I recently wrote a check from my business account at a Telecheck merchant. The cashier scanned the check, it was accepted, and I left the store with my merchandise. Within one week I was receiving hostile collections calls from Telecheck claiming that I had written a check on a closed account. The account number that they have in their records for my business is not my account number nor is it even a valid account number at my bank. I paid them the face value of the check but not the $25 return check fee because I documented that an electronic error had occurred. They submitted an account number to my bank that was completely different than the one on my check. I sent to their research department a copy of the original check, a copy of the erroneous account information received by my bank, a letter from my bank stating that my account has been open and in use for 23 years, a copy of my receipt from the store with the tracing number, a copy of their collection notice with their reference number on it and a letter explaining it all. Nearly a month later, I still can't write a check anywhere because they are holding all my accounts hostage because of the $25 fee. I have made many many calls to customer service and been transferred around in circles and faxed my dispute information to the numbers they give me multiple times all to no avail. There is no phone number for the research department and nobody who can verify if the information has been received and no resolution available except to pay the money that I have clearly documented that I don't owe. My problem with that is that it allows them to steal money from people who don't owe it at any time without cause or explanation. I would be interested to know what percentage of their income is actually stolen from people who pay up just because there is nothing else they can do to have their checking accounts released.

Attempted to pay for my $104 purchase at Wal-Mart with my personal check which was declined. This account had a several thousand dollar balance. I ended up using my debit card tied to the same account and of course it was accepted. I called Telecheck and after providing all the info she requested, I was told that somehow my check routing $'s and my account # got linked to someone else and she would correct it, but advised me not to try another check for 3 days until the computer system could update itself!

I drove 50 miles from my small town to that WalMart... what if I did not have a debit card or credit card to use in place of a personal check? I would have to drive home without my purchase, thats what would happen!! In the end I got my merchandise, but only after being humiliated in front of a long line of customers behind me. I am still burned about it!