Certegy Check Services, Inc. St. Petersberg, FL / Georgia

Certegy Check Services, Inc. St. Petersberg, FL / Georgia

Can you beat this. I make a purchase of $360.11at Best Buy and pay for this by check. The checking account has been established for 3 years now, check numbers in the high 600's, plenty of money in the account, a clean record of check writing with no check bouncing on file and all of this at a well known bank, in the region, that guareentees all checks to clear and that I have patronized for the past 25 years. So, it takes a while for the check to clear thru the check clearing service that works in conjuction with Best Buy...the checkout girl on the phone for a while but finally hangs-up and apologizing for the delay, and off I go with my purchase.

Next purchase, at Office Depot for $164.30. Again, the same thing, except this time it takes almost 15 minutes and the checkout girl informs me that my check has been denied and tells me that I have to call a 1-800 number to find out more information as to why. I pay for my purchase with cash and immediately call this number to inquire about my dilema. I finally speak to a rep who tells me that my check is not a guaranteed form of payment until it clears thru their check clearing process, my check numbers are low, and that my check did not met their guidelines.

The name of the company ...Certegy Check Services, Inc. I ask what guidelines are my checks not meeting, so that I may remedy the problem and continue writing checks in the future. I also asked what retailers they work with so I know which ones to avoid, and the names of the banks that they work with.

They tell me they do not have access to which guidelines that my checks are not meeting and they cannot give me any other information, and that they will send me an application to fill-out so that I can increase the amounts that i write my checks for and to also put me on a V.I.P. list so that this will not hinder my future check writing..untill then my checks will continue to be denied...WHAT THE F***! The next day I go to my financial establishment to address this situation and discuss this with a manager. The bank manager tells me they cannot do this.

I ask him to call the number given to me to confirm my call. He spoke to a supervisor who said told him the same that they told me the night before and also named Target, Kohls, Wal-Mart, Sears, Radio Shack, Office Depot, and Best Buy to name only a few.......the basic big name chains and as far as the banks....their were none they worked with. Before Certegy came along..all checks went thru Tel-a-check Services and I never had a problem. What kind of establishment is this and when did they acquire this power to deny my checks. I live in Hammond,IN 46324

So I was wondering if there are any consumers in this area whom are also having a problem with this Certergy Check Services. I remedied my problem by using my Debit Card.

Lisa L

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HEY GUESS WHAT! YOUR CHECK IS NOT A GUARANTEED FORM OF PAYMENT - USE A FREAKING DEBIT CARD. OH YEAH, AND PEOPLE CASHING CHECKS AT WALMART - GET A FREAKING BANK ACCOUNT. OH, DON'T HAVE ONE. DONT RELY ON WALMART - IT IS AN CONVENIENCE ONLY. YOU'RE NOT GUARANTEED TO CASH A CHECK.

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I have had 3 checks denied to me in the last week! How freakin humiliating! Gutiar Center, DSW Shoes, and Lowes all gave me the same number for Cetergy Checks. The sails rep said the same things as listed on other complaints. No negative check writing history, on and on. It is embarrassing. I had more than $8.000 in my account and was was denied a $125.00 purchase. Unbelivable

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I also had the same humiliating experience yesterday with a check being denied at LensCrafters, in California. I have purchased eyeglasses from them several times in the past with checks with no problem. I couldn't believe what I was hearing when the clerk told me my check was not accepted. I had never had a check denied before. My FICO scores have been all in the 800+ range with a 20 year credit history, so this totally blew my mind. There was also approx. $2500.00 in the checking account, so after asking the clerk what the problem was several times and being told she had no idea...I called my bank (BofA). Again, the customer service rep also had no idea, but suggested I call Chex Sysems and gave me a number that was purely automated and no help at all. That evening, in a panic, I ran my credit scores with no changes...that was a small relief. I was afraid something had been put on there without my knowledge. After 24 hours of frustration, I went back to LensCrafters and asked the same clerk which company she had called. At this point, I think she felt sorry for me and gave me a comapany number for Certegy. I finally got to speak to a human being, however, the only responses she could give me were "often legitimate checks are denied because they do not fit into the patterns deemed acceptable"(upon furter questioning...she reported that she had no knowledge of the pattern or any details or reason why my check was denied.) The only positive piece of information I obtained was that the "reason" would be mailed to me. THANK YOU VERY MUCH CERTEGY FOR THE EYE-OPENING EXPERIENCE OF KNOWING THAT THERE IS BUT ANOTHER MONITORING SYSTEM TO THE DETRIMENT AND FRUSTRATION OF THE INNOCENT CONSUMER.

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Same problem. These people suck. I can't believe anyone works with them.

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I live in Florida and have had the same experience!! How often have you been denied!!!! I have been told that this probably will not happen again but looking at others experience It looks like I have just started this nightmare!!!

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Same problem and same questions in Virginia! I would be happy to join a consumers revolt.

Don

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I have had a problem with this company also. I have been going to Wal-Mart to cash my checks for a few months now with no problems, then one day out of the blue I get denied and I am given this number to call to find out why. When I call they tell me they need more information from my employer in order to continue to cash my checks. There has been no previous problem with cashing my checks and I work for a very large employer so I asked them what they needed from my employeer that is different now than it was last time they cashed my check - they could not tell me and just suggested that I cash my check at the bank it was drawn on. Due to the problems with this company I will not go back to Wal-Mart for their check cashing service again.

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The exact same thing happened to me. They could not tell me why my check was denied and also put me on the VIP list. What a crock of shit. This process took place at Home Depot, so you might want to avoid them in the future. It was very embarassing and I ended up paying with my debit card. Something needs to be done about practices such as this. I would also like to see what they use for deciding to deny a check. The Freedome of Information Act should require them to produce the methods used for denial of checks.

Tom R.