Completed a shop for Mystery Shoppers Inc. in early August, and got paid just 10 days ago, via check since apparently they don't know electronic payments exist. Ok, they're slow, not a big deal, can live with that. Then I deposit the check for just $19.65. Check gets credited to my account, all looks good. Today, 4 days later... Surprise!! The check was returned bounced. And I get a $12 returned item fee on top of it. I'm really pissed a company can't cover a check for less than $20, and I have to pay on top of it.

This is the second and last shop I do for them, but I still want my money. Any recommendations on what to do? I know going to small claims court is not going to be cost effective...

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2015 05:51PM by jnoyolapicazzo.

Contact them directly. Scan the documentation of the $12 returned check fee and the bounce of the $19.65. I would first get them on the phone, then offer to email them the documentation. My guess is that a deposit they made did not clear in time to cover the checks written and they probably are feeling pretty stupid at the moment. I would expect that they would make good on both the check and the fee.

These things happen sometimes. About a year and a half ago I had similar with a different company. They were apologetic and issued out another check to cover both the payment due and the fee. Never had problems like that with them before or since.

(Tis the season for spooky stories… There once was a company called Check Mark….)

Thanks for your good advice @Flash, and thanks to @jnoyolapicazzo for letting us know. I'll be interested to see if there are more issues in the future, or if this is a one-off, "sometimes these things happen" kinda thing. Let us know what kind of response you get when you contact them, @jnoyolapicazzo... I hope they make good on the original payment amount and your bounced check fee.

Don't really have a lot of time right now to call them but I already sent them an e-mail. I'll keep you posted. By the way the website says the payment date was 10/6 but did not receive the check until almost 2 weeks later. That's already suspicious to begin with.

I'd be all over a returned check if it happened to me, but I'd be all over it privately until I decided I had a reason to think the company was going down the tube. I'd also be concerned about what my other MSCs might think of what looks like a knee jerk reaction without giving the company the benefit of responding before posting this in open forum.

I'd be much more concerned about not getting a payment at all than getting a returned check, although I agree I'd be very concerned about either. If I received a check that was returned and the company told me they weren't going to make it good, only then would I be telling the story here or anywhere else on the web.

We're all in this together.

Also be aware that if YOUR bank keyed in an improper amount on the check it may have 'bounced' because more and more companies are using 'positive pay' where they notify their bank of check number and amount for which it was issued. So if your check was written for $19.98 and your bank processed it as $19.95, it would bounce as invalid even if there was plenty of money in the account. There was a situation like that about 6 months ago with Sinclair. Sinclair did nothing wrong, the shopper's bank made the error. That would allow the check to be redeposited and the bank be responsible for backing out their charge.

The amount entered in my bank transaction does match the amount in the check (I can verify it online), that definitely is not the issue.

MDavis, I do understand it may look like an overreaction on my end, but had it been the other way around they would have not paid my shop, the only difference is that I wouldn't have been blasted in a public forum maybe. I'm just finding the circumstances suspicious: Check shows as sent 2 weeks before it really arrives, it's a small amount, I deposit same day, comes back bounced. No apology and proactive notice like when ACL also had issues with their checks earlier this month. Never ran into this situation before and wanted to know how others have handled it and their "success rate".

I understand your concern and I hope it works out well for everyone -- hope you get your money, hope the company is okay, hope all of you can get past it and still have a working relationship with each other. I don't believe coming here will increase your success rate on getting paid but if there is a real issue then your early alert will be appreciated. If the company is okay they're going to pay you. All companies and all shoppers have beeps and burps now and then.

Well, I've gotten a response from them. They say there were several returned checks due to a bank error. They apologized and will refund me the returned item fee, still working on the logistics of that (new check vs. redeposit). Will keep everyone posted.

@jnoyolapicazzo wrote:

Well, I've gotten a response from them. They say there were several returned checks due to a bank error. They apologized and will refund me the returned item fee, still working on the logistics of that (new check vs. redeposit). Will keep everyone posted.

I appreciate you informing us of this, and hope Mystery Shoppers Inc. is true to their word. Please keep us posted.

You can update the subject line to indicate the situation was positively resolved.

The companies that are mailing out hard checks are playing with fire. They are often victims of check fraud as they are giving out the routing and bank account information to the general public on a business account. They can have all the anti fraud measures they want on the checks they issue. All it takes is for someone to print out a new check with the same routing and account number and cash it for a larger amount with a fake ID and the account will be wiped out and real checks will bounce. Often the MSC can be a victim as well.

Plus, I love it when I receive a check in the mail, and the envelope is marked "payment enclosed".

@Roxie wrote:

Plus, I love it when I receive a check in the mail, and the envelope is marked "payment enclosed".

They might just as well add, "Steal me."

@jnoyolapicazzo wrote:

Well, I've gotten a response from them. They say there were several returned checks due to a bank error. They apologized and will refund me the returned item fee, still working on the logistics of that (new check vs. redeposit). Will keep everyone posted.

You need to edit subject line of this thread. It's misleading. Not fair to MSC or forum readers.

@MSNinja wrote:

@jnoyolapicazzo wrote:

Well, I've gotten a response from them. They say there were several returned checks due to a bank error. They apologized and will refund me the returned item fee, still working on the logistics of that (new check vs. redeposit). Will keep everyone posted.

You need to edit subject line of this thread. It's misleading. Not fair to MSC or forum readers.

How is the subject line misleading the check bounced she didn't make it up. Her title would make me read the thread to find out the details which she provided. The issue hasn't been resolved yet and it could happen to someone else. IMO it helps to give people a heads up so there won't be a panic.

Because some people will read the thread title or it will show up in google searches and assume it's a bad company that bounces their checks. All that needs to be done is " - Resolved" be added to the thread title. That way people who are interested can read the thread but those that are not will not just assume the company randomly sent out bad checks on purpose.

@bgriffin wrote:

Because some people will read the thread title or it will show up in google searches and assume it's a bad company that bounces their checks. All that needs to be done is " - Resolved" be added to the thread title. That way people who are interested can read the thread but those that are not will not just assume the company randomly sent out bad checks on purpose.

Thanks for the explanation but unless I missed something the situation hasn't been resolved yet and the check did bounce. I would look at it as a this happened to me don't panic type of thing but that's just me.

You are absolutely correct in that it has not been resolved yet.

Thanks all for the feedback - Still awaiting for a new check (I was promised it would be mailed last Friday). Once I receive the check and I deposit it and it doesn't bounce, I will definitely edit the title of the post to "Resolved".

It is also a crime to issue a check that does not have the funds in the account to cover that check and all other outstanding checks at the time of issue, most states it is now a felony.

It's been a week since I was told "I'm reissuing the checks today". Still no check in my mailbox.

Yes, I was noting this evening that as of two days ago you still had not seen it. Do you live in some desolate part of Antarctica where mail bags are flown in and dropped off once every 2 weeks? It certainly would seem as though they are in no hurry to clean up the problem and that does not speak well for them.

My response is to msdavisnowell. This is supposed to be a shoppers forum. The person did nothing wrong in exoressing their feelings about the check incident. In fact, receving a bounced check is not a knee jerk reaction. It is not the shoppers responsibility to protect the companies image. The only thing this shopper did was ask for advice. That could have been given without the add ons. As independent contractors we should be glad to hear of situations like this. At least we are aware.

Yes, we are aware and I agree that receiving a bounced check is not a knee jerk reaction. That was in no way what I meant and we have a misunderstanding.

What I meant by knee jerk reaction was coming on the forum and posting a "bounced check" without contacting the company and giving them a chance to cover the check. Of course we need to know about non-payment and/or failure to cover checks.

There are many reasons why a company might bounce a check and most of the time it is human error. Perhaps someone paid them with an insufficient check which the bank backed out of their funds and that caused their own check to bounce. It's hard for me to believe they would intentionally write an insufficient check and open themselves up to the legal liability. After all, it's not a felony to owe money. It is sometimes a felony and otherwise a misdemeanor to write an insufficient check.

I don't currently work for this company and as far as I recall, I have never worked for them. I am not defending the company; on the other hand, I am proposing care and concern for all parties. Of course the poster is due her money and of course the company should pay. Of course we want to know if there is an integrity issue with a company or if the company is experiencing severe financial problems. Nevertheless, no matter how this works out, it is my position that if I had a history with a company and they sent me a check which did not clear I would avoid a knee jerk reaction such as immediately posting on a public forum. I would give them the benefit of the doubt for a reasonable time before I made a public announcement.

You are correct it is not the shopper's job to protect the companies' images. It is the shopper's job to protect his or her own image and that is exactly the best course of action. I recommend not taking a knee jerk reaction because it reflects poorly on the shopper as well as on the company and it damages what could possibly have been a solid ongoing relationship representing a future income stream.

We don't know how this will work out. I'm hoping the company is okay. I'm hoping the shopper will be paid and this payment issue will be resolved. That said, it's unfortunate to consider this bad check could be a blip and not a bomb that comes between the shopper and the company. Whether the shopper bails or not, it's probably pretty much over. Nobody has a big enough stake to work on making this work now.

Everybody has to decide if and when to cry wolf. Perhaps this check is the tip of an iceberg and the first indication something may be wrong. Perhaps it's not. I would have taken a wait and see attitude for a couple of weeks, that's all I'm saying. I'm saying immediately posting here was a knee jerk reaction that should have been delayed until after contact was made with the company. I do not believe this is "us against them". I believe we are all in this together and we should treat each other with respect.

When I had a check bounce last year from a different company, the first thing I did was to check the forum and see if others were having the same experience. There was nothing posted.

In my case I had the phone number, called and immediately got a person. They transferred me to accounting, where it was explained they had a batch of checks bounce. I was asked to email the amount, the check number and the amount of any bank fees. I did so and the check was cut the same day and I had it in hand about 2 days later.

Meanwhile others had hit the forum with bounced check issues and I could tell them who to call.

This thread I believe is perfectly appropriate because even when contact was made and the company error acknowledged, they pretty obviously did not cut a check a week+ ago when they said they would and get it out ASAP. Thus this saga with this company is completely appropriate.

Thanks for that cogent and well written explanation, @MDavisnowell. I can see what you're saying and you make some great points. I agree with a lot of what you said.

I lean towards more information on this forum, though, not less. I respect your approach of giving the company the benefit of the doubt and waiting to see if they make good on it. But I consider this thread an early warning system... if there are a ton of shoppers who get bounced checks, there's cause for worry. Even if it's just a bad batch like @Flash's experience above, it's good information to have. If everyone waits to see if it gets resolved, it could be several weeks before we learn about an MSC that can't meet its obligations, and many shoppers on this forum might have gone out of pocket on shops for them during those weeks when they might otherwise not have if they'd had more information.

I think of this thread the same way I think of the poster who says "Don't work for Widgets Plus MSC.... they invalidated my shop for NO REASON!!!!!" If everyone who posts on that thread talks about their many successful years of MS'ing with Widgets Plus, then I assume this is a one off, or the shopper is just bad at shopping (sorry posters who use 5 exclamation points.... I'm judging you). But even so, the thread might have information about how the MSC deals with problems. Or the OP might be exposed as the problem and I might learn that the MSC is actually well respected by this forum's members, and sign up for them. I've signed up with companies after reading a "Don't work for XYZ Company!" thread.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'd rather have the information and make my own decision. I know everything on here is filtered through the author's perspective. I know there are two sides to every story. I'd rather hear one side and make my own decision than hear neither side and miss potentially important information.

It is a fact this thread looks more appropriate every day as we see the company has not yet repaid the check. It's also interesting that no other forum members (as far as we know) have received insufficient checks. This may be an isolated case or it may be the first report of a real problem -- yet to be seen. The best we can tell at this point is that the OP was given an insufficient check several days ago which has not been honored as of now. We have also been told they said they would issue another check but I'm not aware whether the company said they would cut that check individually or whether they planned to put it in line with the next checks cut.

I do not disagree with anyone who says we need all the information we can get. I am, though, saying that based on what we knew at the time of the original post that the thread title looked a bit harsh and premature to me. And of course it's been picked up and is now quoted by the internet. That's unfortunate if this is an isolated case, the company is solvent, and this is simply a human error not associated with the belly up of a business. If this turns out to be the forerunning bit of info on a company going down the tube that will change the perspective overall but it will not change my opinion regarding how it was handled.

I am not privy to the overall connection between the poster and the company, as to how much work the poster has done for the company and how long they have been contracting with them, but I believe if a large body of work is involved and the company is solvent this may be a regretted process.

It is not my business what anyone posts or how they handle the day to day nuts and bolts of what they do. I am simply saying that from the viewpoint of presenting ourselves as an educational forum, I feel reason to comment and suggest alternate methods of dealing with this for probable best outcome to both parties.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2015 06:18PM by MDavisnowell.