Verichek filed "Theft of Service" criminal complaint

[WestTexasMommyof3]

Texas

Verichek filed "Theft of Service" criminal complaint for a debt they purchased from my city water department. I wrote the check in Aug 2017 to pay my water bill and had no idea it was returned NSF. 7 months later Verichek filed a complaint affidavit with the DA's office claiming 1. They didn't know what service was stolen. 2. The complaining witness does not work for the city at all. 3. The water company states my account is in good standing and has no knowledge of the criminal complaint.

My Questions.
1. Isn't filing theft of service by check the same as debtors prison?
2. Can a collection company who purchased the debt file a criminal complaint since the check was not issued to them to begin with?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Zigner]

1. Isn't filing theft of service by check the same as debtors prison?

No. They are alleging that you stole something from them (their client) by bouncing a check. That's a crime, not a debt.

2. Can a collection company who purchased the debt file a criminal complaint since the check was not issued to them to begin with?

Can they? Yes (as evidenced by the fact that they did). You should speak to a local attorney.

ETA: Have you spoken with them and offered to pay what you owe, including not only for the check you bounced, but also for all additional costs incurred due to the check you bounced? I suspect they would drop the complaint if you did so.

 

[WestTexasMommyof3]

No. They are alleging that you stole something from them (their client) by bouncing a check. That's a crime, not a debt.
Can they? Yes (as evidenced by the fact that they did). You should speak to a local attorney.

ETA: Have you spoken with them and offered to pay what you owe, including not only for the check you bounced, but also for all additional costs incurred due to the check you bounced? I suspect they would drop the complaint if you did so.

The water bill is a debt and based on Texas Fair Debt Collection laws filing the theft of service complaint was unfair debt collection practices.

 

[WestTexasMommyof3]

No. They are alleging that you stole something from them (their client) by bouncing a check. That's a crime, not a debt.
Can they? Yes (as evidenced by the fact that they did). You should speak to a local attorney.

ETA: Have you spoken with them and offered to pay what you owe, including not only for the check you bounced, but also for all additional costs incurred due to the check you bounced? I suspect they would drop the complaint if you did so.

The utility company states that my account is in good standing and that I do not owe them any money. I have had the same account for 5 years.

 

[Zigner]

The water bill is a debt and based on Texas Fair Debt Collection laws filing the theft of service complaint was unfair debt collection practices.

Paying for your service with a bad check is a crime, even in Texas.

 

[Zigner]

The utility company states that my account is in good standing and that I do not owe them any money. I have had the same account for 5 years.

Is this really what you want to teach your children...that it's ok to try to weasel your way out of what you KNOW that you owe? You bounced a check...you KNEW (should have known) it, yet you're trying to find some sort of loophole. Pay what you owe...sheesh!

 

[WestTexasMommyof3]

Paying for your service with a bad check is a crime, even in Texas.

I didn't know the check was returned and have had the same account the entire time. I don't write checks for anything except bills. My bank account was hit by fraud last year causing other issues and I would never knowling issue a bad check. My water company makes payment arrangements and I HAVE NO REASON to pass a bad check. In fact they still take checks from me today because my account history is so good.

 

[Zigner]

I didn't know the check was returned and have had the same account the entire time. I don't write checks for anything except bills. My bank account was hit by fraud last year causing other issues and I would never knowling issue a bad check. My water company makes payment arrangements and I HAVE NO REASON to pass a bad check. In fact they still take checks from me today because my account history is so good.

Again, it is perfectly reasonable to expect you to know if a check has cleared or not. This is because sound financial practices dictate that you reconcile your account each month.

 

[LdiJ]

Is this really what you want to teach your children...that it's ok to try to weasel your way out of what you KNOW that you owe? You bounced a check...you KNEW (should have known) it, yet you're trying to find some sort of loophole. Pay what you owe...sheesh!

I understand what you are saying but the utility company says that his account is in good standing. You would have thought that if he bounced a check to them that they would have shut off his water after a certain amount of time.

I just read through the vericheck processing guide: https://www.vericheck.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/VeriCheck-ACH-Processing-Guide.pdf

Vericheck does NOT guarantee the payment to the merchant therefore the merchant would have the bounced check come to them with Vericheck taking back the payment so this whole scenario really does not make sense. The utility would have gone after him themselves for the bounced check first. Apparently that did not happen.

I also found the following statement included in the processing guide:

The VeriCheck service may NOT be used to attempt to collect on paper checks that have been returned by the bank NSF.

I do see that Vericheck does have a separate service offered for check recovery when a check bounces. However, I can find nothing that indicates that they criminally prosecute for NSF checks or that they buy the bad debt.

All in all this scenario makes me uneasy, because the utility company absolutely should show that he had a bounced check with them and his account should not be in good standing with them. Therefore I am wondering if this could be a scam of some sort.

OP, are you absolutely sure that you are being criminally prosecuted? Have you received paperwork from anyone other than Vericheck?

 

[WestTexasMommyof3]

I understand what you are saying but the utility company says that his account is in good standing. You would have thought that if he bounced a check to them that they would have shut off his water after a certain amount of time.

I just read through the vericheck processing guide: https://www.vericheck.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/VeriCheck-ACH-Processing-Guide.pdf

Vericheck does NOT guarantee the payment to the merchant therefore the merchant would have the bounced check come to them with Vericheck taking back the payment so this whole scenario really does not make sense. The utility would have gone after him themselves for the bounced check first. Apparently that did not happen.

I also found the following statement included in the processing guide:



I do see that Vericheck does have a separate service offered for check recovery when a check bounces. However, I can find nothing that indicates that they criminally prosecute for NSF checks or that they buy the bad debt.

All in all this scenario makes me uneasy, because the utility company absolutely should show that he had a bounced check with them and his account should not be in good standing with them. Therefore I am wondering if this could be a scam of some sort.

OP, are you absolutely sure that you are being criminally prosecuted? Have you received paperwork from anyone other than Vericheck?

I am 100% positive. I have read the criminal complaint filed by Verichek for "Theft of Service by check".

 

[LdiJ]

I am 100% positive. I have read the criminal complaint filed by Verichek for "Theft of Service by check".

Does it have a case number and look like it has been certified by the courts? Scammers are getting more and more sophisticated these days. Anyway, run it by a criminal defense attorney. They should be able to tell you whether or not it is legit.

 

[WestTexasMommyof3]

I got the complaint from the county directly.

 

[LdiJ]

I got the complaint from the county directly.

Ok, then you are going to have to base your defense on the fact that you never knew that your payment to the utility company bounced, that no one ever asked you to replace the payment or notified you that the check had bounced and that you never heard anything at all about it until you got the criminal complaint. You would also point out that the utility says your account is in good standing. I would still contact a criminal defense attorney and not try to handle it on your own or with a public defender.

 

[Zigner]

Ok, then you are going to have to base your defense on the fact that you never knew that your payment to the utility company bounced

Kind of like she never knew that she ran in to that guy, right? It is not unreasonable to expect that people will reconcile their account.

I would still contact a criminal defense attorney and not try to handle it on your own or with a public defender.

Fair enough

 

[WestTexasMommyof3]

Kind of like she never knew that she ran in to that guy, right? It is not unreasonable to expect that people will reconcile their account.

Fair enough

Interesting enough that in 15 years of writing checks for Bill's I've never had 1 returned until this.