Maryland Bad Check Program
The Calvert
County State's Attorney's Office has developed the Bad Check Unit
in order to provide merchants and receivers of bad checks a quick
and effective way to recover their losses, to help identify
repeat offenders and concentrate prosecution efforts on those
individuals and to lessen the burden on the court system while
producing a successful result for merchants and victims. With
your cooperation, we can succeed.
What is a Bad Check?
The law dealing
with bad checks is found in the Annotated Code of Maryland,
Article 27, Section 140 et seq. Simply put, a bad check is
created whenever a person provides goods and/or services to
another who in return gives a check for payment which later
proves to be worthless.
There are three
different ways in which the violation of this law can occur. They
are: insufficient funds, closed accounts and stop payments.
Although any of these situations will result in not getting paid
for your goods or services, there are differences between each
term that you must understand when filing criminal charges. In
order to determine which term applies, look at the check to see
how it is returned.
Before You Can Activate the
Program
In order to
effectively process and/or prosecute offenders under the laws
governing Bad Checks in the state of Maryland the State's
Attorney's Office has adopted the following procedures for filing
complaints:
If the check is returned
"NSF" or "Refer to Maker," it must be
less than one year old and tendered in Calvert County for
the exchange of something of value. You must notify the
check writer by certified mail, return receipt, and give
10 days to make the check good. If no payment is received
you can activate the Bad Check Program.
If the check has been
returned marked "Closed Account" or "No
Account", you can consider this to be a theft of
your goods and/or services. If no payment is received
after certified mailing, you can go directly to the
District Court Commissioner located at, 200 Duke Street,
Prince Frederick, MD 20678, telephone number
(410)-535-0141 and file criminal charges.
If a check has a
"Stop Payment" order issued against it you must
be able to prove the check was written with intent, at
the time of presentment, to stop payment.
In many cases "Stop
Payment" checks must be handled through a civil
suit. You can contact the District Court Clerks Office,
200 Duke Street, Prince Frederick, MD 20678, telephone
number (410) 535-8800 for more information.
You must provide complete
identification including the check writer's address,
phone number and driver's license number in order for the
case to be prosecuted.
You should be aware that
the purpose of the law does not include the arbitration
or prosecution of civil matters involving disputes over
workmanship, faulty products or landlord tenant matters.
Remember that bringing
unwarranted criminal charges could result in civil
liability.
How to Activate the Program
If payment was not
received within 10 days of your certified mailing,
contact the State's Attorney's Office at 200 Duke Street,
Suite 2300, Prince Frederick, MD 20678, or by calling
(410) 535-1600 ext 495, or (301) 855 1243 ext. 495, to
obtain blank worksheets.
Provide a completed
worksheet, copies of the front and back of the check(s),
a copy of your letter, and a copy of the certified
receipt to the State's Attorney's Office, 200 Duke
Street, Suite 2300 , Prince Frederick, MD 20678.
If the check qualifies,
the State's Attorney's Office will send a letter to the
check writer giving them 10 days for the check and any
additional fees to be paid. A copy will be mailed to you.
If you do not receive
payment by the date in our letter, you must go to the
office of the District Court Commissioner at, 200 Duke
Street, Lower Level, Prince Frederick, MD 20678,
(410)-535-0141, and take out criminal charges. Be sure to
bring copies of all prior correspondence.
When the defendant is
served with the charging documents either by arrest
warrant or summons, you will receive a subpoena from the
District Court of Maryland to appear for trial.
If at any time payment is
made directly to you, please notify the Bad Check Unit
immediately.
Remember, your case will
not be set for trial until the defendant is served with
the charges. The mailing address of the defendant which
you provide may have much to do with determining the
timeliness of your court date.
May fees in Addition to the
Face Value of the Check be Recovered?
What Steps May be Taken to
Avoid a Bad Check?
Examine the check
carefully, make sure all items are completed and correct.
Obtain as much information
from a valid driver's license or state ID as possible,
and write it down.
Compare the picture ID to
the person writing the check.
Avoid taking checks where
the name on the ID is different from the name on the
check.
Avoid cashing third-party
checks, payroll checks and two-party insurance checks.
If the address on the
check is different from the address on the ID, write it
down.
If you accept a business
check, make sure the signature on the check can be read.
Criminal charges are brought against a person, not a
business.
For a Maryland Driver's
License, the letter which precedes the soundex number
should be the same as the first letter in the check
writer's last name. If it doesn't match, refuse the
check.
The Bad Check
Unit is available to answer your questions between the hours of
8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Once Again, we can be reached at (410)
535-1600 ext. 495 or (301) 855-1243 ext. 495.
Copyright © Calvert County State's
Attorney All Rights Reserved
Last Revised On: December 20th 2000
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