Bodis July payment - Check bounced

[domainstand]

just got news from my bank, Bodis monthly check for July bounced.... Bodis support has not contacted me back yet....anyone else have
a problem getting paid?

 

[Gerry]

Hmmm...I get direct deposit to PayPal. No problems.

Perhaps your funds went to helping fund the purchase of NamePros.

 

[domainstand]

Thanks for the feedback "G" ....I was getting paid via paypal also and had no prior issues. Just switched payment methods (first time I tried getting sent a physical check and this happens), hopefully support will get back to me in a timely fashion.

 

[Raider]

Perhaps your funds went to helping fund the purchase of NamePros.

You being a long time client of Bodis, I would think the profits from your revenue went to Namepros far more than this check did.

Regardless, it was money well invested.

 

[Raider]

Thanks for the feedback "G" ....I was getting paid via paypal also and had no prior issues. Just switched payment methods (first time I tried getting sent a physical check and this happens), hopefully support will get back to me in a timely fashion.

I could be a error, maybe Matt changed accounts or banks... This happened with a affiliate check I received, it bounced and the NSF fee was more than the actual check.. I contacted them about it repeatedly, they said they would make good on it and never did... Looking back, I should of filed a complaint with the District Attorney bad check division..

 

[mattbodis]

just got news from my bank, Bodis monthly check for July bounced.... Bodis support has not contacted me back yet....anyone else have
a problem getting paid?

I apologize for the issue. Was it a check for July payment? That should have not happened, can you please PM me with your account email?

Recently we've been hit with a lot of fraud where users began printing their own checks with Bodis account #s and signature on the check, attempting to deposit hundreds of thousands even millions of dollars. Money that oesn't even exists in the account, do they think Bodis is owned by Bill Gates or something? :?: We've also been hit by small fraudulent checks, such as for $9,000, etc as well as fraudulent ACH deposits from our account. Since we had no specialty protection on our account (thanks to Citi), Citi froze all outgoing transfers on our account without the ability for me to unfreeze. Sadly, I have learned that it is very easy for any fraudulent activity like this to happen and now we understand how to deal with it.

However, I have put in a special request with our bank for all June/July checks to go through so I would need to look at your account and determine why your payment has not. Your check should still have cleared.

Either way, we've setup new accounts and any future payments all have a protective layer that I have to authorize before any payment clears. However, due to the small # of users that use Check as the payment option on Bodis, and the large amount of fraud we've dealt with (all due to the account # being on the Check), we'll likely be disabling Check as a payment option later this week and switching users to ACH and others to Wire and likely lowering the Wire limit.

First to solve your problem, once I determine the amount that bounced I will either resend you a check from our new account or will send you the payment via wire/ACH covering any fees such as wire fees and/or bounced check fees.

Again sorry for the delay and any fees you may have incurred, I'll be sure to have it resolved as soon as I receive your account info.

 

[domainstand]

Hi Matt,

Thanks for explaining and making everything right.

 

[Raider]

Recently we've been hit with a lot of fraud where users began printing their own checks with Bodis account #s and signature on the check, attempting to deposit hundreds of thousands even millions of dollars. Money that doesn't even exists in the account, do they think Bodis is owned by Bill Gates or something?

They must be part of the 99% who think business owners like yourself are rolling in dough.... I know you were joking with the Bill Gates reference, but theirs actually some truth to it, they have this notion that successful business have millions and even Billions of dollars in the bank, and they keep all in a checking account. LMAO.

Are you banning their accounts? You should be going beyond that and reporting them to law enforcement where check fraud is a Federal offense.

 

[mattbodis]

They must be part of the 99% who think business owners like yourself are rolling in dough.... I know you were joking with the Bill Gates reference, but theirs actually some truth to it, they have this notion that successful business have millions and even Billions of dollars in the bank, and they keep all in a checking account. LMAO.

Are you banning their accounts? You should be going beyond that and reporting them to law enforcement where check fraud is a Federal offense.

Well they were unsuccessful with the checks. They did do a $9,000 charge which would go through except that checks take a very long time to clear and as soon as I reported to the bank that the check was never written to the beneficiary then they blocked it immediately.

They were successful at doing ACH debits (this is the same way PayPal debits your account when you add funds). As a matter of fact, with just your account #, anyone can initiate an instant ACH debit from your account without any preauthorizations or any other information. Just the account #. This is very scary. I don't know if the scammers received the money (hopefully not), but the bank was quick to credit us back once reported. It clears instantly..unlike Checks, and has I believe no limits, which makes it a bit scary. No wonder why there is so much fraud, it's just so easy to do it.

If the Checks were abolished altogether in this world, the problem would be reduced by more than 90% it seems. The big issue is the account # printed on the bottom of everyone's check.

Finally, I could report to authorities but it was not just some user. Our bank explained to me that most users are innocent and the problem occurs when they go to cash the check, such as at those Checks for Cash places. From my understanding, its typically the tellers at these places that steal the information on the check and then go home and print their own checks. The scammers were crafty debiting the account from their own company aliases such as "Geico Payments Inc", which is slightly different than the real "Geico Inc".

The only way to prevent it is to have a pre-authorized system in place like we do now. I wasn't aware that was even an option until recently. Now we should be set, but I really didn't like the idea of checks as a payment method before, and now I'm not feeling any better..

 

[katherine]

They were successful at doing ACH debits (this is the same way PayPal debits your account when you add funds). As a matter of fact, with just your account #, anyone can initiate an instant ACH debit from your account without any preauthorizations or any other information. Just the account #. This is very scary. I don't know if the scammers received the money (hopefully not), but the bank was quick to credit us back once reported. It clears instantly..unlike Checks, and has I believe no limits, which makes it a bit scary. No wonder why there is so much fraud, it's just so easy to do it.

I posted about ACH a while back
Unfortunately there is zero security and the US banking system is very lax, I could go on with other examples. It's just like credit cards in the 1990s before they introduced the CVC. You just need numbers and you're ready to scam :veryangry:

If the Checks were abolished altogether in this world, the problem would be reduced by more than 90% it seems. The big issue is the account # printed on the bottom of everyone's check.

In parts of Europe checks were phased out years ago. Eurocheque was decommissioned ten years ago. It was actually convenient back then because I could pay for purchases in stores all across Europe that would not take credit cards.
The preferred way to settle amounts is by bank transfer, store purchases are made with debit/credit card. Only people that know you (like your doctor) will accept a check. I only use them to make gifts

Unfortunately it appears there is little you can do to protect yourself.

 

[grcorp]

What makes this problem even worse is that banks are fighting fiercely for business these days, and "over verifying" a transaction can be discouraging to a customer, perhaps implying they can't be trusted.

Also, most people I know who work at banks at the teller level (and even at the account manager level) are a little slow in the head. So it doesn't surprise me that some might authorize a transaction for the sake of good customer service, thus allowing some bad cheques to clear.

 

[Gerry]

Even when dealing with certified or teller's check there can be a delay. I recently sold a domain for $13K, agreed to a certified or teller's check since it was someone in the US and in NC. Still, there was a 48 hour hold on releasing funds. I think banks do this as a safeguard in the event someone tries to kill the check on the other end. He suggested wire transfer. But, since I had never done a wire transfer I agreed to a certified check on a regional, local bank rather than either of us incurring any fees for services like escrow, etc. He overnighted the check to me and all was well, except for the 48 hour hold.

Checks are becoming a thing of the past for many. I can not even recall the last time I wrote a check. With debit cards, there is no need to a check. The only check I had written lately was one with VOID written all over it to a firm that needed a voided check for direct deposit.

 

[DomainsInc]

They must be part of the 99% who think business owners like yourself are rolling in dough.... I know you were joking with the Bill Gates reference, but theirs actually some truth to it, they have this notion that successful business have millions and even Billions of dollars in the bank, and they keep all in a checking account. LMAO.

Are you banning their accounts? You should be going beyond that and reporting them to law enforcement where check fraud is a Federal offense.

actually i am willing to bet 100% that its people in third world countries trying to do this.

 

[Biggie]

@ Bodis


should you decide to remove "payment by check" as an option -


then it will be seen as an "unchecked box" in a comparison chart, along side other ppc providers who still offer that option.


imo...

 

[Gerry]

Yeah, Matt. Payment by Check is time consuming, an added bookkeeping expense, risk of getting lost or stolen, delay in actual cashing or depositing can create bookmaking nightmares (unable to close out/balance the books with outstanding checks), and so on.

 

[Raider]

actually i am willing to bet 100% that its people in third world countries trying to do this.

What difference does it make?, the occupy wall street crowd is worldwide, they actually believe any successful business is 1) Greedy and 2) Rich....

If only they got off their ass and opened a business of their own, working their tail off like Matt and Adam have, they would think otherwise.


And if checks were to become obsolete, (which I don't think they will in my lifetime) what happens to the millions of people who receive checks but don't have bank accounts? People who cash them at grocery stores and check cashing places? Do we force them to open bank accounts and mandate they accept direct deposit?

When Escrow pay me, I always choose check, it's the only option where I'm not charged an additional fee... If it were free, direct deposit all the way.