Urbana Police Division Bad Check Procedure
Section 42.2.10 - Bad Check Procedure
The policy of the Urbana City Prosecutor and the Urbana Police Division is to process bad checks through the criminal justice system in a timely and effective manner with the purpose of preventing future incidents of passing bad checks by the individual and, when possible, seeking restitution to the merchant. The handling of bad checks will be performed in a manner that keeps the liability risk to a minimum (for both the city and the merchant).
For purposes of this procedure, bad checks are checks that are returned by the financial institution because the account holder had insufficient funds in the account to cover the check, or the account was closed. Bad checks do not include the following:
Stolen checks, forged checks, and checks issued on a fraudulent account must be submitted immediately to the Urbana Police Division, if an investigation and prosecution is desired.
Below are three requirements that must be met before submitting a bad check complaint to the Urbana Police Division. If the three requirements are not met, the Urbana Police Division will not accept or investigate the bad check complaint. These requirements are needed to effectively investigate the incident and to keep the liability risk to a minimum.
Generally, if a misdemeanor offender is not arrested on a passing bad check warrant/summons within one year, the City Prosecutor will seek dismissal of the warrant through the court at the expiration of the one year period, and the bad check will be returned to the merchant.
Once a merchant files a bad check complaint with the Urbana Police Division, the merchant may accept payment to reimburse the merchant for the bad check; however the merchant must inform the Urbana Police Division of the payment.
The policy of the Urbana City Prosecutor and the Urbana Police Division is to process bad checks through the criminal justice system in a timely and effective manner with the purpose of preventing future incidents of passing bad checks by the individual and, when possible, seeking restitution to the merchant. The handling of bad checks will be performed in a manner that keeps the liability risk to a minimum (for both the city and the merchant).
For purposes of this procedure, bad checks are checks that are returned by the financial institution because the account holder had insufficient funds in the account to cover the check, or the account was closed. Bad checks do not include the following:
- Stolen Checks
- Forged Checks
- Checks issued on a fraudulent account
Stolen checks, forged checks, and checks issued on a fraudulent account must be submitted immediately to the Urbana Police Division, if an investigation and prosecution is desired.
Below are three requirements that must be met before submitting a bad check complaint to the Urbana Police Division. If the three requirements are not met, the Urbana Police Division will not accept or investigate the bad check complaint. These requirements are needed to effectively investigate the incident and to keep the liability risk to a minimum.
- Bad checks must be submitted to the Urbana Police Division within 60 days of being cashed by the merchant. For extenuating circumstances, the Urbana Police Division has the discretion of accepting bad check complaints after the 60-day period.
- Before submitting a bad check complaint to the Urbana Police Division, the merchant must send a certified letter to the issuer of the bad check and give the issuer 10 days from the receipt of the certified letter to pay the check. In addition, if the certified letter is undeliverable for any reason other than when forwarding address, the merchant must send an additional letter to the issuer via regular mail, and then give the offender ten days from the mailing date to pay the bad check. If available, submit a copy of the documentation sent.
- The following information must be obtained, then noted on the face of the check:
- The issuer's address (verify with issuer)
- The issuer's driver's license or state identification card number (the clerk must obtain the number from the issuer's card; remember to compare the photograph to the issuer). Clerk must be the one to write the number on the face of the check.
- The clerk's initials or other identifying mark.
Generally, if a misdemeanor offender is not arrested on a passing bad check warrant/summons within one year, the City Prosecutor will seek dismissal of the warrant through the court at the expiration of the one year period, and the bad check will be returned to the merchant.
Once a merchant files a bad check complaint with the Urbana Police Division, the merchant may accept payment to reimburse the merchant for the bad check; however the merchant must inform the Urbana Police Division of the payment.
