On December 7 I wrote a check at Wal Mart, which I do every week and have for many years. However, this time, my check was declined. I was given a slip of paper by the cashier, with a telephone number on it, that I could contact, to find out what the problem was.
Before I even left the store, I called the number, entered all the numbers off the bottom of the check that had just been declined 2 minutes earlier and received an automated message, saying that their records indicated that I had had a check declined, but that since then, my account had been restored to satisfactory. WHAT?!? How does my account go from unsatisfactory to satisfactory in less than 5 minutes and with me doing nothing to alter it?!? So I called the number back again and went through all the number pressing to get to a human being. I asked what had happened and they were unable to tell me anything. I assumed that whatever the issue was, it was a glitch in their system and things were okay now. WRONG!
The next week, the exact same thing happened. I made several more calls to Telecheck. I finally reached someone who was actually paying attention, when they verified all my account information and realized that they had my checking account number incorrectly entered in their system. The gal I spoke with was very apologetic and assured me that the check would be resubmitted and the issue should be resolved within 24 hours.
The week following, I'm at Wal Mart again. It happens AGAIN.By this time, I am PISSED! I make several more calls to Telecheck and am again told that it is their error, but I have to authorize a draft to resolve the issue. I told them that they still have the check and that they need to just send the check to the bank, but this time with the correct account information! I get nowhere.
I am STILL battling with them - as they have STILL not resolved the issue and I have now had 3 checks declined at Wal Mart and two online check payments declined on Amazon.com, because they also use Telecheck. God knows how many other retailers use them. I'm terrified now, to write a check anywhere, for fear that it's going to happen there too.
I do not want to use a credit card (which I have been forced to do throughout this nightmare), because I'm not the greatest at paying each transaction off and my balance is climbing.
I have filed complaints with the FTC and the BBB today and will file with the Illinois Attorney General's office tomorrow.
I have never been so humiliated as what I was in those checkout aisles at Wal Mart, with dozens of people standing in line behind me, thinking that I'm a deadbeat, who tries to pay with bad checks. It's to the point where I'm losing sleep over it and the stress is beginning to wear me thin. I feel helpless to be able to fight these jerks who now have complete control over my spending. This is the biggest load of crap I think I've ever encountered and someone needs to do something about this company!
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