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Web-based program to assist with cold checks

July 18, 2007|Lisa King

The Jessamine County Attorney's office has taken steps to improve the efficiency of its cold check program which will make it easier for merchants to collect their money.

Jessamine County Attorney Brian Goettl has hired Advent Financial Systems, an Elizabethtown-based company, to aid in the collection of cold checks using a Web-based service called "CheckRighter," which is currently used by 30 Kentucky counties.

This will eliminate a great deal of the administrative work associated with cold check collection from Goettl's office, and allows it to focus on the location and prosecution of cold check writers.

Once merchants present cold checks they have received, the check writer receives a standard "10-day letter," instructing them to make full payment on the check, in addition to the merchants and county attorney's handling fees. They must make payments to any Kentucky Bank. These payments are collected and mailed to merchants on two designated days each month. If someone fails to make a payment on a check within the 10-day time frame, they are immediately issued a summons or warrant, depending on the amount of the check or checks, and then scheduled for court.

Previously, the program placed most of the burden of collecting bad checks on area merchants. Making the process simpler for businesses was the main goal behind implementing the new program, Goettl said.

"The main advantages are two-fold: First, we are able to go out and market the program more efficiently to the merchants, and secondly, it frees up the staff to work on other matters."

There is no cost to merchants to participate in the program. Goettl said some counties keep the fee owed to the merchant for their services, but that his office doesn't do that.

"Our merchants will get every dollar owed to them," he said.

Goettl added that most of the time, merchants use collection agencies to get their money back from a cold check, but very often, that fails.

"They come to us as a last resort, but they should come to us first, because that way, the situation is still fresh, and there's less chance that the person may have moved or something," he said.

Eileen Bietz with the county attorney's office said that it's important that people know that this service is available.

"A lot of merchants don't even know that they can use the county attorney's office to help them collect money from cold checks," she said.

For more information, call 885-3425.

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