In Alabama a bad check can have criminal and civil penalties.

Criminal Penalties:

*Do not, under any circumstance, accept a post-dated check*

In order to retain your ability to use the Worthless Check Unit of Jefferson County, you must deposit the check that is received within 30 days from receiving the check.  Once returned by the bank, you must give a ten day notice to cure to the maker of the check.  After that, feel free to contact your attorney for additional advice or reach out to the Worthless Check Unit.  Please understand that you should contact your attorney if you have any questions or reach out to the Worthless Check Unit in your area.

If you have received a bad check it is important to know the steps to take to recover the check amount. It is your responsibility as the receiving party to make the demand for payment. Generally you have a two (2) year statute of limitations for collecting on a bad check amount.

What this means is that once you have received a bad check you have two (2) years to bring an action against the person responsible for presenting the bad check. However, there are some types of checks that have a three (3) year statute of limitations for bringing an action. These types of checks are:

• Certified Checks
  • A certified check is check verified by the bank. This type of check cannot bounce as the funds are set aside by the bank at the time it is made negotiable.
• Cashier’s Checks
  • A cashier’s check is certified by the bank. This certification guarantees that the funds are available.
• Traverler’s Checks
  • Traveler’s checks are checks in a specific amount that are purchased, and the signor can make an unconditional payment to someone else.

Note: On checks that have a due date, the statue of limitations commences from the due date on the check and not the actual date of the check.  At the law firm of Fortune & Beard our attorney’s will work to collect the bad check amount and bank fees associated therewith.

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