter, because the law requires it, gives the check writer 10 days to either return the merchandise or pay the check. (See specific verbiage in the sample letter.) Your acceptance of the return of the merchandise is not optional if you wish to file a criminal complaint for theft. In other words, if you wish to file a complaint with us on the check, you must accept the merchandise if it is returned to you. If you get the merchandise back, you may not file a complaint with us, but you may seek compensation for any degradation in the value of the merchandise through the civil courts. If the check you hold was written for perishable merchandise (for example, prepared sandwiches) or was for a mixture of goods and services, please contact the office via email at Hot Check or by telephone at 806-775-1111 to discuss which procedure must be followed.
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Checks for C.O.D. Deliveries |
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When merchandise is delivered C.O.D. to a customer within Lubbock County by your company employee and it meets the criteria for an IBC or a theft by check, the case will be treated the same as a case in which the check writer came into your place of business and wrote the check for merchandise or services. However, remember to be able to prosecute an individual for IBC or theft by check we must be able to identify the check writer in court. Taking COD checks poses risks that normal checks do not.
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