I am a 53-year-old Grandmother, married 33 years, with an Excellent Credit Record. My husband and I have lived in the same town (rural Illinois) for 14 years, have used the same bank 14 years, and shopped at the same Jewel Food Store 13 years (since it was built). Most importantly, we do NOT write bad checks!
I have always preferred to use checks rather than credit or debit cards; and I consistently shop at the local Jewel every 2 - 3 weeks, spending anywhere from $200.00 to over $600.00 at each outing. I am about as predictable as a customer can get.
Until my recent experiences, I had NEVER, EVER, had a check declined ANYWHERE. Then, in December a check was declined at Borders Book Store that I only visit occasionally - I was surprised, but assumed it was an error. I was given a slip of paper with the name TeleCheck, and a referance number. I paid for the books with cash, and called TeleCheck when I got home.
I explained to the TeleCheck lady that our bank had recently merged with another bank, which caused a change in our account number - I assumed this had caused the problem. She agreed that it might have, and told me the check was good - and that I could even go back to the bookstore and present the check again (I didn't.) I thought this was a one-time incident, nothing to worry about.
Then, on January 17, I shopped at the local Jewel as usual. I had been sick with Bronchitis, so had not been to the store for about 3 weeks. I soon had enough stuff to fill two grocery carts.
When I checked out, the total came to $512.89 - no problem - there was more than $5,000.00 in the account. I wrote the check, the checker put it through, then things began to go wrong.
The checker called someone and another person came over to examine the check. I was then called to a little desk and was asked to show my Drivers License (which I did). I was also asked to write my phone number down, and this was then recited to the person on the phone.
I was then told my check had been declined. When I asked "Why", I was told "This is not a Jewel thing - it is TeleCheck" - hearing the name brought back the Borders Books incident - another mistake, I thought.
I was handed a phone to talk to the TeleCheck person. This was not a nice lady like the first time - this one was hostile! I asked why my check had been declined, and was told "It does not meet our criteria"
I then stated that I knew there was over $5,000.00 in the account, and was told that didn't matter - the check still did not meet "their criteria". When I asked what their criteria was, the lady stated that she couldn't give me that information. I told her that was nuts! I also asked if it could be a case of identity theft, and she said "No, we would know if that was the problem."
I then related the Borders Books incident, and suggested this was probably another mistake, caused by the change in the account number. I was told it was not a mistake, they had the correct account number, and all they could tell me was that my check could not be accepted - period!
She then told me in a nasty tone that a third check, also written to Jewel, had been declined in November - I was stunned - I knew the Borders Books incident was the ONLY time a check had ever been declined! She insisted that was not true - at this point I knew they thought I was trying to write a bad check.
I was not given a code number or a reference number, but was handed a slip of paper with the TeleCheck phone number.
At this point I began to realize I had become the center of attention - there was a big line-up behind me, and everyone seemed to be staring at the two carts loaded with groceries. The checker suggested that some things be put back, so I could write a smaller check which "might" be accepted.
I told her the amount was not the problem! The checker then said I had to use some other method of payment. I started searching my purse, knowing that I usually do not carry major credit cards with me for fear of them being stolen. I have also not used a debit card since my daughter had an experience with identity theft.
At this point I was very upset, coughing (I still had Bronchitis) and admitedly the tears began to come despite my efforts to calm down. I took off my glasses to go through the contents of my purse, and my glasses fell off, hitting the floor, and the lens popped out!
I wanted to die - remember, this is a local store in a rural area that I have been going to for 11 years - many people know me there, both customers and employees. This had to be the most humiliating moment I had ever experienced.
I finally found a Sears Master Card in my purse, and handed it to the checker - the rest is a blur. Someone pushed one of my carts to the car while I pushed the other - the entire time I was coughing and tears were streaming down my face. When we reached the car, I thanked the cart boy and he said "Have a Good Evening" - for the first time, I wanted to laugh...
I called TeleCheck when I got home, but got nowhere - I asked for a manager, and was given another person, but she gave me the same runaround. I tried calling back two more times, but they all said the same thing - "Your check was declined because it did not meet our criteria". I spent the rest of the weekend upset, wondering what was going on, and vowing to never again shop at the Jewel...
Then I decided to go on the internet, and that is when I found this website. I discovered other complaints about TeleCheck and realized I was not alone. On the next business day (which was today) I called my bank and learned that the other check that was supposedly declined had actually gone through and cleared with no problem!
I called TeleCheck again and told them - they insisted this check had been declined, and could not understand why the store had sent the check through. (I suspect the checker on that day recognized me, and went ahead and sent the check through - she never mentioned that TeleCheck had told the store to decline it.)
I asked that this part of my record be taken out, and was told that was impossible because TeleCheck had declined the check, even though the store hadn't! I also got the same statement as before "Your checks did not meet our criteria" I was also told I should always carry some other method of payment, because this would proabably happen again! At least they finally gave me a code - they said the check was declined for a "Code Three", but did not explain what that meant.
At this point I called my bank for a serious discussion, and told them the entire story. I was surprised when they seemed very interested. Throughout the day I talked to 2 or 3 people from the bank. I was told there had been problems with TeleCheck, and the bank was annoyed because they could never seem to get access to the top level people in the company.
When I went back through my checkbook while talking to one of the bank employees, I realized the problems had started exactly the same week as when I began to use the complimentary checks that had been issued to us by the bank when the account numbers were changed. I had reached the 7000 level with my old checks, but the complimentary checks were numbered in the 1000 range. That is when I knew this had to be the problem.
The bank employee tried to set up a conferance call with TeleCheck and me - but TeleCheck refused to do this. The bank employee at least got someone to finally listen, and explained the issue with the check numbers. Although TeleCheck acknowledged this MIGHT be the problem, they would not confirm it. (The bank also told me that much of the "criteria" was ridiculous - prior to this, the bank apparently did not know just what information TeleCheck used when determining if a check was "good".)
The bank has promised to follow up on this, and keep me informed. My next step will be to have a serious talk with the Jewel Manager. Considering all of the bank customers who are also using complimentary checks, there must be others who are experiencing the same problems. This cannot possibly reflect well on Jewel or any other business who refuses checks based on TeleChecks outrageous "criteria", especially when no one will tell you WHY your check is being refused!
I will tell the Manager the same thing I told the people at the bank, AND the people at TeleCheck - if they are going to refuse checks from responsible customers like me, the system is seriously flawed, and is bound to fall apart - they are punishing the wrong people, and causing some serious embarassment and heartache in the process...
This consumer abuse is inexcusable, and needs to be stopped.
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