I opened my first checking account when I was in college. It rarely had much money in it, and I used it mainly to pay my school expenses. Over the years, I relied more and more on checks, and now I almost never use a credit card and seldom pay cash for any purchase over five dollars. I have a debit card, but I can't remember using it. Maybe once.
The day after Christmas, Half Price Books had their annual 20 percent discount sale. As I always do, I went in early, shopped for over an hour, and bought an assortment of CDs, DVDs, and books. Paid by check. Later that afternoon, I had to be back in the area so I made a second pass at the bargain CD rack. Again, I paid by check. No problem so far.
The next day, still not satisfied that I'd taken full advantage of the discount prices, I made my third trip to the store and found a few more CDs and DVDs that looked interesting. This time there was a problem. The store uses the Telecheck payment authorization system, and for some reason it wasn't allowing my check to clear. No one could explain what the problem was, and there was no manager on duty for me to discuss the situation with. I left and decided to try again the following day.
Different day, same problem. Again, Telecheck was refusing to authorize. In their terminology, my payment was declined. Now I was getting pissed off. I've been a regular customer at Half Price Books for years, and I've probably written at least thirty checks a year there with no problems. I knew there was more than enough money in the account to cover the check amount, so what's the f-ing deal ? Sorry, I was told, store policy dictates that payment by check requires system approval. The clerks were polite, but in their minds, rules were rules. Making an exception for me just to provide excellent service to a dependable customer wasn't going to happen.
My next stop was the King Dollar store in the same shopping center. This is one of those places where everything sells for one dollar. I needed some flashlight batteries and a few other odds and ends, and I usually grab a few items on pure impulse.
This store also uses Telecheck and for a third time, my payment was declined. Again, the store personnel couldn't tell me why but I was given a cash register slip with a 1-800 number and a multi-digit "denial code" on it. When I got home, I decided to call Telecheck and get some answers.
Telecheck is one of those operations that apparently has only one human being on the payroll, the lady whose voice is on the recorded messages. I punched in all kinds of numbers, but at no time was I given the option to talk to a living, breathing service representative. After about five minutes of automated runaround, their machine explained that based on the denial code in my transaction, the check was refused because I fit a risk profile based in part on the frequency of my check-writing.
I'm just guessing, but it looks like my problem started because I tried to write three checks at one business (HP Books) within 24 hours, and then because one check was refused, all subsequent checks written within six days would also be refused.
Now I understand why ethnic minorities are pissed off about racial profiling. Not being able to pay by check for stuff I can live without is an inconvenience, but being hassled by the law based on some arbitrary "profile" would really chap my ass.
I'm mad at the rip-off artists who go around writing hot checks, which makes Telecheck viable in the first place, but I'm also mad at a system that allows Telecheck to operate without a customer-friendly issue resolution process. Any organization that has access to my personal financial affairs should be required by law to have a human being on duty to handle my complaints.
Life is a bitch, and then you die. A big EMF to Telecheck and their clients.
The day after Christmas, Half Price Books had their annual 20 percent discount sale. As I always do, I went in early, shopped for over an hour, and bought an assortment of CDs, DVDs, and books. Paid by check. Later that afternoon, I had to be back in the area so I made a second pass at the bargain CD rack. Again, I paid by check. No problem so far.
The next day, still not satisfied that I'd taken full advantage of the discount prices, I made my third trip to the store and found a few more CDs and DVDs that looked interesting. This time there was a problem. The store uses the Telecheck payment authorization system, and for some reason it wasn't allowing my check to clear. No one could explain what the problem was, and there was no manager on duty for me to discuss the situation with. I left and decided to try again the following day.
Different day, same problem. Again, Telecheck was refusing to authorize. In their terminology, my payment was declined. Now I was getting pissed off. I've been a regular customer at Half Price Books for years, and I've probably written at least thirty checks a year there with no problems. I knew there was more than enough money in the account to cover the check amount, so what's the f-ing deal ? Sorry, I was told, store policy dictates that payment by check requires system approval. The clerks were polite, but in their minds, rules were rules. Making an exception for me just to provide excellent service to a dependable customer wasn't going to happen.
My next stop was the King Dollar store in the same shopping center. This is one of those places where everything sells for one dollar. I needed some flashlight batteries and a few other odds and ends, and I usually grab a few items on pure impulse.
This store also uses Telecheck and for a third time, my payment was declined. Again, the store personnel couldn't tell me why but I was given a cash register slip with a 1-800 number and a multi-digit "denial code" on it. When I got home, I decided to call Telecheck and get some answers.
Telecheck is one of those operations that apparently has only one human being on the payroll, the lady whose voice is on the recorded messages. I punched in all kinds of numbers, but at no time was I given the option to talk to a living, breathing service representative. After about five minutes of automated runaround, their machine explained that based on the denial code in my transaction, the check was refused because I fit a risk profile based in part on the frequency of my check-writing.
I'm just guessing, but it looks like my problem started because I tried to write three checks at one business (HP Books) within 24 hours, and then because one check was refused, all subsequent checks written within six days would also be refused.
Now I understand why ethnic minorities are pissed off about racial profiling. Not being able to pay by check for stuff I can live without is an inconvenience, but being hassled by the law based on some arbitrary "profile" would really chap my ass.
I'm mad at the rip-off artists who go around writing hot checks, which makes Telecheck viable in the first place, but I'm also mad at a system that allows Telecheck to operate without a customer-friendly issue resolution process. Any organization that has access to my personal financial affairs should be required by law to have a human being on duty to handle my complaints.
Life is a bitch, and then you die. A big EMF to Telecheck and their clients.
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