I just told Target Corp. to stick it!

[Blue Fire]

Last month, my daughter at college made a small purchase at Target and paid with a check that, unfortunately, was returned by the bank. We got a letter at home from Target Corp indicating the check was electronically resubmitted, and they received the principal amount owed - $23.47. However, they still insist on collecting a $30.00 "processing fee" from a college student on a very limited budget. My daughter didn't even know about the check bouncing until we told her about the letter. I told her to neither contact Target about it, nor accept any calls if they figure out how to contact her in the first place, since they insist on dealing with her because she's 18.
Sam's been taught to be frugal and keep a good eye on her finances. And for a teenager, she does an outstanding job with her checking account and Visa card. This was very unintentional on her part.
Apparently, the $2.962 billion profit Target made last quarter wasn't enough, as they need to prey on a college student to collect some ridiculous "processing fee". I called them back and told them this is one working class family that is going to stand up to corporate America's seemingly insatiable greed, and told them where to stick their "processing fee".

[AndyA]

1. Yeah, you wonder how it could have possibly cost them $30.

It was all done electronically, so very little if any human intervention needed to happen.

I still blame our Congress for allowing these ridiculous bank charges to exist in the first place.

If they call again, you can tell Target that after reading your story, I will take my money elsewhere, so they've lost a customer over it. (Truthfully, I seldom go to Target anyway, but I'll go elsewhere next time.)

[LynneSin]

8. But everyone has these fees, I hardly see how Target is to blame

And this has been something done even back when I was a college kid in the 80s. Write a bad check and pay a processing fee.

[insanad]

54. Target Banned

In 1985 I sent 30 rolls of film through the target system for processing. They were in separate envelopes, well marked, addressed, etc.. The film was of my son and daughters first year and we'd been too broke previously to get them processed. Finally for my birthday I got some money and decided to spend it on pictures of my kids who were 1 and 2 yrs. old. It was a precious year and we'd taken pictures of everything from the first day to her first birthday when she'd started walking.

Target lost the ENTIRE order. Thirty packages, thirty rolls of film, and a whole year of my childrens lives in pictures. You can't get that back, ever. It's been 22 years and I'm still mad about it. This year my daughter is scrapbooking her life and of course her first year is just GONE. I've never shopped in Target since. They made no effort to find them or track the envelopes. They made no apologies or even a paltry attempt at restitution since they claim, "NO MONEY WAS TRANSACTED YET". Somewhere out there is a bundle of film, probably terribly deteriorated but even in it's grainy yellowed form, I'd give a kidney to have them back. Target couldn't care less.

[LynneSin]

56. Ok, now that's a reason to boycott Target

Ouch - that's a sucky story too

:cry:

[Yukari Yakumo]

81. ok... you're insane

It was over 20 years ago... and it possibly not their fault since they usually outsource that kind of work, especially 20 years ago.

Learn to let these kind of things go. Obsessing over things like this for such a long period of time is really unhealthy.

[insanad]

94. Do you have a child Aya?

Take every photo of your babies first year and toss them in the garbage, and THEN tell me to not harbor some anger over the callous carelessness of Target. The anger is my motivation and reminder to be much more careful, to trust only in my own camera and storage abilities, to never send precious photos outside of a 1 hr. service where they are traceable, to cherish the moments and memories of my family and to protect the documentation of those little moments that are so incredibly precious. Yes, I'm insane, but insanity is the stuff of artists and dreamers and they are the ones who make the world interesting. Your assessment without knowing me indicates your own need to make the world nice and flat and boring.

[orleans]

146. of course you're not insane insanad. how horrible that such a thing

happened. my daughter is 19 and i'd still be bitter & pissed about it if that had happened to me.

[earth mom]

117. Wow-that's just COLD. Stone COLD.

:thumbsdown:

[HughMoran]

138. lol - don't bother

Sometimes common sense or learning to move on with one's life is not the point :(

[orleans]

147. because i think it was really fucking rude and inappropriate for you to

call someone here "insane" i guess it would be rude and hypocritical of me to call you a "jerk" so i won't.

[earth mom]

118. I'm sorry for your loss. I would feel the exact same way.

:hug:

[Blue Fire]

121. That's big corporate America for ya!

Bunch of cold-blooded, heartless pricks.
They didn't have your money, so they shirk any responsibility for accepting your property and memories. Those photos were priceless to you. I hope someday you will get an unexpected package in the mail.

[AndyA]

96. I don't have any gripe with REASONABLE fees.

But the check cleared. And the fee charged was in excess of the check itself. That's bullshit.

And the fact that everyone has them still goes back to a Congress that allows them in the first place. A day late with a payment and you cost the company $33...and if that charge puts you over your credit limit...oops...that's another $25 fee...and since you were a day late, your interest rate goes to 29%, too.

It's abuse of the American consumer, and our elected officials allow it. Target may not be to blame, but they are opportunists...nowhere does it say they MUST charge these fees.

[Blue Fire]

122. Thank you for clarifying my point.

Corporate America is sucking the working class dry. All these late fees, service fees, processing fees, etc., are just big corps way of lining their already bloated pockets.

[slackmaster]

101. You pay the fee to YOUR BANK, not to the payee

The bank can either honor the check or not.

If they honor the check, the payee isn't out anything. The bank is within its rights to charge the maker a fee. $30 sounds about right.

If the bank refuses to honor the check, the payee comes after the maker of the check for collection.

[HereSince1628]

2. I wish I could get a $30 processing fee for every missed exam I have to give

[Dora]

3. Your sage advice to your daughter was to ignore the problem?

"I told her to neither contact Target about it, nor accept any calls if they figure out how to contact her in the first place, since they insist on dealing with her because she's 18."

I don't get it. :shrug:

[Romulox]

6. Apparently, being in college gives you a "right" to bounce checks.

Though I wouldn't suggest trying that argument at the registrar's office! :rofl:

[Hobarticus]

11. Unintentional = s'alright! eom

[proud2BlibKansan]

55. yes I wonder what would happen if she wrote a hot check

to pay her tuition?

[RoyGBiv]

90. There's one of the problems ...

Much to my horror, I have discovered an emerging tendency in some colleges essentially to ignore this kind of thing as long as possible. The reason is funding. In a public institution, they lose more by not having the "head count" than by letting the student's part of the total tutition slide for awhile. They will eventually collect it because they will do things like prevent the student from getting their grade released if they don't. However, it sets up a situation where the student thinks "it'll all just work out" if they ignore it for awhile.

Live in that kind of environment for four years or more straight out of mom and dad's house, and it screws with their sense of responsibility.

Part of being an adult is learning to accept the consequences of one's actions. Yeah, it sucks having to pay the $30 for the hot check, but that person did write a hot check, and the policy on them is clearly stated. As someone else said, don't like it, don't shop there.

[Blue Fire]

12. She's a bit naive about dealing with well-trained money mongers.

She's been taught responsibility, but these phone snakes would suck the money from her like mosquitos on a summer evening. It's time to stand up against these kind of corporate practices. If it were a more reasonable fee, say 10 or 15 percent of the original purchase, I wouldn't have a problem. But $30 is nothing more than pure profit for them, and they ain't gonna get it!

[NeedleCast]

You should go after their bank then

Because it's probably their bank that charges Target a fee for proccessing bad checks.

If you don't pay the fee, chances are good that it will go into collection and eventually affect your daughter's credit.

[MADem]

32. Yep. Odds are VERY good that will happen. And credit checks have a way of influencing

LOTS of things, to include JOB prospects.

The poster's daughter should pay the damn fee and take care to keep a running balance of what's in her account, if she plays it that close to zero.

[NashVegas]

47. Aren't These Fees Collected Automatically?

If I go over, my bank will honor the check and deduct the processing fee from my account. It's been a long, long time since I've been a bad girl, but that's how I remember it with a few banks.

[NeedleCast]

50. Varies quite a bit from bank to bank

There are all sorts of things you can do now. SOme banks offer over-draft protection. Some banks offer protection for you when you deposit a check that bounces. Can't just go open a bank account anymore. Lots of fine print.

[PVnRT]

136. No "chance" involved. It WILL go into collection.

Yes, it's heartless and cruel, but that's what happens when you apply the same rules no matter what the situation.

I've written bad checks in my life. I get charged NSF fees. It happens, you move on. Those fees are outrageous, but telling someone "just ignore it" is a great way to ruin a credit score at 18.

[LynneSin]

19. But everyone has had these charges way back into the 80s

she made a made a mistake that just happened to be at Target. But it could have easily have been at Wal-Mart, Macys, the Grocery Store, the Dry Cleaner, etc. etc. etc. Therefore it's not Target to blame.

Nor is it your daughter's - she made a mistake. One I hardly think she'll ever make again (trust me, I've made that mistake once in my lifetime and it was a bugger to deal with).

[Maine-ah]

65. she made a mistake, but she's not to blame?

what happened to personal responsibility?

[Dunedain]

78. ...

Apparently the gun lobby legislated it out of existence.

[SoCalDem]

150. A local grocery store POSTS the returned checks on the plexiglass

at the service desk.. It's amazing when you see a $6 check returned for NSF..and I have seen people I know on the "bad check Wall of Shame"..

the manager said that people usually pick them up right away :rofl:

[Hobarticus]

22. Sounds like you're both a little naive...

Everyone has a returned check policy like that. They state it right on the cash register as you check out.

Don't like it, don't shop there.

Good luck, though.

[michreject]

45. Not so

But $30 is nothing more than pure profit

That processing fee covers the workers wage, benefits, personal income tax and taxes based on the square footage the the employee takes up processing the overdraft notification.

You do realize that this will go on some one's credit report as an uncollectible debt. Resulting in higher interest rates in the future.

[Blue Fire]

126. Rationalizing for big corp?

Heh!

[michreject]

171. No

Just clearing up a misconception.

[Dora]

51. I work in a business that's considerably smaller than Target Corp.

Regardless of your feelings about profit, the fact of the matter is that a bounced check creates additional work - whether the business is small or large.

A bounced check affects account balances, reporting, and reconciliations. Imagine how many sets of hands a check goes through before it's actually declined by the bank, and imagine how many hands have to deal with it afterwards.

$25 fees have been the norm for bounced checks in the twenty years that I've been writing checks.

Your daughter would be better off paying the fee and putting it behind her. Her credit history is not something she needs to be mucking about with.

[proud2BlibKansan]

57. You are the naive one here

This will go on your daughter's credit report and will affect her ability to get a job. I doubt any future employer will accept the excuse of "well my mom thought Target was a greedy corporation and I should be able to write bad checks there".

[Blue Fire]

128. You're missing my point!

I'm not advocating blatant check bouncing! It's the blatant profiteering of the ridiculous fees!
As I mentiond before, I wouldn't have a problem if the fees were a certain percentage of the amount. But when they exceed 100%......that's bullshit!
And I'm not her mom! I stand when I pee! ;-)

[proud2BlibKansan]

132. LOL my apologies to her dad

I think several others have explained the reason for the high fees. And I am glad to see you changed your mind.

Writing a bad check is almost a right of passage. As long as a lesson is learned and the check is paid for no harm is done, right?

[GodHelpUsAll2]

140. Good luck to you

Especially when they turn it over to the DA and then issue a warrant for your daughters arrest. And yes, that is very possible. Doesn't matter if you agree with the fee or not. It is what it is. The way to avoid it is to not bounce a check. Doesn't matter that they presented it a second time and it cleared the second time they are still legally within their right to charge the fee no matter if you like it or not. Fact of the matter is, the check was returned NSF. Write a check for $300.00 and it bounces, you pay a $30.00 fee. Write a check for $3.00 and it bounces, same $30.00 fee. It's incentive to NOT bounce checks. We all make mistakes, it happens. But, if it's your mistake you are responsible for the consequences of that mistake. No matter if you have Bill Gates bank account of that of a teenage college student.

[JeanGrey]

151. This kind of fee is par for the course and most of them are 25 or 30 dollars

for a bounced check. You sound surprised at this? I may not agree with it but that's just the way most businesses have always done. Always.

[HereSince1628]

33. Passive aggression is a regional thing-- very common in

the upper midwest.

Getting in REAL fights is reserved for hockey games and lying about fishing success...
and OF COURSE anyone cheating ahead of you into parking spaces by going the wrong way up the lane.

[KitchenWitch]

89. Now that assertion is out of line.

:eyes:

Her daughter should pay the fee and be done with it, but you painting all upper midwesterners with the broad brush of passive aggression does not add anything to the debate.

[PVnRT]

137. ....

Whatever, kiddo. Do leather pants stick to your skin a lot in the summer in L.A.?

See? We can all make asinine statements about other parts of the country.

[Catherine Vincent]

4. The fees that these corporations charge is ridiculous.

$30 processing fee my (_|_)!!!

[LynneSin]

5. Ok, let me play devils advocate

How would this differ if it was me that accidently wrote a check for insufficient funds, and I'm a 30-something woman who also tries to live frugally and keep my accounts straight.

I feel bad for your daughter but I hardly think this was something that just Target does. Most places post about the service charge for returned checks.

Personally I would get rid of the checkbook and get your daugther a debit card where she would have known immediately if she was overdrawn with her purchases. If you shop around you can find a bank that has minimium fees associated with using the card.

[RebelOne]

16. You do not know immediately if you are overdrawn on your debit card.

The bank will let it go through and then charge you for insufficient funds. I know because it happened to me once.

[LynneSin]

25. But with my bank I'm charged $5 for allowing that to happen

and if I try a second use of the card after they did one pull - it will reject it.

And it will only go through if I can cover the money from my savings Accounts.

Credit & Debit cards don't tell you this - but you can setup the 'cut-off' of when to allow a charge to go through. I got hit with rate increase when I went over my limit not realizing that I had gone over by $10 on a charge (this was an account with a $500 limit). They refused to lower my rate so I cancelled the card.

Call your card company and tell them to cut off your limit if there is insufficient funds OR if you've reached your credit limit. Setting that up can save you a ton of money from rate increases that could be charged for going over

[dropkickpa]

62. My bank will decline the charge if it exceeds my balance

They keep a real-time tally of available balance (I know because I've called immediately after a purchase on a Sunday and found that the charge was on there, listed as a current withdrawl). The ledger balance is updated the next business day. Very efficient and, since I've been with them and write no checks, I've not had to deal with overdrawn fees at all (I suck at keep track of my finances via checkbook).

*edited for fumble fingers!!

[TwilightGardener]

7. Why SHOULDN'T Target slam people with a processing fee for bounced checks?

What's to stop people from bouncing checks left and right, requiring much effort on a business' part to collect its payment--if it EVER does? Your daughter bounced a check. You pay for bouncing a check. It's MEANT as a deterrent. And teaching your daughter to "ignore" her debtors and her owed payments (and her responsibilities) is a really, really bad life lesson.

[LynneSin]

13. I have to agree with you on this one

And I would get my daughter off the checkbook.

I have my Debit card that I use, it gets back-up funds from my savings account and will reject if there is no money available (it will only dip in the savings account for one purchase but the reject anything after that).

You just need to shop around on the fees. Most banks won't charge you if you're using your debit card like a credit card. But many will charge you for pulling money out of foreign ATM or making so many ATM withdrawels per month. Make sure you have a bank where there is an accessible ATM (and secured) that won't charge for ATM withdrawels from your own bank.

[BlueJazz]

43. The punishment should fit the crime. Bounce a check from 01 to 10.00...

...get hit with $5.00 fee
10.01 to 100.00 ...$10.00
100.00 to 300.00...$20.00
300.00 to 500.00...$40.00
Etc....

but $30.00 for a 28 dollar check is Ridiculous.

[WillowTree]

115. It costs a business the same amount ...

....to process a $2 bounced check as a $200 bounced check. Businesses don't charge returned check fees to punish the customer for writing a bad check, but to cover their costs for processing the bad check and recovering the money owed them.

[Gormy Cuss]

148. Problem is, it's not cost recovery alone. It's also punitive

The fee doesn't reflect the bank's cost alone. If it costs the bank $5, is a $30.00 fee fair?

[Blue Fire]

158. BullSHIT!!!

:wtf:

Not 100% plus. No fucking way!

I have no problem with a fee equal to <100% of the principal. Anything over is just big corp screwing the working class.

[liberalhistorian]

123. I have to agree here. Perhaps your daughter

should have been a bit more careful with writing checks if she didn't have enough money to cover them. It isn't Targets' or the bank's fault that she wrote a check without enough money in the account to cover it. When you write a check, you are essentially guaranteeing that that money is already there and promising to pay it. Do you expect to get something for free at a store? And bad checks cost companies a lot of money. Granted, smaller companies are more affected than larger ones, but larger ones don't go unscathed either. And guess who pays for bad checks and checks that are never honored and never get paid? That's right, WE do, in the form of higher prices and fees.

My husband's stepdaughter is the manager of the local branch of a national store. She has had to deal with several bad check incidents, some of which were never paid at all, and that really costs the store and cost HER.

And I'm speaking as someone who, in her more "youthful" days, was not nearly as careful and responsible with finances as I am now. There's always a price to be paid for that, and I've more than paid it, believe me. Don't let your daughter be the same way; don't let her ignore debtors, debts, responsibilities, or write checks when she doesn't have enough money in her account to pay for them. It will NOT just be "taken care of".

[JeanGrey]

152. Yes. It is meant to hurt, to discourage people from writing

hot checks. I wonder if he realizes they could have her arrested for it?

[TwilightGardener]

153. oops--upon re-reading this thread, "debtors" should be "creditors"--consider it edited.

[zorahopkins]

9. Good On You!

I also have a daughter in college.

I hate the way big, greedy, money-grubbing corporations prey on young college students who are in the process of learning adult responsibility.

If there were more people like you, I bet the corporations would stop such predatory practices.

[TwilightGardener]

18. Target "preyed" on this girl? They didn't care how old she was, they didn't

know she was "speshul" because she was in college--she's an ADULT who walked into a store voluntarily and wrote a check for funds SHE DIDN'T HAVE and still walked out with the merchandise. Dumb OP, dumb response.

[MADem]

36. Yep--I don't get the "aggrieved entitlement" of the OP, either. NT

[proud2BlibKansan]

61. Yes I agree with you

Bouncing a check is stealing. It's not okay EVER.

[Skittles]

156. oh PLEASE

18 is old enough to know better - I was in the military when I was 18 and as I recall I knew how to balance a f***ing checkbook

[Blue Fire]

161. They're like hyenas on a corpse!

But whats a powerless working stiff family like mine supposed to do? Obviously, there isn't a lot of support here. A bunch of self amusing criticism and 'you did the right thing' posts. I'm not advocating blatant check bouncing. But I always used to think that true progressives stood up against corporate greed. Perhaps I am wrong yet again?

[NeedleCast]

10. You Expect a "get out of jail free" card?

Your daughter bounced a check. Sounds like it was unintentional and all and mistakes happen, but sometimes those mistakes have consequences and this is one of those times. Banks tend to charge fees for anyone who attempts to process a bad check...in other words, Target loses money every time someone bounces a check to them. I assume the have a posted policy somewhere in the store stating that returned checks will require a processing fee. If your daughter shopped there, she accepts that policy.

[S n o w b a l l]

124. Exactly..

I owned a small business and for every bad check I processed, I was assessed a fee from my bank. I, in turn, passed that on to the bad check writer...IF, I was lucky enough to collect at all. It finally became so costly, I subscribed to a guaranteed check service which charged a fee for every check I processed. It's not a $30 profit for any business and teaching your child to ignore their responsibility or the consequences is the epitome of bad parenting.

[bluethruandthru]

14. Rather than telling your daughter to ignore Target and not

pay her fee for the bounced check....maybe a better lesson would be to teach her how to balance her checkbook so she won't write bad checks!

[emilyg]

70. Agree. Grow up daughter.

[Skittles]

166. I know exactly what my dad would have said

he would have told me to re-learn 2nd grade math and grow the f*** up.

[Beausoir]

15. Did the bank tack on an additional $30, too? Make sure you ask them to waive that.

If she is not a habitual check bouncer, the bank should be willing to waive that fee.

She doesn't have much of a leg to stand on with Target. There is a notice posted on every check out counter where she wrote that check, regarding the $30 processing fee.

Not much can be done.

Bad checks are incredibly expensive and end up putting people deeper in debt.

[qanda]

17. Unfortunately, you are giving your daughter very bad advice

You should make sure the fee is paid or her name will go on a registry that won't allow her to use a check anywhere. Also, they can sue her in court and receive a judgment against her for writing bad checks. I'm not sure why this is Target's problem and not your daughter's. I just assume that when I write a check and they tell me there will be a $30 fee added if the check bounces, then that's what will happen.

[Lex]

20. If she wants to avoid the $30 fee in the future don't bounce a check.

Or pay with cash.

If it were my kids, I'd figure the $30 was about right for the lesson learned instead of whining about Target.

[maddezmom]

21. some information to consider here

http://www.credit.com/credit_information/money_management/What-You-Need-to-Know-About-Bounced-Checks.jsp

[Brother_1969]

23. Corporations are running rampant in this country.

The entire point of corporations is to extract profits for fat cat shareholders and executives. Call me a dreamer but, personally, I would like to see many of the enterprises currently run by corporations nationalized. Utilities, banking, merchandising, health care and many other industries would all operate more economically and equitably if run by a governement agency that was not driven by greed.

Maybe some day.

[TwilightGardener]

28. WTF does socialism have to do with bouncing a check in a store?

[A HERETIC I AM]

82. You just don't realize what a wonderful place the "Gum" Department store was

through the 60's, 70's and 80's. Lots of merchandise no-one could afford and lines across Red Square for the items they could afford.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Universal_Store

More "Corporations are evil" bullshit.

Target is just about the last major retailer that deserves the ire of DU'rs

[Hobarticus]

30. Socialism means, I can bounce checks? eom

[PVnRT]

139. Of course!

[Horse with no Name]

162. Cool!

Pen in hand....running out the door (I just got a whole big box of checks and I ain't coming home til they are gone);)

[IdaBriggs]

24. Your daughter bounced a check, albeit unintentionally.

Their profit isn't the issue -- your daughter BOUNCED A CHECK.

Her particular sob story isn't relevant. She Screwed Up.

This is not brain surgery, and your (current) advice to her is absolutely appalling.

Be a responsible adult, and have her go down, APOLOGIZE, and pay the "processing fee" -- it sounds like an important life lesson for her to learn so She Doesn't Screw Up AGAIN.

And quit telling her that its okay for HER to be irresponsible because someone else makes money providing a valuable service that she apparently enjoys utilizing.

If she doesn't fess up and make things right, she should NEVER set foot in Target EVER AGAIN out of Pure Shame.

And, in case you wonder why I'm saying this, I know for a fact that Target CLEARLY posts the terms under which they will accept a check -- and they tell you if you bounce it, they are going to come after you for the fees. She agreed to the contract, and BOUNCED THE CHECK. SHE IS IN THE WRONG.

[displacedtexan]

26. And stores like Target have to pay expensive bank fees, too.

The whole system is expensive for everyone.

Stores have to pay for bank services, like deposits,
processing returned checks, and fraud.

My 24 year-old daughter learned very quickly how much
it costs when she doesn't keep a minimum balance in her
account. After one NSF fee, she made sure it never happened
again.

2 weeks ago, when her boss forgot to transmit payroll to the bank,
my daughter was glad she had that minimum balance.

Have you checked to see if Wal-Mart has the same policy? Other
stores? I can't imagine that Target is the only one.

[Rosemary2205]

133. Banks charge Target $20-30 if a customer's check they deposit bounces.

they are merely passing the charge along.

[Blue Fire]

27. If the fees were reasonable, I wouldn't have a problem.

But these "processing fees" and "service fees" are getting a little out of hand! Look, I'm not advocating going around bouncing checks. But screw corporate America for taking advantage of unintentional mistakes and sucking more money from the middle class for a service that might cost them $1.

[TwilightGardener]

29. You're trying to minimize your daughter's responsibility for her screw-up

by blaming the "system". That's ridiculous. Target wants her to pay $30 so she won't go back in tomorrow and write yet ANOTHER bad check. What part of DETERRENT do you not understand?

[LynneSin]

35. But if it only costs a dollar what's to deter those who are routinely bouncing checks?

And Target gets fined too for turning in a bounced check. I had a friend write a check to my mother probably some 20 years ago that was insuffienct funds. My mother's bank charged my mom $20 for depositing it. If you don't have a bit of a bite for bounced checks then you're not going to stop those who do it on a regular basis.

Clear up the fine, consider it lessons learned (and I think most of us DUers have learned that lesson) and get your daugther a Debit card

[Danieljay]

37. 1 dollar? Are you kidding me? As a business owner my TIME spent for a bounced check alone exceeds

any processing fee.

She is no victim here and target is not preying on anyone.

[Hobarticus]

38. It's meant as a deterrent...

Why are traffic tickets high? So you don't do it again.

If it were a buck a bounced check, then every other person would be out bouncing checks to the moon. Think about it.

Your daughter needs to learn that her actions have consequences, whether she agrees with them or not. That's what it means to be an adult.

And by writing a check in their store, she agrees to the terms. Period.

Save the "power to the people" speech. You're not doing her any favors. You're teaching her that she's a victim here, and that is hardly the case.

[NeedleCast]

39. But it doesn't cost a dollar

I'm willing to bet that Target has to pay at least 20 dollars to the bank. Last month a friend gave me a check for 700 dollars for a service I performed for him. It bounced. My bank charged ME $20 even though it was HIS check. Now I do think that is a bit unreasonable, but now my friend is going to pay me 720 dollars instead of 700. That's how it works for Target too. At the end of the day, they pack up all those checks in a pouch and off to the bank they go and for each one that bounces, Target gets charged. Then they have to go to the effort to collect what is originally owed, plus the bank fee for the bounced check. This requires employees. Employees have to be paid.

I don't really think you understand how this process works.

[dbackjon]

58. You need a dose of reality

The bank is charging Target. It costs just as much to reprocess a $5 bounced chack as a 5,000 check.

Simple, get over your victimization complex, pay the damn fee, and tell your daughter you gave her bad advice. Quit fighting it. You and your daughter are 100% wrong in this.

[FriscoMabelJoy]

64. Good credit is one of the most important things.

Establishing good credit is one of the most important things that a young adult can do. Your credit score impacts what you pay for car and home insurance. You get lower APRs on credit cards. And if you ever buy a house, the difference in the interest rate can literally save you tens of thousands of dollars.

[LynneSin]

71. Welcome to DU

:hi:

Read below - I think Mom realize they need to take care of the charge. The post was a simple reaction that I think all of us had when we accidently bounce a check (and many of us have done that at one time or another)

[jberryhill]

93. What's a reasonable fee?

I guess it would be better for them to sit down and personally negotiate a bounced check fee with each of a zillion customers.

Next time tell your daughter to bounce a LARGER check - since it will still be only $30.

They charge ONE fee - $30.

Did your daughter include a note on the check saying, "I'm a college student from a working family?" Is that how they targeted her? Because otherwise they are treating her the same way they would treat Bill Gates on the same facts.

[GodHelpUsAll2]

143. You just don't get it

You think it's all pure profit. It's NOT. Let me fisrt say I am one who hates practically ALL of corporate America. I agree that fees and interest rates and all that are out of control. That being said, I am a bookkeeper for a small business. We are mostly wholesale but sell to the public as well. Someone pays their bill and bounces a check, I have to spend a minimum of 2 hours backtracking and re-processing the account to make the books balance. Then I get the wonderful task of placing endless calls to people who ignore me, just as you have advised your daughter to do. Then after the repeated calls I have to send a certified demand letter. By the way certified mail is qiote costly. Then after all that I have to drive my ass down to the DA and sit there for a minimum of 2 hours to file the check for collections. Sometimes I get really lucky and the bad check owner will respond right away and make right on the check. But more often than not I have to go through that whole drawn out process that from start to finish costs me several work hours over the course of no less that 15-20 business days. So tell me again how unfair this 30.00 fee is on a 23.00 check when it could take hours and days to finally collect. Not to mention the time it takes to go back and re-charge the account and reverse the deposit on the financials. And God help me if the check is written in December but bounces in January.

[I work for workers]

31. People still pay with checks? nt

[LynneSin]

42. Yeah, that was the biggest shocker to me

:shrug:

[LostinVA]

86. Saying an 18 year old paid for something with a check

Makes me believe it's the story bouncing more than the check.

[LynneSin]

87. WHAT THE FUC ARE YOU DOING HERE

And when are you and the Mrs. coming to visit me

:woohoo:

I post=poned open house until next year

[LostinVA]

135. I post in the news forums

And, we really WANT to visit you... we're just saving up our money to pay the tolls.

[LynneSin]

142. Bring Receipts - I'll pay all Delaware tolls

Of course if you come down 95, that'll be all New Jersey

[Danieljay]

34. As a small business owner, I stand with Target on this one, regardless of their profits.

Business is business. The costs to track, recover, and the time it takes to simply deal with a bounced check is a royal pain in the ass.

She bounced a check, albeit unintentionally. But charging a processing fee Target is hardly "preying" on a college student.

She not a victim here, don't teach her that she is.

[NeedleCast]

48. Exactly

I used to manage the books for a small mom and pop restaurant that ran on a pretty thin profit margin. After about 18 months, they just quit taking checks, because few people paid with them and many of the people who choose to pay with credit were chronic bouncers. Several we just cut off completely. The restaurant lost, on average, 2000 dollars income a month due to bounced checks, bounced check bank fees and the time we had to spend trying to collect. Even using a debt collection service did little to help.

[backscatter712]

68. Usually, the bigger businesses just contract through ChexSystems.

Saves time and money for dealing with bounced checks - they pay a flat fee each month to ChexSystems, they get the nifty check scanner you see at the register that instantly scans your checks, queries the ChexSystems database and says "NO YUO!" to people on ChexSystems' shitlist. If there is a bad check, ChexSystems eats the fees from the bank, not you - you just send the bad checks to ChexSystems, and they take care of it for you, minimizing your loss, and leaving them to send the hounds after the check bouncers.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

40. Kiting checks is illegal.

[Hobarticus]

44. "But...but...I didn't MEAN to, your Honor!"

I'd love to see how that works out.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

46. "May I pay the fine with a check?"

:think:

[Hobarticus]

49. You owe me a keyboard, Rummy...

:spray:

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[hughee99]

111. Nice...

I like to ask "Will you take a third-party, post-dated out of state check?" Even though I don't have a checkbook anymore, it's still fun to see the reactions... Older people will respond "Seriously?" the younger people, "What's a check?"

[slackmaster]

102. Writing an NSF check is not the same as kiting

Kiting is drawing against uncollected funds with the intent of stealing money.

[Skittles]

170. LOL - NSF - banking term

I was working in night-time computer operations the one and only time I bounced a check (had written post-dated checks to my dentist and a temporary office clerk indadvertently sent them in) - well, I printed NSF forms every night and when they run out on the printer I had to feed in the new box of forms, then line print the date / first line to make sure they were lined up correctly. If you guessed that I hit line print and up popped my name on that form you would be correct. I HAD TO PRINT MY OWN NSF!!!!! :o

[Nye Bevan]

41. Your daughter should pay the fee- this is a good life lesson

I also screwed up when I was a college student- I didn't bother keeping track of my credit card charges, ended up going over the limit and paying a fee. After this unpleasant experience I vowed to keep better track of my finances and started keeping a running total of all of my charges as well as properly balancing my checkbook.

This was a good habit to get into and it never occurred to me not to pay the fee.

[proud2BlibKansan]

52. So you think it is unfair for Target to charge a fee

when a check bounces? I don't. It costs them money and time to handle a bounced check. Why should they work for free?

Because of people like your daughter who write bad checks, the rest of us are penalized. I went to renew my car tags a few months ago and they no longer accept checks because they have received so many that bounced. Several retail stores in my neighborhood no longer accept checks for the same reason. I am inconvenienced because people like your daughter make careless mistakes. Sorry no sympathy from me.

Just because Target made a profit last quarter doesn't mean your daughter can steal from them, which is exactly what you are doing when you write a hot check. I don't blame them at all for charging a process fee. Maybe it will discourage a few people from bouncing checks.

[sinkingfeeling]

53. I'm sorry but I can't agree with your advice to your daughter. You are teaching her

that it's A-OK to bounce a check and that there should be no penalty for doing so. I'm surprised that the bank has tacked on another $25 fee for the resubmitted check since most do. While I agree that these 'processing fees' are high, I would encourage your daughter to either make a personal request that the fee be waived or to pay it. Wal-Mart has been known to prosecute people for refusing to pay fees. I would then tell your daughter to set up a an overdraft protection plan with her bank. If she's 18, she's an adult. Intention does not count in law.

[Maine-ah]

59. All businesses charge a fee for bounced checks.

It's a PIA, and can be a bookkeeping nightmare. I speak from experience. She should pay the fee regardless of how much a company makes a year.

[Blue Fire]

60. You guys are right.

Maybe I'm just having a bad mood day. I called them back and payed her fee, which she will have to pay back to mom and dad, but I still think the $30 was a bit excessive. Obviously, I'm not a big fan of corporate America.

[LynneSin]

63. It's ok - I think you felt the same way I did when I did my only check bounce

But I'll tell you this much - you only have to bounce one check once to realize you're gonna do a better job to ensure it never happens again

:pals:

Perhaps we should have this thread locked if you like. I know some folks (hell perhaps even myself) came across as harsh. But we are really all good people.

[Blue Fire]

67. I can rally be pig-headed. Sometimes I need harsh.

[LynneSin]

69. Welcome to DU!

:hug:

[backscatter712]

66. Probably the most painless way out.

If you didn't pay the fee, they probably would have sent it to collections, which would have resulted in a ding to your daughter's FICO score.

Or they could have reported the bounced check to ChexSystems, and if you get on their shitlist, you will have the worst time finding a bank that will let you open a checking account with them, and you'll find that stores will refuse to accept your checks (when they scan your check or debit card at the store, your info is queried in the ChexSystems database, and if you're on the List, BAM! Check declined.)

Though I can't say I blame you for wanting to stiff the bastards. We just have to be more creative at doing it. :evilgrin:

[NeedleCast]

73. You did the right thing

Corporate American or not, right is right. We all have our bad days and dealing with collection folk isn't usually fun. Do spend a minute in their shoes though, they spend most of the day dealing with people who intentionally do things like the relativly minor mistake your daughter made. If I had a nickle for every jackass who I called trying to do nothing more than to get them to pay for the pizza or sandwich they bought, I'd have a big sock full of nickles...and then I could go beat them with it.

[dropkickpa]

75. Have her keep an eye on her account

In addition to the store fee, the bank the check was written from usually also charges a fee (mine charges $25.00, for a whopping $55.00 in fees for a single bounced check). This convinced me to pretty much retire the check book. I only write one check a month, my rent check, and only that because they deposit the same day as their bank is 3 doors down from them. I got sick and tired of writing checks and waiting ages for them to clear out of my account, that screwed me up MANY times.

[LynneSin]

85. I hate waiting for checks to clear

I have a co-worker whose kid is doing a fundraiser. Now I happened to have my checkbook on me for a bill I had to pay with check (some work I was doing on my house) and I opted to buy some items from the fundraiser.

So I wrote a check for my purchases. I'm happy to help out a kid's co-worker provided it's something I can use

Three weeks later that check still hasn't cleared and it bugs the shit out of me. I would have rather given cash, but I guess the school holds on to these until they purchase the products.

:grr:

[Spike89]

76. Great, you did the right thing

I like seeing someone take a fairly firm stance then be willing to hear dissent and allow themselves to be swayed to a new viewpoint--flexibility and the capacity to rethink things is what separates most of the people I admire from the ones I don't.

[Maine-ah]

77. Glad you changed your mind.

The bank probably charges Target any where from 5-30 bucks. They probably have tons of people who never even pay back the bounced check, which is probably why their fee is so high. Though I worked for a small business as a bookkeeper, and we charged 15 bucks. Target has a much higher volume of customers though, hence a higher volume of unpaid bounced checks.

[sleepyhead]

83. My bank just notified me

that if I deposit a check into my business account that ends up bouncing, I will be charged $32 (increased from $28). I need to pass that fee along to the person who bounced the check - otherwise I will be paying them for the privilege of having to go through and re-balance my checking account and all my bookkeeping (which, by the way, costs me additional money for my time and that of my staff). Maybe it's unfair, but that's the way of the world these days.

[Common Sense Party]

79. I'm glad you came to your senses.

And I'm very proud (and somewhat amazed) of my fellow DUers who stood up for personal responsibility for one's actions.

Not liking corporate America is no excuse for personal irresponsibility.

[jberryhill]

95. Cool...

Just out of curiousity, is it her bank account or yours?

Because they were absolutely right that it was none of your business if she is 18 and it was her account.

[Blue Fire]

98. It's in her name.

I was just being an over-protective daddy.

[jberryhill]

105. Also cool...

Hey, if you're looking to adopt, give me a call.

I mean, I'm in my 40's but... you sound like a cool dad anyway.

[Blue Fire]

125. Thanks!

:toast:

[mudesi]

109. You shouldn't have

A "bit" excessive? It was outrageous.

[Skittles]

168. it is excessive

heck, all those g.d. fees are....but, you did the right thing teaching your daughter fiscal responsibility. Now you (and your daughter) write letters to that fascist corporation that's sticking you and complain to your congress critter too.

[yardwork]

72. All businesses do this, and have done so for decades.

I've always been careful with my finances, but once when I was in college a check I wrote to a local restaurant bounced. I received a phone call in my dorm room from the owner of the business, who quite loudly and angrily demanded that I come over the restaurant immediately and pay in cash. I did so, joining a line of other college students sheepishly making good on their pathetic little bounced checks.

I viewed it as a learning experience. I've never bounced another check as far as I know.

I recommend that you let your daughter handle her own finances and the consequences of her own mistakes. It's the only way for her to grow into responsible adulthood.

[dysfunctional press]

74. what a great lesson for your daughter!

it's OK to be financially irresponsible because you're in college...
AND
it's OK to stiff a company if they don't really "need" your money.

way to go!
i suppose you're getting a lot of attention for parent-of-the-year honors then?

[Blue Fire]

97. Not exactly.

[stopbush]

80. Your daughter violated a trust and a clearly defined store policy.

Face it, unless you are going to pull out good old currency to pay for things in any retail store, they are TRUSTING that the check/credit card you are handing them has funds sufficient to purchase the items. Target's policy seems clear enough - a bounced check will cost you $30.

Target sells things at reasonable prices. One way they keep things reasonable is to not allow for people to pay with bad checks, which incur additional costs to Target, therefore driving up prices to everyone else who shops there. Why should I pay more for my DVDs at Target when I don't bounce checks just because someone else accidentally or intentionally caused Target to incur costs that they will naturally pass along to their good customers?

I'm surprised your daughter was allowed to hand over a bad check. Most stores are hooked into financial systems that instantly verify that the check is good.

Rather than blaming the faceless corporation for your daughter's error, you could use this opportunity to educate your daughter - and maybe yourself - on the way things work in this cash-n-carry world of ours.

[LynneSin]

84. If you scroll up about 3 posts you'll see she's had a change of heart

I think she was just a mom protecting her child - which is a natural thing.

[Blue Fire]

91. Ummmm...I'm the Dad.

Jeez! Get your genders right!

[KitchenWitch]

88. She wrote a bad check, the $30 fee is a consequence of her writing a bad check

Or do the rules apply to everyone but her?

[AlCzervik]

92. She should look at it as a learning experience.

[Occam Bandage]

99. So she bounced a check, and you think she shouldn't have to pay the fee because

she's so fucking special? Every business, from Wal-Mart down the the candy store two blocks away, charges a processing fee.

[Blue Fire]

103. See post #60.

Then go fuck yourself, asshole!

[Occam Bandage]

106. Oh, okay. So...

because you later realized you were being a humongous cock, nobody should call you on it, and if they do, you should lash out at them. Hope your daughter grows up to have more maturity than you do.

[Blue Fire]

113. If you would take the time to read through a thread instead of a knee-jerk response to a bad OP

maybe you would have seen that I've admitted that I was wrong.
Speakiing of humongous cocks...........open wide, motherfucker!!!

[slackmaster]

100. If the bank honored the check, your daughter's bank can charge your daughter an NSF fee

But the payee cannot.

I would tell Target to pound sand too.

[Blue Fire]

131. I would love to!

But as advised, Targt can put her on a list that would prevent her buying needed supplies practically anywhere.
Big corp doesn't give a shit about the have-just-enoughs.

[JeanGrey]

154. Worse, they could have had her arrested for writing a bad

check. A lot of places will, they won't even bother to try to run it through again.

[MadHound]

104. Intentional or not, you're giving your daughter bad advice

Yes, I realize that processing fees are outrageous, yes, I realize that Target is a huge corporation, yes I realize that your daughter's mistake wasn't intentional. However that still doesn't excuse the fact that she committed a crime by bouncing a check. Thus, as part of the whole discouragement thing corporations are allowed to charge large fees. If you or your daughter don't pay this fee, then your daughter can be held liable in both civil and criminal court. Not a good thing for your daughter to have on her record.

I realize that it sucks, but your daughter needs to suck it up and pay the fee. Perhaps then she'll keep better track of her money and not write a bad check.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

107. It's Called Accountability And Responsibility.

It would've been a better lesson to teach your daughter about it, as opposed to sending the message that such concepts are irrelevant.

That's just one man's opinion, though.

On edit: I see your post #60. Good on you! I agree that the fees are probably a bit excessive though, but I don't know the details of what the true 'costs' associated administratively are.)

[Blue Fire]

120. Good to see ya back in the mix, OMC!

And you are right. I was being irresponsible towards my daughter in life's lessons. I think it's based in my disgust over big corp running roughshod on working class America.

[Horse with no Name]

164. Oh my. Welcome back. And we agree.

:scared:

[mudesi]

108. People in this thread, defending the corporation

:wtf:

Any liberals left around these here parts?

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

114. Wait, Did I Miss The Global Proclamation That Liberals Can't Be Responsible Nor Accountable?

I must've missed the decree that stated if you support accountability and responsibility, that you no longer can claim yourself to be a liberal. I'll see if I can find it on google...

(ahhhh, how I've missed you lyny skyny)

[mudesi]

116. This was ridiculous

Sorry OPERATIONMINDCRIME, but a 30 dollar fee is way out of line and completely unreasonable. Why a corporation should even have the legal authority to shake someone down like that is what everyone ought to be asking.

Liberals are the ones who fight for the little guy, who strive for government to represent the common working people, not the upper class. I don't know how or why anyone who calls him/herself a liberal would take Target's or the bank's side on this.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

119. Well, For What It's Worth,

The wiseassish tone of my post was more manufactured just for the sake of rekindling our old relationship than anything else. I've missed ya lyny skyny!

[Maine-ah]

134. the corporation or any business for that matter

is charged by the bank when a check bounces. It now has cost the business (be it small or big) 30 bucks right there from the bank. Let alone how much it's going to cost them in bookkeeping.

Example:

I was a bookkeeper for a small business, lets say I made 10 bucks an hour. Let's say because of all the checks we take in, and because that check originally came to us 2-3 weeks before the bank even sent it back to us, I end up spending an extra 2 hours or so back tracking this damn check, and redoing all the bookkeeping for the past couple of weeks. It ain't so easy as you think.

so, it has now cost the business 50 bucks to deal with this.

So, lets say Target gets maybe a few hundred bad checks weekly. Thats a lot of money. 300x50= 15,000 bucks a week. 15,000x52 (weeks in a year) = 780,000 bucks.

Just an example. I honestly have no idea how many bad checks Target could possibly get in one week. But, they are a large corporation with stores all over the US. Those numbers could be higher or lower, I was just trying to show you how much money it could possibly cost a business.

Why should a business have to pay 780,000 bucks because people either can't manage their money, or they know they are writing a bad check and don't give a shit. We have had to send the sheriff after people for bad checks. It's called theft.

[Blue Fire]

155. Be very careful of your words. Very careful.

I'm not teaching my daughter how to steal, or otherwise engage in theft.
As I've previously posted, I'm not encouraging my daughter to thoughtlessly scatter bad checks around the business community where she attends college. I have taken care of this situation as posted.
Never again accuse my daughter of theft.
Never.
I wont be so nice next time.

[Maine-ah]

172. reread the last sentence there.....

I never accused your daughter of theft.

People who KNOWINGLY write bad checks.

Don't like what I have to say on the subject put me on ignore. Your threats do not scare me in the least.

[Blue Fire]

159. Sure there are!

There's.........well, OK maybe not. But don't forget about..........oh, hell, my mistake again! Good thing we got.............ooops, my bad!!!

I'm sorry. What the hell is a liberal again?? Does it have anything to do with the working class???

[Skittles]

169. they're not defending the corporation

they are defending fiscal responsibility

[Blue-Jay]

110. That's what happens when you bounce a check.

If she's never done it before, the bank will usually reverse the charges.

Unless I'm mistaken, Target has no legal standing to collect fees regarding what is essentially a bank-issue. She has no contract with Target.

[Deja Q]

112. I made an unintentional oversight once too. Not thru target, but it's the business.

They consider everyone guilty first and treat ya like shit, and can't be bothered to listen to even the most pithy, spin-less explanation. Talk about spine-less.

[Dorian Gray]

127. Unfortunately

Your daughter made a mistake. Is the $30 fee fair? I don't know. But, when my friend paid me and the check bounced, we BOTH got charged for the bounce. I'd contact the bank and try to have them pay the fee on your daughter's part, as they didn't give proper overdraft protection. Otherwise, I do think that your daughter should pay for her mistake, and hopefully she will keep a better account of her account.

[Contrary1]

129. Don't even get me started

on the $87 it cost my son for his 2 buck overdraft.

But, he never did it again. Some of life's lessons are a bit more costly than others.

[Contrary1]

130. Delete dupe

[Raine]

141. Some places/people hang onto

the checks too long and create a problem. I had it happen with my dentist, he hung onto it so long that I had even closed up that account. Of course it bounced and I got charged, was I mad. I complained to the dentist and he gave me a discount on some work I had done. Good thing cause I might have found myself a new dentist otherwise.

[GodHelpUsAll2]

144. You closed

an account without making sure everything had cleared? Don't you balance your bank account. Especially before closing an account? I agree that people who hold a check forever is irritating but because a check that was written last month hasn't cleared doesn't mean that a miracle has occurred and I now have that money back.

I guess society has become that lazy and irresponsible. No one is responsible for their own actions. It's always someone else's fault. Not matter what.

God Help Us All! Literally

[backscatter712]

145. In theory, personal checks are good for 30 days.

But the check processing machines the banks use do not read the date on the checks, so chances are good if some twit holds on to your check for six months, then deposits it, the bank will pay it.

[Raine]

157. Yes I did because

it had been months and I thought the check had been cashed since I had seen the dentist in between times. I don't know why someone thinks that an account is going to be open forever. I know if someone gave me a check I wouldn't be so lazy that I couldn't be bothered to cash it for months.

[SoCalDem]

149. Fees are fees, and it's just a fact of life. It sucks, but if they started

waiving them, they would never be able to stop

Collecting on bad checks is a time-consuming tedious task, and everybody has a "story".

Your daughter will be charged by her bank too, so that one check may end up costing her a lot, by the time all is said and done.

You are lucky they redeposited it..Most places will not redeposit.. I won't. Our bank charges our account $7 for returned items, but I charge $25, because it takes MY time and effort to collect on the checks, and it's done as a reminder for people to not write a check they cannot cover..

I'm sorry this happened to her, but she will probably keep realy close watch from now on :hug:

[Horse with no Name]

165. I worked in an office of a convenience store chain

Many years ago and one of the duties was collecting on hot checks.
Let me tell you about this....25 convenience stores in a military/college town.
You are correct...everyone had a "story".
I remember one kid in fact.
He had written no less than 5-6 bounced checks at EVERY store.
He was 18-19 years old. College kid.
He didn't answer my calls, he didn't answer my letters...ignored the certifieds.
I was to the point that my only alternative was to take them to the DA for processing.
Our corporation was out close to a thousand bucks on this bad paper--including charges.
I went ahead and wrote him ONE more letter because I knew from his birthday on the back of the check that he was a kid.
I tossed out the form letter and wrote a personal letter to him. I asked him just to please come in and let us work something out.
A couple of days later, his Dad came in.
Apparently the kid screwed up huge and didn't know how to cope (we weren't the only ones with hot checks--it rarely ever happens in a vacuum).
There were warrants for his arrest out..he was scared.
He tried to commit suicide.
His Dad was heartbroken. I put the checks aside. Our owner was compassionate and very wealthy--it wasn't going to break us to hold onto these longer--although after 90 days the DA won't even take them. Our owner agreed to let us give the kid a chance to get himself together and pay when he could.
Our owner called the DA (who he knew personally) and explained the circumstances to them regarding the other checks. The DA asked the boy's father to come down and bring proof that he was institutionalized for his suicide attempt...and said he would work something out with them.
We did end up getting the money (with an apology and very much gratitude) from the boy quite a few months later (owner waived all the fees--just asked for face value).
This was in the mid 80's and I don't believe that hot checks were being put on your credit record back then...so hopefully, and I would like to believe it to be so, this boy learned his lesson the hard way.
Everyone has a story. Some of them are true.:(

[Horse with no Name]

160. I empathize with her plight

However, when you write checks there, it is posted in every single Target that I have been in, that they WILL charge a returned check fee.
They have no way of knowing that she is a struggling college student...but I can guarantee you one thing, if she wrote a hot check to the college who KNEW she was a struggling college student, they would collect their fee too.
It's the way things work.
Ignoring the problem doesn't make it go away.
Bad advice mom.:(

[Blue Fire]

163. For the last time.....

I'm the DAD!!!!!

And empathy isn't worth shit in this fucked up country!
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

..
.
.
.
Am I getting pig-headed again??

[Horse with no Name]

167. Yeah, you are

But it's okay.
I apologize for thinking you were the mom, but I am a pig-headed mom and you reminded me of myself.:)
I read after I posted that you were a Dad and that you changed your mind and gave the right advice.
:toast:

[ronnykmarshall]

173. Two words: Overdraft Protection

and keep your check registar up to date.

It's SO simple.

[Blue-Jay]

174. You're a banker. Of course it's simple for you!

Us ordinary people don't know how to add and subtract.

[ronnykmarshall]

175. That's what WE want.

We prey on simpletons like you in our evil plot to take over the world with NSF fees!


BuuuuuwwwhahahhahahahahahhahahahahahahAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

[Freddie Stubbs]

176. That $30 will be a lot more expensive if she ever needs credit

I suppose she can buy her next car, home, ect. with cash.

You sure are teaching her a wonderful lesson.