If a person writes you a check to pay back a loan (In Tennessee) but then stops payment on it.?
apparantly because they didn't have enough money to cover it, Is that considered criminal or a bad check?
the check written for the loan had "loan" and the one to pay back the loan which payment was stopped on had "payback loan" written in the memo.
Answers:
In most jurisdictions that is a bad check and they can be prosecuted.
That was not very smart of them. It is not a crime to fail to pay back a loan but it is a crime to write a bad check.
Essentially they turned a non criminal civil matter into a criminal matter.
they had to "pay" to stop payment on that check. I would say you probably need to take them to court. It doesn't cost anything to file for a "bad check", but since it was "stopped", you may have to spend the $57.00 to take them to court. Don't lose or give them the check!! Somewhere that sounds like Fraud in a way...but I am no lawyer.
No, they stopped payment.realizing they did not have the cash. So basically it is a stall tatic.
Had you beat them to the bank and tried to cash it and it bounced (NSF) ..you would also get charged by the bank for trying to cash a rubber cheque.(they get money from everybody) They wouldn't go after the writer of the cheque(obviously he doesn't have the money) The writer of the check had made no attempt to stop you from trying to cash it. So basically he stole from you when you have to pay penalty charges for his actions.
Again it was done to stall for time - they fraudulently led you to believe there was sufficient funds to cover their debt.
No it is FRAUD. Stopping payment on a check without making an attempt to pay loan off with other means, is defrauding someone. It is worse than writing a hot check. Because of the intent to deceive the lender. Talk with an attorney. Free consults. determine if it is worthy of pressing charges, because there is no guarentee that if you press charges you will get anymore money than what you have now. They may require you to take it to small claims court. Good luck
As the check was not returned NSF, it isn't a "bad check". And stopping payment on a check isn't criminal either. However, you do have grounds for a civil action, perhaps in small claims court depending upon the amount involved. By all means, keep that stopped check. It still serves as a legal promissory note. It is also written proof that you were owed money, that the person acknowledged the debt, and failed to pay. In court you should be able to collect the amount of the debt, applicable bank fees for the stopped check, and the court filing fee. You will not need, in fact can not have, an attorney in small claims court.
If they did so with the intention to prevent you from collecting the funds, then yes it is likely illegal.
However, I am assuming that since you are not apparently a bank, this was a friend or an acquaintance. In that instance, it may be better to give them 1 week to come up with the cash plus $10 or $20 to pay you back before you go to the authorities.
Keep in mind, however, that if you go to the authorities, and the person who wrote you the check says that you said you lost it, they likely will not be prosecuted -- your word against theirs.
The best way you can protect yourself when loaning a friend (and it is best not to loan money to friends, relatives, or co-workers) is to have a WRITTEN agreement.
Good luck.
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