Stolen checks

[NetSkyBlue]

About a year ago, my boyfriend's checkbook was stolen. We discovered this after a check was written to a gas station in another town (where he's never even been) for $89, and he noticed the money gone on his account statement. He closed the account, filed a police report, and ended up getting his money back.

Today, he received a letter from a collection agency for another check for $52, written to that same gas station. What should his next step be? Obviously calling the gas station won't solve anything if they've sold the debt to a collection agency. How does he get the collection agency to stop trying to collect a debt that isn't his? And also, how does he prevent this from happening again? The culprit obviously still has his checkbook, and the gas station isn't checking the ID of the person. Then when the check bounces, because the account is closed, they are claiming the debt is his?

[mrpaseo]

I believe the fault is on the gas station, not your BF. How can your BF be responsible for an account that he closed and filed a police report?

The fault is on the gas station for not checking ID.

Good luck.

[Petunia 100]

Your boyfriend needs to write (not call) the collection agency and ask for validation that the debt is his. He should include a copy of the police report and state that he believes the check written was fraudulent.

They must either show documentation proving the debt is his or stop attempting to collect it.

He has 30 days, the clock is ticking.

Here is a site with information you both may find useful:

http://www.creditinfocenter.com/legal/FDCPA.shtml

[NetSkyBlue]

Thank you. Yes, the gas station has done wrong by accepting stolen checks, and since it has happened twice at the same gas station, I told him he should speak to the manager at that gas station and stress the trouble their failure to check IDs has caused him, and insist that they implement an ID-checking policy, but I don't know how far that will get him.

If he sends a letter and copy of the police report to this collection agency, they will really just accept that, and let it go?

I don't suppose there's anything he can do to stop this happening over and over, until the thief runs out of stolen checks, is there?

[Petunia 100]

Thank you. Yes, the gas station has done wrong by accepting stolen checks, and since it has happened twice at the same gas station, I told him he should speak to the manager at that gas station and stress the trouble their failure to check IDs has caused him, and insist that they implement an ID-checking policy, but I don't know how far that will get him.

If he sends a letter and copy of the police report to this collection agency, they will really just accept that, and let it go?

I don't suppose there's anything he can do to stop this happening over and over, until the thief runs out of stolen checks, is there?

The collection agency must provide documentation proving the debt is your boyfriend's, or by law they must let it go. This will be difficult for them to do, since your bf filed a police report.

I'd be speaking to the manager too, but for a different reason. Why is it that the thief has written checks twice at this particular gas station? Have other checks been written and you just didn't mention them? I'd be wondering what connection the thief has to this gas station, that the employees don't even ask for ID. Yet apparently, don't know the thief well enough to know that the name on the check is not his name. Something is off. The manager should be interested in getting to the bottom of the matter, since the gas station will have to "eat" the bad checks.

There is no guarantee that this will ever stop. It is easy to print new checks.

[NetSkyBlue]

No other checks have been written that we know about. The only reason we found out about this one was the collection notice. This letter had been re-routed from his previous address (which is what was on the old checks) and is dated 5/7/13.

That's an interesting point about why they may have only been used at the one gas station. I would think that more occurrences would have happened if it were some kind of inside job, instead of one check a year ago, and one check recently, but who knows?

This kind of makes me want to go to some kind of check-less account - at least when you have a stolen credit card cancelled, the fraud stops!

[Gailete]

Some folks are just pure stupid or scammers. They know the checks aren't good yet they use them anyhow. My in-laws rented a little house to a couple and they paid the deposit/first months rent with a check. Wasn't a bank my FIL generally went to so he didn't recognize that as of Sept. that year those checks would not be good any more since another bank had taken them over (I have an account there so knew immediately what had happened). So FIL goes to the bank to cash the check and is told that it is no good. I'm sure you can see where this story is going. They had already moved in, and 6-7-8 months later after having every excuse in the book for why they didn't make the check good, why they didn't have the rent money they finally got booted out to go pull the same scam on some unsuspecting landlord. Maybe they aren't stupid since they got close to a years free rent. The whole time the woman kept insisting that she was pregnant as well and due in January, then Feb., etc. She never did have a baby either. She just loved to lie when the truth would make more sense!

As to this problem, having that police report was the best thing you could have done, and that will prove and establish that he didn't write those checks and isn't responsible for them to both the credit agency and the store owner.

[Folio Explorer]

In NJ and PA, state Attorney General offices can help resolve situations like this. You'd need to file a complaint, and then the state AG office will advocate/mediate on your behalf. It's a free option to gain a powerful advocate.

[snafu]

Is the NSF or collection o BFs credit report? This likewise would need correction