Telecheck, crosscheck or any check guarantee service provider
guarantees payments on checks. Now are these insurance companies,
collections agencies or what? How do they legally operate?

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Clarification of Question by sfinancial-ga on 12 Jun 2005 22:23 PDT

I've looked and can not find telecheck or crosscheck registered as
either a collection agency or insurance company. Any insight into the
legal structure behind these types of check guarantee companies would
be appreciated.

Check guarantee companies are not insurance companies, though they
operate like one, and thus are not regulated in such ways.
Check guarantee is a service based on contract law where the service
assumes collections risk should the checks be returned.

Then the next question is how the customer makes sure that the service
has the reserves necessary to pay its claims, and this is where due
diligence becomes very important.

Testimonials from previous and current users, bank references, and
financial information from the company may help determine whether its
reserves are adequate.

Please read about check guarantee service is more detail at Credit Today:
http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:aUFU0_w7zLIJ:www.credittoday.net/members/727print.cfm+%22Check+guarantee+is+a+service+based+on+contract+law%22&hl=en

Other Legal Issues:

In its operation, the check guarantee service is usually involved with
check truncation (the conversion of a check to an electronic debit or
image of the check by someone in the payment system other then the
paying bank) and such, which means the transactions may be governed by
check law (UCC, Reg CC and Clearing house rules) or by electronic
banking law (Electronic Fund Transfer Act).

The following legal updates relevant to check guarantee system has
been posted on OfficeTeller:

-> President Bush has signed into law legislation (H.R. 1474) that
will give substitute checks the same legal validity as the original
paper checks. The Check 21 bill is intended to reduce the check
payment system's dependence on physical transportation networks, and
streamline the collection and return process. The implementation date
will be October 28, 2004.

-> The goal of the Check Truncation Act (CTA) legislation is to
increase efficiency of the nation's payment system by removing certain
legal impediments to check truncation so that banks would be able to
easily present and return checks electronically. A new instrument
called a "substitute check" created from an electronic check image
would be the legal equivalent of the original check and could be
processed by receiving banks just as original paper checks are.

-> Under the Banking Rules (NACHA Operating Rules) Consumer checks can
be converted into electronic payments.

http://www.officeteller.com/75/Check-21-Electronic-Check-Guarantee.html 

I hope this has helped and if you would like clarification on any part
of the answer, please feel free to ask for one.

Cheers,
Tox-ga

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Request for Answer Clarification by sfinancial-ga on 03 Jul 2006 03:16 PDT

Sorry I didn't respond earlier. Wasn't able to post a reply. Let me
try this again.

I understand that they like all companies are based on contract law,
however, it could be argued that what they provide is an insurance so
they must in some way be regulated as such. Lets assume for example
the company doesn't do as it's contract states, what are the fall
backs. Also, there must be some body that regulates these companies,
especially in strict states like New York. Lets assume any jo smo
started a check guarantee company, they may not be able to make good
on the claims. That being the case, what's to stop anyone from
starting a check guarantee company.

You can think of these companies as being similar to ChexSystems. 
They basically keep a record of your banking history much like a
credit bureau would for your credit.  The main difference is that
ChexSystems, Telecheck and Crosscheck hold records of people with
specifically negative banking history.  Positive banking history is
ignored in most cases.

These records are then used by member or subscribing banks to assess
the risk of new applications (customers).  Typically, individuals with
a report on ChexSystems, are ineligible for new bank accounts.  While,
people listed under Telecheck or Crosscheck have a less tough time
finding bank accounts because most banks are subscribers of
ChexSystems.

It is estimated that over 80% of all banks and credit unions use
services such as ChexSystems and Telecheck to protect their assets. 
This equates to about 15 to 20 million people living without bank
accounts.

If you or a family member is struggling with a report on ChexSystems,
Telecheck, or Crosscheck, please refer them to the following websites.
 These sites provide free information and services.

<a href="http://www.creditservicer.com/">www.creditservicer.com</a>
<a href="http://www.cardreport.com/dirs/non-chexsystems-banks.html">www.cardreport.com</a>
<a href="http://www.creditinfocenter.com/FeaturedArticles/ChexSystems.shtml">www.creditinfocenter.com</a>