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Morgan County's D.A.'s Worthless Check Unit
Why send your bad checks to the WCU?
- Check collection that costs the victim nothing
- Recovery of the face value of your check plus a $30 service charge
assessed on every check
- Screening of your complaints to insure compliance with the Alabama
Worthless Check Act
- Immunity from civil damages if the statute is followed
- Skip-tracing of bad check writers
- Assistance in filing, negotiating and collecting your claim
- Criminal prosecution of individuals who intentionally issue
worthless checks
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Our Operations
- Skip-Tracing
- The Worthless Check Unit has the latest technology, both in law enforcement
and in the private sector, to insure that we will locate your worthless check
writer if they can be found. We also have the investigative support of the District
Attorney's Investigator.
- Local Database of Worthless Check Writers
- Worthless checks are processed, monitored and archived electronically by
C-RAE, our automated check recovery software. This process insures
that accounts are routinely reviewed and updated, and it insures that the
District Attorney's Office always has the most current information on
individuals writing worthless checks in Morgan County.
- Restitution Agreements
- Worthless check writers are given an opportunity to enter into a
restitution agreement with the District Attorney, so that their check cases
can be resolved quickly and without the necessity of arrest and prosecution.
Worthless check writers are
even allowed to pay by credit card, a financing option not available in most court
clerk's offices.
- Self-Funding
- The unit is self-funding and receives no special funding from the State
for its operation. The unit operates from funds generated
by fees assessed to the worthless check writers, preventing
taxpayers from having to foot the bill for the collection process.
Bringing Your Checks To The WCU
- If you are going to accept checks, before you ever receive your first
worthless check, you should contact the Worthless Check Unit and request a
"bad check" kit -- it will contain information that you need to know before
accepting any checks.
- Review the proper procedures for accepting checks to be sure you are
familiar with the verification process.
- Review the information on non-prosecutable checks, so that you do not
accept checks that cannot be handled by the Worthless Check Unit.
- Deposit your checks within thirty days of receipt.
- Make sure that any check returned to you clearly shows that the check
was declined for insufficient funds or was issued on a closed account.
- Use only the official statutory notice provided by the District Attorney
to make demand on the debtor and review the procedures contained in the "bad
check" kit for sending notice.
- Save all correspondence, documentary and photographic evidence of the
transaction and bring it to the Worthless Check Unit with you.
- Use the Worthless Check Information Sheet provided to you by the
District Attorney as a guide to assist you in collecting identifying
information on the defendant, witness information and other details of the
transaction that will be necessary for you to obtain a warrant and
prosecute your case.
- Bring the bad check, the green return receipt documenting that you
served the check writer with the appropriate notice or the unopened returned
letter to the check unit with you.
- Bring all of the information that you will need to complete the
Worthless Check Information Sheet.
Paying Off A Bad Check
We make every effort to make paying off a bad check as easy as possible.
- You should bring any letters that you have received from us stating your
case numbers and bad check amounts.
- You should bring an official government issued photo I.D., preferably a
driver's license.
- You should bring financial information documenting both income and
expenses, unless you intend to pay off your entire balance.
- You will be required to provide your name, address, social security
number, telephone number, vehicle tag and driver's license number.
- You will be photographed and thumb printed for identification purposes.
- We accept cash, exact amounts only, Visa or MasterCard, cashier's checks or money orders;
however, we do not, for obvious reasons, accept personal checks.
- You will be required to update any changes in your address and telephone
number, employment information and financial status with each payment.
- If you have written numerous worthless checks, you should realize that
some or many of them may not have reached our office at the time of your
visit, but may be processed later, requiring you to come back.
- You should be aware that checks turned over to us are evidence in a
criminal prosecution and will not be returned to the check writer. A
receipt will be issued by the Worthless Check Unit for any payments made.
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