I dread making collection calls and therefore am not effective at it. Check Assist makes collecting bad checks a no thought process and they are successful at collecting these bad debts in the vast majority of cases. I would recommend Check Assist's services to anyone that accepts checks as part of their daily business.

Lance Coy DVM

Pine Meadow Veterinary Clinic

Frequently Asked Questions

Q.	How much does it cost to use Check Assist?
A.	A lifetime membership costs $99, which covers account acquisition plus equipment programming and installation. Verification equipment is sold separately. For more information, please call our office at (800) 457-6558.

Q.	Do I have to sign a contract?
A.	Yes. Check Assist has a simple two-page membership agreement with a one year minimum commitment.

Q.	What is Check Assist’s success rate?
A.	The percentage of collections varies by location and account type. In Florida, our success rate is typically 75% or higher.

Q.	How large is your organization?
A.	Check Assist serves over 850 businesses and organizations, including hospitals, high-volume retail grocers, convenience stores and many others. We employ a full staff of trained, professional collection agents, managers and technical support staff who are ready assist you.

Q.	What happens if one of my customers bounces a check?
A.	Check Assist will take the following actions if you receive a worthless check: The check writer’s name and information is entered into our software system. We send a letter of notification to you (the merchant) for your records. We send a letter to the check writer requesting the balance due and include payment instructions. We usually send the check writer 3 letters, one week apart, with an increasingly urgent message. The third and final letter includes legal language about state laws and actions that can be taken against writers of worthless checks. Our seasoned staff of collection agents call the check writer to make payment arrangements over the phone. Checks that remain unpaid are submitted to the State / District Attorney (if applicable) and to the National Credit Bureaus.

Q.	Can I use Check Assist in my state?
A.	Check Assist is licensed and has its corporate office in Florida. We specialize in serving businesses in Northern Florida and Southern Alabama. We welcome your inquiry regarding our services.

Q.	Do I need Check Verification or Check Guarantee?
A.	Check Verification provides a first line of defense against returned checks by preventing your business from accepting them. When a payment by check is attempted, the check is scanned to verify its account status. Our system will decline a check only when the check writer has outstanding, unpaid checks or when the account has been flagged as closed. Best of all, this service is freely available as a part of the $99 enrollment fee. It’s especially useful to convenience or grocery stores, tobacco shops, bingo parlors and other businesses that accept a large quantity of checks or checks valued at $150 or more. Check Guarantee ensures that a merchant gets paid when a worthless check is accepted (provided it meets certain requirements), even if Check Assist has not yet secured the funds from the writer. This optional, fee-based upgrade service is usually preferred by high-volume retailers and fast food restaurants that do not have the available time to run check verification for every transaction. Merchants benefit by having the guarantee of payment on worthless checks within 21 days of the date of return.

Q.	Do you collect on closed accounts?
A.	Yes. Check Assist sends one courtesy letter requesting payment on a closed bank account. At that point the check writer is eligible for referral to the State / District Attorney’s Office for further legal action. We prepare all paperwork and forward it to the merchant for their signature and we submit the Affidavit of Worthless Check to the State Attorney’s Office.

Q.	How do I get paid?
A.	Check Assist sends payment to our member merchants via their preferred payment method. Checks are mailed out bi-weekly and Direct Deposit payments are transmitted weekly.

Q.	If your service is free, how do you get paid?
A.	Essentially, the check writer pays us. We seek restitution on your behalf from the check writer. Once the check is paid in full, Check Assist will remit 100% of the face amount (plus the bank fee where allowed by law) to you, the merchant. Our merchants allow us to keep the service charge that the check writer paid to compensate us for the work we performed.

Q.	Can’t I just recover the worthless check funds on my own?
A.	It’s possible to make an attempt, but the outcome is uncertain. Check Assist is qualified to provide this valuable service to our members, and we have professional expertise based on the volume of bad checks we process. We know that you (the business/merchant) could do the collection work yourself, but your time is valuable and there are many other tasks requiring your attention. As a licensed and affiliated member of the collection industry, we are able to accomplish collections that you might find cost prohibitive (in time and labor) or beyond your ability. We also have access to several national databases, which gives us the ability to locate people who write worthless checks.

Q.	How long does the collection process take?
A.	Check Assist processes over 4,000 worthless checks per month. On average, about half of those are collected within the first 60 days; another 25% are collected afterward. Your $99 membership also covers your participation in our online reporting system, which is a convenient way to track the status of pending collections.

Q.	What do I do if you have not collected a check within thirty days?
A.	Check Assist will send you the Affidavit of Worthless Check for your signature. You return the signed affidavit to us, then we file the paperwork, along with the worthless check, with the State Attorney’s Office on your behalf. Check Assist will continue to pursue the collections account until the debt is satisfied.