FISGlobal.com / Certegy review: declined checks! 620

I went to Walmart where I purchased a Money Order. I never used the Money Order, so I returned to the store to cash it. The money order was declined, a money order, Declined, Really!. The store could do nothing for me except give me a slip of paper to call them. I am not sure what Certegy would have to do with cashing a money order. But I guess they do.

This morning tried to cash my check at Wal-Mart, as I have done for the last year. When I pay rent, I have to write a check, cash it, and get a money order (landlord does not accept checks), and I have a $400 limit on ATM withdrawals per day. So if I do not have multiple days to withdraw funds from my account, I need to cash a check. I use Money Network, also known as Meta Bank. I have never had a problem before. This morning Certegy declined cashing my check. They tried several different terminals, and it did not work. I tried calling their number at the bottom of the slip, and the message said "transferring my call" and disconnected. This happened in excess of five times, I went to their website they refer you to when you call, and it keeps coming up with "internal error" . While I was at Wal-Mart I called MY bank, Money Network, and they said my check was fine, that it was validated, that nobody else had tried cashing it. So here I am with my funds, essentially all of my net earnings, tied up in a check I cannot cash, and my rent is due, I am missing work because of this, etc. This is unacceptable.

I tried to cash a check at Walmart for my government Veterans Administration payment- gave them a valid state drivers license AND military ID and they denied it saying that it "wasn't valid ID"! Also, when I tried to call I got a message saying "we are transfering you to the next available customer service agent" and then was disconnected (over and over). This company is a joke!

How do we close this site down to let everybody has a better life. This certegy business is a grip-off to people who live in this country. We need to stop them for doing that. Is anyone know where to go to file a complaint?

I was at Target in San Antonio at 151 and Loop 410 on 9/28/12. They had 3 registers open and the lines were full and same thing happened to me! I was denied! I was embarassed just to be in Target, and to have my check kicked back too! But I was looking for that Nutirbullet and they had one. I had to use my credit card.. All the way home I was thinking did someone get into my acct and and steal my funds? Then I found this site, At least I know its not just me!

typo i meant to say they arent very nice they can be very ill mannered

all belks are rude mainly rooted from the store managers they are very nice to be honest.

Today my brother went to Walmart to cash a money order, from Money-gram, and he was declined. He showed me what Walmart gave him, a little printed slip with info. regarding Certegy. I did some calling and actually spoke with a gal from Certegy and with little explanation of the situation, she said for him to go cash it somewhere other then Walmart. Okay...so I call Money-gram and ask where their locations might be close to where we live and I wrote down some of the stores. I chose Cub and I even called there and spoke to some gal and she said they could cash it. So off to Cub we go and what do you think happened when we handed the gal the money order - she says "Oh...we can't cash that". really? REALLY? I'm thinking to myself "Oh, gee, forgive me because I thought I was living in the U.S." "My mistake...wrong country". What is the f_ _ king world coming to - anyhow?

I tried to cash my payroll check yesterday at Walmart. My check was rejected, I was told to call Certegy, and heard the same meaningless message with no option to speak to a real person. I am done with Walmart. Done.

Why is it Brookstone's fault that the government changed the Daylight Saving Times?

Believe or not things things don't last forever and things in the world change

Get over it.

I AGREE I TOOK A CHECK TO WALMART TO CASH MYSELF IT WAS A INSURANCE CHECK FROM A INSURANCE COMPANY.LET THEM SEE ME SEPERATE THE CHECK FROM THE STUB.OUT OF THE ORIGANAL ENVELOPE.AND SHE CAME AND TOLD ME THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE CAN MAKE THOSE TYPES OF CHECKS AND FOR ME TO CALL SOME NUMBER TO TELL ME WHY IT WAS DENIED.THEY HAD NOTHING TO TELL ME IS THAT THEY DID NOT KNOW WHY.SMH WALMART IS LOSING BUSINESS AND I HOPE IT GETS LARGER

I ALSO THINK CERTEGY NEEDS TO HAVE PEOPLE LIVE PEOPLE ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS WITH ANYTHING OTHER THAN THERE ISNT ANYTHING WE CAN DO. . . . OR IM SORRY MA'AM GO TO ANOTHER LOCATION. YES SHE DID, THE REP TOLD ME TO GO TO ANOTHER RETAILER THAT ISNT CERTEGY AFFILIATED AND THEN GO BACK TO A RETAIL STORE TO SHOP THAT IS CERTEGY AFFILIATED ! ANY ATTORNEYS OUT THERE THAT WOULD LIKE TO SUE ?/? BC IM SURE ALOT OF CONSUMERS WOULD JUMP ON THIS . . .. IT IS A CROCK AND IM SICK OF IT... I NEITHER HAVE EVER BOUNCED A CHECK IN MY LIFE I AM 30 YRS OLD AND IT PISSES ME OFF THAT I WAS EMBARRESED IT WAS OVER A MONTH AGO IM STILL HOT ABOUT IT

CERTEGY IS INSANE ! I THINK THREY SHOULD BE SHUT DOWN ... I HAVE BEEN EMABARRSSED TWICE ONCE AT BILO AND THEN AGAIN AT WALMART TRYING TO CASH A PAYCHECK ! AGAIN IT IS NO NEGATIVE INFO JUST OUTSIDE THEIR RISK GUIDLINES!R THEY SERIOUS ! WHAT GUIDELINE IS THAT EXACTLY WE RANDOMLY CASH ANY ONES CHECK, BUT COME ON IN AND TRY ...CERTEGY NEEDS TO HAVE A NICE CIVIL SUIT SERVED TO THEM . I HAVE PLENTY OF MONEY IN MY ACCOUNT TO WRITE CHECKS AND OR CASH CHECKS AND QUITE FRANKLY THE EMBARRESSSMENT I WAS IN WHILE MY FIVE YR OLD SON HAD PICKED OUT A TOY AND WAS CRUSHED DUE TO THIS PISSES ME OFF I JUST SO HAPPENED NOT TO HAVE MY BANK CARD DUE TO MY PURSE BEING STOLEN AND EVERYTHING IN CARDS WAS FROZEN ...URGH HOW IS IT THAT THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH THIS OVER AND OVER AGAIN

am A Doctor, had account 30years never wote a bad check in my life, certegy is B/S big time, told me that, I needed to call my bank and find out why ? my check didn't go threw I couldn't belive it, my bank told me everything was fine, I had enough money in there, I wrote the check for 42.34 I can write a check at wallmart, any where else except for albertions.someone should do something.

This is the complaint I filed with the Better Business Bureau in Florida about Certegy Check Services and the responce I got from them..
Consumer's Original Complaint :
My check was rejected by a company I have been using checks for years. I asked for a reason and received none, just it seemed like it was a bad check.
On June 20, 2012, I wrote a check at Murphys in Atlanta, Texas for $64.22, check number 4241 and the check was refused by Certegy Check Services. The reason was it appeared to match a pattern, same check number or something. I requested a report about the rejection and when I gave them my zip code, they said they couldn't find it and I was then disconnected. I have noticed there are several pages of complaints about this company on the internet, stating the same reason for rejecting checks of other people. This is crazy, never had a bad check, had to drive to my bank, 33 miles away and return with cash to buy products. I can't be driving around with several hundred of dollars cash on me, just in case I can't cash a check. It seems like they are trying to sell you a product that will enable you to cash checks without any problem. Didn't have this problem before.

Responce:
This is written in response to Mr. Workman's complaint referenced above regarding our inability to authorize his check at Murphy Oil Company. Initially, we would like to assure you and Mr. Workman that we do understand the concern, inconvenience, and frustration that may be experienced anytime a check is declined.
Certegy Check Services, Inc. (''CCS'') is a check authorization and warranty service. Merchants throughout the United States utilize our service to help reduce loss incurred through the retail practice of check acceptance. CCS maintains computerized files containing both returned check information and information about relatively current check transactions at all CCS subscribers. In addition to this information, CCS has developed confidential, proprietary guidelines for authorizing checks. Our automated authorization system determines the potential risk associated with checks; protecting consumers and retailers from fraud or unauthorized check writing. Unfortunately, valid checks occasionally overlap with these high risk patterns resulting in the decline of a valid check.
Regarding the decline Mr. Workman experienced, the authorization files reflected that his decline was not due to negative information, but rather because his check matched high-risk patterns CCS was tracking for Murphy Oil Company that day. Our files reflected no other transactions in the past 13 months within our files; therefore, when Mr. Workman's check matched the high-risk pattern, having no other information to base approval on, our automated system opted to decline it. We are sorry that we cannot be more specific; however as mentioned in the previous paragraph, details of the authorization guidelines are confidential, proprietary information and cannot be disclosed.
We offer consumers the ability to have their identifiers placed in a ''VIP'' or ''preferred'' status in which the standard guidelines are relaxed. Due to Mr. Workman's understandable concern, we have placed his routing and account number in that status in our authorization system. While this significantly relaxes CCS' risk tolerances, it does not guarantee that declines never occur, however he should experience little to no declines when presenting a check at any of our subscribing merchants.

I now have the option to accept the response from the business or not. I have decided to reject the responce since I still have a chance of being rejected. Everyone that has had this kind of problem with this company should file a complaint at the address below to show we are not going to put up with this.

http://westflorida.bbb.org/

please tell me how to register with certegy so that i don't have problems trying to pay for purchases

just recieved an insurance rebate check. Went to WallMart to get it cashed.I was declined. contacted Certegy to find out why, it was the dumbest reason ever i'v never had a checking account so they refused to accept the check.Even though it was written on a bussiness account. Who are these fools?

JUST SOME FYI INFO. http://www.creditreportproblems.com/certegy.htm https://www.askcertegy.com/ask_certegy.jsp

FUNNY: found this in the FAQ section of the ask_certegy link >See Below<

Is there anything that can be done to try and avoid having future check transactions declined?

Yes, in order to assist you in possibly avoiding a decline in the future, you can complete and submit to Certegy a Certegy Gold Application. Membership in the Certegy Gold program is free. By completing the Certegy Gold Application, we can assess any additional information not provided with your original check transaction. The additional information will elevate your check acceptance level in our system and help you to avoid most types of declines in the future.

If you would like more information on how you can become a member of the Certegy Gold program to assist in future purchases using your checking account, you can click here to download and print the Certegy Gold Application.

*****So join them and you'll get the service that you DESERVE anyway!*****

This is like the second time I've gotten the little slip, but the first time I was in line trying to buy groc. at WM - so I got all flustered and just paid with a card and got the heck out of there (embarrassed) don't know what happened to the paper. But yesterday was diff. I went to the service desk to cash a payroll check wanted to put some on a green dot money pack and the rest on my WM gold card. She ran it through twice - I had to enter my SS# both times, didn't go and I got the little slip from Certegy. Which doesn't have a date or time on it! After reading 100's of these complaints going all the way back to 2006, so I decided to write the date, time and store on the back of it. I also am putting it in a ziploc for safe keeping, because I just know this company will get a class action law suit against it and I want my proof - that I was scammed as well. I think we should all get together and sue but am not sure how on earth we would do that?

I was reviewing my credit report and found that his company called Certegy had made a credit inquiry about me. This is reflected as a inquire and goes against my good credit rating. I have not used checks anywhere for over two years. What is going on here? People need to know that Certegy is accessing your credit reports and all inquiries have a negitive effect on your credit rating.

I've been cashing my payroll checks at Walmart for years. It was always easier to just cash them there rather than waiting in line forever at the bank. I got my payroll check Friday morning when I got off of work but decided to wait before cashing it because I needed to get home immediately. When I got off of work Saturday morning I stopped at Walmart to cash it. After walking in and grabbing a cart I ripped open my check and signed it while walking through the store. I had a few things I needed to pick up while I was there since I avoid shopping at Walmart as much as possible because of their horrible customer service. I even worked at Walmart for a little while before I moved. I found quite a few things in their clearance section and then proceded to go to cash my check since it was 7 and their Money Service Center was suppose to be open. I stood around for 15 minutes with another guy but no one ever came and the customer service desk had the guy go there to get a money order. I went the checklane to cash it and check out. I asked the cashier if she needed me to pay in cash or if she could deduct my purchase out of the check since most of the cashiers don't know how to do them together. She said she could take it out of the check. She did everything and I entered my social security number it. It didn't ask me if I wanted to put it on my Walmart card, which I didn't but it always will ask. It's suppose to be free to put money on it when you cash a check but that's a load of crap because it deducts the $3 from your card and doesn't appear on your reciept so Walmart wont refund you your $3. Then the cashier said it was declined and gave me a slip of paper. I was completely shocked and confused. Why would my payroll check from a huge company be declined. I called the number for Certegy on the paper and had a reason code of number 6. An automated system told me that the check had already been accessed. I'm even more confused. Does that mean it had been cashed already? How was it cashed when I just opened it? I finally spoke with an operator who told me the same thing and said she couldn't provide me with anymore information. I'm trying to find out if it had been accessed within the last few minutes to make sure it wasn't accidently cashed at Walmart or if the cashier hit the wrong button or some mistake. I wanted to make sure I still could get my paycheck and that I wasn't walking out of Walmart leaving them with free money. She told me I could try another check cashing service. I was freaked out and embarassed on top of it. I asked to speak with the manager because I wanted to make sure that the check wasn't cashed and reassured me that it wasn't and said I could try again at the Money Service Center, which was finally open. Again it was declined for the same reason. I called my employer, which was closed and no HR reps were in, and someone gave me a number for corporate HR but it was closed for the weekend. I live paycheck to paycheck and was scared that I was about to be out of a paycheck until they could get it situated. I called Wells Fargo, where the check was written from, and after 5 times of telling the woman in another country how this was my employer's payroll check to me and that I didn't have an account she finally understood that I didn't write my own check and that te account number wasn't mine. I didn't understand why they couldn't verify if that check had been cashed or not but she said I could try cashing it in the bank. I wanted to make sure that before I drove an hour out of my way that they could do something about it and she did say they could find out if it had been cashed. On my way home I stopped at Publix to give it one last try to cash it. I told the lady the trouble I was having. I was even shaking and having a hard time finding my ID because I was so freaked out. It went through! I was so thankful and talking to her and she said everything was automated, which I knew that, and that they go through Certegy. I was shocked again! Just barely an hour before they said they couldn't cash this check because it had been accessed and embarassed me and cost me an extra hour of my time and now I can cash it for an extra dollar at Publix. This is BS! It's obvious that their process is screwed up. I am going to complain to them about this as well because they wasted a lot of my time and embarassed the heck out of me and had me so worried and sick over it.

I had a similar issue with a check at Bloomingdales. It was turned down for no reason. I suggest writting a letter to the public relations dept. in these stores and sending a copy the senior executives. They should be made aware of the issues with this company and the customers they are loosing.

Good to see I spent 10 minutes typing up something just for it to not show up on the site. What I basically said was this:

Wal-Mart, Big Lots, Best Buy, Circuit City, Piggly Wiggly, Walgreens, Radio Shack, Petsmark, Heltzberg Diamonds, Kohls, Bed Bath and Beyond, Lowes, Target, Pep Boys, United Grocers, Amazon, Macy's, Dilliards, Sears, K-Mart, Aeropostale, Game Stop, Sally's Beaulty Supplies, Goody's Clothing Store, Home Depot, Albertsons, Garden Ridge, NTB, Roebuck & Co., TJ Maxx, Cingular, Electronic Boutique, Footlocker, Famous Footwear, Shoe Carnival, Price Chopper, Game Crazy, Footaction, Netflix, Blockbuster, 7-11, Circle K, Barnes and Noble, Ross, Food Lion, Eckerds, CVS, MC Sports, Marshall's, Brookstone, etc.

I decided to look up more the second time around for the fun of it. So as you can see, it is quite difficult to avoid Certegy, as much as we all hate it.

It is likely the cheapest way and it also seems to be the most used one, as I said before it is the only one I even know of.

Companies that use it: Wal-Mart, Big Lots, Macy's Dilliards, Best Buy, Circuit City did, Bed Bath and Beyond, Shaws, Stop and Shop, Albertsons, Target, Pep Boys, Lowes, United Grocers, Sears, K-Mart, Heltzberg Diamonds, Sally's Beauty Supplies, Aeropostale, Game Stop, Goodys Clothing Store, Walgreens, Radio Shack, NTB, Kohls Staples, Piggly Wiggly, Home Depot, Garden Ridge, Pet Smart, Amazon, etc.

So as you can see, it's very difficult to shop anywhere without coming into contact with Certegy.

Same thing just happened to me at Big Lots. Check was wrote for $15.11. Never wrote a bad check in my life. Lived here for 30 + years. I ran to my bank thinking something was wrong. My bank manager called Certegy and was not told any reason for decline. Said maybe I didn't write very many 15.00 dollar checks.HUH ! Certegy said maybe I should just use cash, because they decline checks just in case they might be bad. What does that mean. Told my banker for me to just carry cash. Big lots stands behind certegy. What does that tell you about both companies.

I did not read too much of the comments as there are 18 pages. However, I did see people saying that they will never go to a store they were declined in again. It is not the store's fault by no means. It's Certegy's, and I work at a Wal-Mart at the service desk and can have up to 10 people get declined a day. I typically am able to get the customers to understand that it is not us and a manager will not cash it if it is declined for any reason and no one has ever said they will not come to Wal-Mart over it.

If you want to avoid this "embarrassment", then the only fool-proof way is to go to your bank as I think almost all stores that have the license to cash use Certegy (I never heard of another company to be honest).

I was at Walmart yesterday to cash a government check and was declined. This is the same government check that I had cashed there several times before with no problem. When I called the rep, I got told that it had nothing to do with my ID nor the company who the check was written by and went on to explain that it had to do with the waves and lines in the check and he could not override it and I was out of luck. So what I want to know is when and why did this company think they have the role of king and how do I find out what other companies are using them, to avoid this embarrassment again?

Went to Walmart to cash my Federal Income Tax Check. I have been cashing checks here for over 6 years. It was denied by a company called Certegy. Reason #2 and #3 WTF that means. I called the number they said I was who I was and that the check was legit, but at the end of the day, sorry about your luck. This pure B.S. cause now I will probably have to try to go a check casher and pay 10X as much. If Walmart is not going to back Federal Income Tax checks then they should quit cashing any checks. Not a fan and will not be using them again.

i was just turned down to cashing my payroll check ay united grocers after cashing them there every tuesday for over a year & paying my bills at the same time. this is so ridiculous & i am appalled also at the grocer for allowing this to happen at everyday customers. my workplace which the check is written shops there everyday forn products we need for our customers needs as welln as our own. They just had enough luck on their side tonite as to what would have happened if i shopped for groceries for an hour and a half, standing in line & checking out for more than 30 minutes to tell me they cant accept my check. ooh hell would have froze & time would have stood still. and im sure that would have happened for the fact of my payroll check not being secure enough for them which has 8 measures of security against fraud & theft & has been locally owned for more than 25 yrs right across the street from the grocer. so i know my lil ole personal check along with everybody elses would be declined as well. im furious. this will be the last time i go into that store & the way the customer service agent treated me on the phone for certegy would keep me from doing business that does business with them & i only live a block away. so it may be an inposition for me to go elsewhere but hey, i will make my point the only way i know & many many others as well. it hurts because i consider them a hometown grocer with hometown values but not anymore. i aldo talked with the mgr or two from that store & one of them told me they haveused this company for about a year but the system went down for a lil while & its been working for over a week yet this is the first time they've ever asked me to punch in my SS# not once but twice to verify & for what when they were not taking the check anyway. no license was required or asked for so how is that against theft. somebody else could have been trying to cash my check for all they know. the cs agent for certegy kept asking me if i was still at theWALMART STORE that i tried to cash my check at. three times he asked me & three times i told him I AM NOT AT WALMART SIR, I AM AT UNITED GROCERY STORE. what does that tell you? that the people certegy hires is their own in their own country, which by the accent is not in ours & they dont know their A-- from a hole in the ground. but they do know how to tell you in a non polite manner to "tak ooh chick to anoder chick catchin plece to catch it" or mahbe to ti benk in the mournen". WTF is this . they better stop smoking on that crack pipe cause they are WHACKED! I APOLOGIZE TO ALL WHO HAVE READ THIS BUT TO THANK YOU IF YOU DO AGREE.

Billing Code 4160-01F

April 15, 2012

Certegy Check Services
Post Office Box 30046
Tampa, FL [protected]

Dear President,

Please be advised, on Sunday April 15, 2012, in Commune through Common External Tariff and Tax Provisions with the local Publix grocery store, located on 5210 Norwood Ave. * Jacksonville, FL 32208. My communication rights to proceed were rejected.
Just minutes before arriving here, a check was cash at my local Family Dollar store under check number 2081 for the amount of $24.23. Other supplies where needed, which should have been covered through the Department of Veteran’s Affairs and other insurer.
Unfortunately, my privileges where denied, where upon an attempt to write a Business check for the second time today, ending 45 minutes of shopping, my check was rejected by cashier Vincent, as stated on receipt. Management was next called to resolve.
The following two employees next asked me to call a 1-800 number on the receipt for help! The manager on duty with no name tag next refused to cash a personal check, which was available in my name, through Well Fargo a different bank for the amount of $15.00. This Posting $15.00 check #1773 was considered a two party personal check, which is a legal Social Security check, from my Retired Mom. His Supervisor Mrs. Vyonda was next called & after I explained the $500 limit posted on their Publix checks listing, again refused.
Both check #2082 for $58.01 and the above, where rejected under my Community of Interest with the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). Posting under the U.S. Specialty Insurance Co./USPS, if resolved for $29, 340.12
Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at [protected] or by e-mail at flcomphone@aolmail.com.
Sincerely,
___________________________________________
Plaintiff and Nonlawyer, Hozae Lamar Milton

Anyone taking real legal action or groups please contact me... at [protected] as the hardships I have unjustly endured not to mention the embarrassment from certegy is wrong and I will gladly stand by any group or persons whom are taking serious steps to Sue these people for what they have an will continue to do.

Has anyone taken steps to Sue? Or any groups because I would like to join in.Its a embarrassing sad rack that such a poorly ran comp can control an cause undo hardships to consumer in the US. I am a hard working man trying to raise a family. I have never written a check before. An constantly abused an humiliated by this company by trying to cash a payroll check or income tax that is writen by the federal government. If there not good for it who is I am disappointed in Walmart allowing such a piss poor company Rep them in any way. So please I'm tired of being wronged by certegy so if a lawyer is working on this or a group that is making real moves to be compasated for the.undo hardships they cause without even offering a way to resolve please contact. Me. At [protected]

My $1200 personal check was denied by Certegy, making it impossible to pick up my vehicle from Pep Boys at 8 p.m. My ride had already left. Is this what Pep Boys calls "customer service?" Why use Certegy, which is interested in the gaming industry. And, oh, I had plenty of money in the bank. It was Certegy's faulty "profile" screening. I simply did not have any check-cashing records in Certigy's files. Hell, that's not my fault!

I see by these post that this has been going on for several years with (CERTEGY) I two went thru the same thing at Target. buying a TV that was on sale check denied. I would think the store would be able to over ride there desion all they had to do was call my bank three blocks away to find out I have prefect credit. They told me I do not cash enough checks in Target to cash this one under $500.00 . instead they lost a paying costumer

I went to walmart to cash a $3.00 check from walmarts prepaid visa they sent me..said I can cash at walmart today like @ 8:40 and was denied/declined and given a slip of paper the cash register spit out from certegy check services reason on receipt is the number 2. When I called them this guy had to get another man I waited long enough and hung up...it wasn't worth it...will be calling walmarts prepaid visa folks tomarrow to let them no why send rebate/refund checks if you can't cash them at walnart. I hope I don't have trouble cashing my income tax check next.

I went to Wal Mart to cash check and it was declined, I want to know why?

I had the same problem. When I did call the number provided by Walmart when my cashing my check was declined I did talk to someone at Certegy. My check was an insurance company check and it was the second to be declined. I find this very offensive and since I am a faithful customer at Walmart I find this a personal offense by their using this service. I am sure they have had enough complaints and if they want to lose customers due to the choice of check cashing service they have chosen, then I believe many consumers should find a way of bringing this inconvenience and embarrassment to their attention or stop doing business at Walmart.

I went to a local Lowes and attempted to use my business checking account & was refused. They said a check was returned, yet I got onto my online banking account & the check for $524.11 they said was returned, was paid and deducted from my business account. If you are going to lie about this not being paid, then I DEMAND you put that money back into my account, or that is not only deceit, but theft as well. I refuse to use Lowes, and will gladly pay a little more elsewhere until they find another check service which has honesty & integrity.

I am quit upset that my check was declined

I just tried to cash a check and it was declined. I called my bank they could not find a reason as to why it was declined. This was so embarassing . My visa was stole so until I get a new card What am I suppose to do?