What happens when you make a check to a grocery store and you find out that your bank account is overdrawn?

Question

I had a deposit going in my bank so I made out a check at the grocery store thinking that I would have enough to cover it. I found out that I didnt even get the deposit i thought I would get. Should I go to the grocery store to pay them for the check? Will I be convicted?

Answer 1

If you just did this, go to the service desk, explain the situation and they will more than likely return the check in trade for cash.



If this happened a couple of days ago but has not posted, go to the bank and deposit the cash to cover the check. Cash should post right away.



If the check has posted, more than likely the grocery store will have a company in place to handle these situations. Like tele-check or check systems. You will not be able to write another check at that or any other store that uses there system until the debt is repaid to them, typically with a fee attached to it.



If they don't use an external check guarantee system, there is a good chance they would just internally ban you from writing checks. In this situation an explanation may go a long way and they very well may un-ban you if you reconcile the debt.

Answer 2

Generally what happens is you go back to the store with a money order or cash, and pay them the amount owed plus whatever fees they charge for bounced checks.



Then you do the same with the bank - make sure your balance is not negative. They will most likely charge you a fee for the bounced check as well.



Be aware that sometimes banks and/or stores will run the check through more than once to see if it will clear, and even charge separate bounce fees each time they try to run it through and fail.



Best bet would be to check with the bank and if it hasn't gone through yet, deposit enough to cover it if you can. If you can't, you will just need to take care of it when it comes through.



No, you won't be convicted as long as you don't make a habit of it. If it becomes a habit, the bank could close your account and stores might choose to prosecute. But once is a mistake nearly anyone can make. Relax! (:



Good luck! (:

Answer 3

Call the store and explain the situation, fast.. Offer to go to the store and pay for any fees that they will be charged as well as the check amount. Most business will be charged for the returned check by the banking institution. Apologize on the phone and in person. I wouldn't wait, you may be able to avoid the embarrassment of any legal action. At the business I work at, we forgive a bad check if full payment is received within 3 days. If the check is not covered in 3 days, we contact the police department in our town and let them handle the cash collecting. We also press charges for the bad check passing. Now hurry up and get to the store..... ASAP.....Good Luck!!!

Answer 4

NO...You haven't done anything illegal to get convicted of. What will most likely happen is that both the bank and the grocery store will charge you for a bad check, Usually 20 to 25 per check.

Answer 5

Usually, grocery stores dont deal with bad checks. They have far too many transactions for a single store to go after bad check writers.



If your check has already bounced, it is being sent to some sort of collections agency. They should contact you within a month or so. Just pay them, and keep proof of payment... forever.



It might be awhile before they will take your checks again.



Dont bother going to the store... they almost definately dont have the check anymore... and even if they do, it is being processed for collections, and it is best to not interrupt it or else you might have to pay twice, because they will screw up the record of you paying at the store.

Answer 6

Contact the store and make it right with cash in hand and accept that you might need to pay returned check fees. If the store works with you on this, contact the bank and put a stop-payment on the check. You will be charged for it but its still less than the overdraft fees because most banks will allow a check to be put thru 2-3 times and will charge it to you each time.

Answer 7

You won't be convicted. That's not how it works. Go to the store and explain what happened and offer cash in place of the check. You might have to pay charges of 25 - 30 dollars for the insufficient fund charge.

Answer 8

You should to to the store, explain your mistake, and pay them. If they have already deposited your check, you will probably have to pay a return check fee to the store and an insufficient funds fee to the bank.

Answer 9

wont be convicted off the bat.What happens is you will not be able to write another check,because they have a system between markets and vendors that has recorded your account number.When the check is cleared,this will stop.If you want to be a good samaritan though,you can go back to the market and pay them cash,but it would probably be easier to talk to the manager of that store and put the funds in to your account and let it clear normally

Answer 10

Call or go to the store and tell them what happened. If you frequent this store and do not do this often, then they might redeposit the check without any problems. If they can't redeposit the check, pay them for the check and the service charge and you are cleared. Good luck.

Answer 11

Go to the grocery store right away. If you are in the US I know it is not a big deal. They will want you to make the check good with cash. They will like the fact you came to them and they did not have to come to you.

Answer 12

They most likely sent it to a check collection agency, go to the store and tell them what happened. If they still have it you should be able to buy it back and pay whatever bounced check fees they incurred. If they sent it to a collection agency pay it through them plus their fees or they'll list you on their list and when other merchants check the list they won't honor your check. And no your chances of getting "convicted" are slim to none since many unknown variables exists in such cases

Answer 13

They won't take another check from you, and they'll probably send you a letter in the next month telling you to pay what you owed plus their returned check fee.

Answer 14

If you did this unknowingly, there should'nt be a problem. But the store still has the right to fine you for the bad check. I'd go there and talk to the manager...

Answer 15

It would be to your best interest. It would be considered as stolen property in the end. Do the right thing and pay them.

Answer 16

somebodys gonna want to know if you can count, or add, another 25-50$s to what you dont have........