FISGlobal.com / Certegy review: declined checks! 620

I too was a victim of Certegy. I had written a check for $142.00 at one purchase then another for $72.00 at another merchant at the same mall. I tried to write a check for $90 and was declined. I was given an 800- and did get to speak to a rep. She stated that I have been writing alot of checks and this was out of my 'normal' check writing pattern. She stated that there was no negative history its just I've been writing more checks than usual. "Duh its Christmas" I advised her. She stated that I can fill out a form to be placed on a VIP listing. This should stop any further declines. I don't feel I want just anyone having my bank information just because. I don't know what to do.

I just experienced a similar problem with Certegy while trying to pay tuition for my academic coursework. I've paid the same way in the past two years without issue (by check), with the most recent check being approximately one month ago for the same about (my school offers a promissory note that can be paid back in equal shares). Apparently today, Certegy decided it was my turn.

I find it beyond offensive as they seem to arbitrarily decide a credit amount, rather than actually confirming amounts and overdraft information from my bank. If my bank does not participate with Certegy going forward, I have no complaints at all, it just further promotes the use of a Debit card rather than using a crappy check service like Certegy. After providing the customer service rep with all my vitals, she said that because of my historic spending patterns she would do me a favor and bump up my check writing amount so that the problem doesn't happen again (gee, thanks for nothing - I would have to write another check as the originally declined one was now 'flagged'). This is all despite the fact that I've never bounced a check, have overdraft protection and money in the bank to cover the check.

I'm now more concerned about my privacy than I was before I wrote the check. Certegy asked for considerably more information that my bank did when I opened the account, and for all I know, they'll go belly up tomorrow and/or become the latest exploit of some financial hackers.

My advise to vendors and businesses looking for a check processing company - don't pick Certegy at any price. If this had occurred at a private institution, I would not be shopping at your store due to this experience!

I went to TJMax to make a purchase recently and wrote a check for $102.00 and was declined. This is after I wrote a check that same day (roughly 30 minutes prior) in the jewelry department for $50. that was cleared - I could not understand it and was given a piece of paper with a phone number to call. I called Certegy Check Services who told me that I did not meet the check writing "guidelines" for writing checks and that they will send me an application. Once approved (and that is not guaranteed) I will be able to use my checks at any Department Stores with no problems. I am sitting at this moment looking at this application, and decided to check the internet to see who and what Certegy is all about. Needless to say, I am very glad I have, as I am not the only one that seem to be having this problem. What is (the consumer) solution for all this? How are we to get pass this "problem"? I understand that the Merchants have to do their part in protecting their businesses - but what are we to do? There are so many ways of identity theft out there I am skeptical about sending my information on an application along with a blank-voided check to a company in Florida - who will "research" my banking history and credit history to determine which "category" I fall in. Using my debit card is no problem -(which I ended up doing at TJMax) but what if I choose to write a check - these "CHECK SERVICES" says I can't because I do not fall under their "CATEGORY" of check writing ability - what the heck is this all about? If anyone has any indebt information as to why this has become the NEW PROTOCOL to check writing here in our beautiful America - could you please share it with me...!

I too have has the same experience with Certegy. I filed a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission today after getting nowhere with this company. Does anyone know of any class action litigation we can become a part of?

I was stunned to get TWO letters in the mail today that are supposed to be from Certegy Check Services. Never heard of them before. They say I filed a lost or stolen check complaint for checks written to Big Lots. Never been there. They both have different account numbers, different Big Lots store id numbers, very different check numbers, etc., but they do have my name and address! The accompanying application to be "allowed to write checks at any of the merchants using their services" is very, very personal and great for identity theft, so I assumed it was just that ... an attempt to get my personal info for identity theft. Then I got curious and went on the net to check them out and googled this site. Thought I would put my two cents in. I am still afraid to contact them for fear they are not legit, but I don't want this to show up on any of my legit records anywhere. Puzzled and worried.

I was trying to cash an $800 payroll check @ wall mart and was denied because of reason code 2? no idea, and haven't called them.

I'll go to the local check cashing/pay advance and give THEM my 3% of my check which is considerably more than the $3.00 fee @ wallymart.

I just left Target on Craig Road in North Las Vegas and had the same experience as other with Certegy. I did as the others, called the 1-800 #, got the automated garbage and was told that the proprietor of the store would be notified. Thinking all was well with the world I went back out to the clerk with my cart full of goods. She said I would have to write out a new check, I did and it was also rejected. The manager called the number and got a real person who told me they could not cash my check until further investigation, 2 business days. I have perfect credit, never had a check bounce in 20 yrs and thousands in my checking account. I got home, called the number to get the consumer report from Certegy, was on hold for 15+ minutes, finally got an answer, gave the information and will wait to see what they send me. Are checks no longer good? If you have been using your debit card for a long time, leave it home but have your checkbook on you, get ready for a humiliating and embarrassing experience all because of this bottom feeder company that takes money from these corporations but doesn't even have anything in place to correct their stupid errors on the moment. You won't see me at Target anymore or any of the stores mentioned in these other complaints.

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO AMERICA! Just 1 hour ago the same thing happened to my husband and I. We wrote a check for groceries at Piggly Wiggly and the $63 check was denied by Certegy. We do not write checks there often but since my husband recently reported his debit card lost and we have not yet received the replacement, we wrote the check.

Although Piggly Wiggly honored the check and we were allowed to bring our groceries home (suspicious in itself, leading us to believe this has happened there to honest patrons before), my husband was petrified all the way home that somehow our bank account (which is substantial) was totally deplete (he has overdraft protection).

We were given a card with Certegy's number on it and a list of information to have available to give Certegy when calling. We were also not willing to give out this information (no one should give out this information!) which is all anyone needs to take your identity or your bank account. We called our bank instead who reassured my husband that his funds were secure.
This alleviated our initial trauma but now we were furious!

We called Piggly Wiggly to find out if their use of Certegy was new. It was not. I told the manager that due to the embarrassment, anxiety, and inconvienence, I could not see even spending cash at Piggly Wiggly anymore. We live in a small town and everyone knows each other if only by sight. In a small town, your reputation is everything.

We are all for a class-action suit against this service (?). Who they are serving, I don't know. I do know this, America should NOT PAY TO BE TREATED BADLY! This is a philosophy I stick to. Our money is hard-earned enough. We have refused to patronize 2 gas stations in our area who are not courteous at all and although they were decent enough to honor our check, Piggly Wiggly will be added to the list (I don't shop at Wal-Mart anyway, for other reasons).

I don't know what is happening to our country, the deck is really stacked against us. I do believe that only WE can change the things destroying our way of life. If enough people boycott the stores that use Certegy, Certegy will go out of business or begin to use realistic policies.

I went shopping at K-Mart on March 10, 2007. This is store that I have been shopping at for 20 years and have never had a problem with using my checks. Yesterday I needed some laundry soap and the total came to $19.80. The clerk asked to see my ID two times specifically asking me about my birth date and consequently after re-ring up my purchases and again looking at my drivers license let me know that my check was denied. I didn't have any cash on me as I do all of my purchases by check. I was never so embarrassed in my whole life...and, as I walked away, I heard the clerk talking about this incident to the next customer in line! I will NEVER ever enter a K-Mart store again. I would like to know what other stores are serviced by this bogus company. I am sending a copy of this to the manager of K-Mart and letting everyone I know about this embarrassing treatment that they might have to undergo. Class action seems the only way to stop this uncalled harassment.

I also had a similar experience with Harbor Freight. Tried to write a check for an item and was turned down by certegy. Called Certegy and a week later got a letter stating "funds were verified by your bank as not available for this transaction". I called bank and they stated My account Had more than enough funds to cover the amount of this check.

What can be done about this? I would be for a lawsuit against this company.

Also I would be very interested in seeing a list of stores that use Certegy's services so I can stay away from them.

I also got hit by Certegy's [censored]. AMAZON.COM uses Certegy! I tried ordering a book online and I kept receiving an email from Amazon that my order was put on hold as my debit card payment was denied by Certegy. For no damn reason. I was just given a note saying that if I wasn't happy I have all the 'right' to take it up with Certegy. I never bothered calling them because I know I would get nothing but ###. Don't give me my 'rights' when obviously taking up those rights isn't going to get anywhere. True enough, when I came here and saw the complaints, my worst fears came true. I am not able to order from Amazon.com since. Certegy does DEBIT as well as credit. My debit payment was denied.

What the hell is CERTEGY? How come it seems to be controlling all the major stores around and yet seems to behave nothing more than a filtered scam email?

I BET that if anyone rang up Certegy and informed them about the numerous complaints seen or (unseen) here, they would just simply say "Well, this is just 1 webpage of complaints; our customers span the whole world and it's just unfortunate that you're part of a minority." I BET you some idiot working there would just shrug it like that. It's so predictable... typical.

I too was declined. I tried writing two checks for Best Buy totaling 2336.85. the 1st check was the full amount, and the 2nd was 1336.85. I also got some BS about being declined. I was able to reach a Rep and she was telling me that my check (number and amount) was similar to those customers in the past that has tried to purchase and write a check to best buy. Immediately a red flag went up as to how ironic it is that both the check # and the amount was in the same pattern as some previous fraud activity. Anyway she also went on to say that it's a daily thing and that I could try tomorrow. I told her no thanks b/c my merchandise would prob not be there. needless to say I had to wait until today to call my Credit Union to make sure everything was ok on my end...and it was. I knew I had the money in my acct...

What I dont get is how i can use my debit but not write a check. I never written a check at Best Buy before and i was in the catch 22. Seems as if you never written a check to any retailer, chances are you will get tagged too!

I'm looking for some law suit as well from this company.

I had written a complaint back a couple of years ago, thinking that I was the only one that this has happened to, but as time pasted, I have a large collection of emails concerning the integrity and intentions of this Company. Certegy has raised its own "red flag" amongst the American consumer, and the masses have discovered that this company is poorly run, poorly maintained (thru prompts and voice recordings), and just a big fat pimple on the face of the American consumer! Certegy reminds me of an ankle nipper... very annoying after a while. This company, thru its own ability, has done something to the consumer itself... it has, in many cases, has stopped the consumer in stimulating the economy... it is an economic "pill" that we have no choice but to swallow. I myself am very tired of the nasty aftertaste. Many consumers have decided to return their purchases, not exercising their right to pay by check, not returning to the stores at which they have had this inconvenience forced upon them. Many, thousands of consumers, have readjusted their spending habits to Cetergy's rules and regulations, so that the consumer is now "once bitten, twice shy"! Where is it safe to write a check? Where do I need to use my Debit card at? Which store is not affiliated with Certergy Check Services? If I write a check here at this store, will I be put to shame and my integrity questioned when the check-out clerk pushes the final numeric buttons and presses purchase total on the register... when I hand over my check, will I stand tall or will all of my hopes and promises of my purchase be ceased immediately by the clerk announcing "there is a problem with YOUR check clearing and YOU need to call this 1-800 number"! Fear, anger and the ability to choke the living $&*! out of a recording. We as the consumer will rally around this nasty company and put them out of commission. Let's just keep all of the letters and complaints coming and WE will acquire legal representation and let's see if we can cash their settlement check without remorse... but with a smile of complete serenity. Our day will come! 'United we stand... Divided we fall"!

Yesterday, 4-20-07 I tried to cash a payroll check at my local WalMart like I have been doing for almost 2 years now... and got declined. The clerk told me they couldn't cash my check and gave me a number to call to find out the reason. When I called I found out that WalMart and Albertson's are using Certegy which declined my payroll check. The reason they gave was very vague. All they could tell me was that they had some confidential financial information on the company I work for. (LIncare) They recommended that I call my company for more info.

Certegy is crap!

Also a victim of Certegy. On 4/22/07 wrote a check at the Walgreens we frequent a few times a week and write checks, none of which have ever been returned. But today's check for $136.26 was denied with no reason. And the store manager was unable to override.

So I called Certegy and like others, was told there is nothing in my records to indicate negative check writing (I knew that) but the "system" had done a "rare security decline" based on factors that have led the merchant to have losses in the past. Also, since it was Sunday, they couldn't call my bank to override. They also encouraged me to continue to write checks since it may not happen again. Yeah, right. That gives me confidence.

I called Walgreens back to explain that while Certegy may in theory be helping them to avoid losses, they might want to partner with a company that has a better process for weeding out the good customers from the bad, as they just lost one of their best. I am now writing to Jeffrey Rein, CEO of Walgreens. He would be a fool to let this company conduct business on his behalf for even one more day.

This has happened to me twice. I have had the same checking account for 5 years, I have good credit, I have never missed a payment of any type, I don't carry a balance on my credit card, and I have never bounced a check. I keep at least $1000 in my account at all times. I am the ideal consumer and yet I have been rejected by Certegy twice before. The first time I was rejected was for writing a check for about $160 to GameStop... I called the 1-800 number any they told me that although they had no incidence of a bad check on file the amount was over a preset limit that they had determined for me?!? I was furious and embarrassed and I have not been back to Gamestop. Last week, about nine months after the first incident I went to FYE to buy a dvd. I wrote a check for $17.86 and it was declined by Certegy because I had written a check to the same retailer for $13 two days prior. How ridiculous... it is an embarrassment and the other customers and cashiers look at you like you are a scam artist. I will not shop at a retailer that uses this company ever, if I am spending my money somewhere I feel like I deserve to be treated like a respected customer not like a thief.

Several months ago, I opened an account with Netflix online but never used the service. Netflix was taking the money out of my bank account each month for a service that I never used,so I closed the account through the bank. Someone else had tapped into my Netflix account and was freely using it and when I closed the account, Netflix turned it over to Certegy.

Upon investigating the situation, Certegy determined that fraud was in fact involved.It has been several weeks now and today(4/28/07) my checks are still being declined.

I was told several weeks ago that the problem would be taken care of but it hasn't been.

Apparently, Certegy denied me from cashing my paycheck on 5/19/07 just because I recently changed employers. I tried to cash it at Safeway grocery store and was denied again. I was told to have my current employer call Certegy so that more employer information could be disclosed to Certegy which could possibly allow for the check to be approved. I called my employer up and my manager was a bit offended by this process and thus I didn't press the issue further for my manager to call up Certegy. As a result, I ended up cashing this paycheck at a check cashing store and paying a higher service fee than WalMart or Safeway. I even ended up missing a day of work because of this because the job I have requires me to be at a certain place at a certain time regardless of what my excuses are for not doing so.

I was buying a game at eb games the other day and got declined when i wrote my check. Lucky for me i had enough cash on hand to cover the purchase though it did ruin my night at the movies seeing how i just lost my debit card. Anyway i got the number for certegy and called them and found out the reason for the check being declined was that i had bought a computer for 1200 dollars a couple weeks earlier and they said the check had been returned. Well i called my bank and they said that the check was paid. The money had been taken out of my account! Well i called certegy back and told them this and they said they would call my bank and verify. I called back to make sure they had and they told me they did but the matter could not be resolved and that i was banned from making purchases from any store that uses certegy. I am not being sued for the money i already paid(because they know i'm right) but you have no idea how hard it is to find stores that don't use certegy. Damn this company. If there is ever a lawsuit i am all over it. My advice... Don't shop where certegy is used. Maybe the consumer does not have much say but when the companies start losing money i bet they wake up a little. Mom and pop shops could use the business anyway.

My $50 check was denied at a Big Lots Store on Thursday for reason code 2. I have had the same checking account for 20 years and have written numerous checks at Big Lots. I spoke with a person at Certegy who could not provide a good explanation as to why the check was refused. I plan to file a complaint with the FTC.

I'm another victim of the "Big Brother" Certegy. I have NEVER had a returned check and have been with the same bank for 15 years. You can relate to the embarrassment and panic when the Best Buy clerk in Little Rock said my check was not accepted! I thought I had been a victim of identity theft, the clerk gave me an 800 number of the fine folks at Certegy. After the rig-a-ma-role with their automated system, I was informed that businesses they serve offer check cashing as a "courtesy" and they can decline anyone they want. I called again the next day, and got basically the same story, but this guy did tell me he noticed the bank wouldn't verify funds. He wanted me to fill out a "gold certificate" which I have yet to see. That Friday, while attempting to buy something at the Home Depot in Little Rock, the same thing happens, and I got the same song and dance from Certegy again. What can be done to stop these people from running rough over the American consumer?

>> 16 days ago by In Your Face [send email]

I have a couple suggestions for you guys, STOP USING CHECKS! So obsolete, if you get declined who cares they wont do anything for you, use a credit card if it declines use another one you know you have more then 1. Better then that use the "cash".

I HATE Certegy! Been getting the run around from them for almost three years now. I can't write checks at certain places and it's embarrassing! I never know when or where to write a check.

Three years ago I went to Target and was declined by Certegy. I called the 1-800 number given to me and was told it was due to a 'returned check'. I figured it could have been my now-ex-husband as we were going through a bitter divorce but my credit union had no record of a returned check. Either way, I thought 'screw it, just pay the stupid fee' since it was only like $35 dollars. Nothing big and $35 just seemed to be a minor payment in having the FREEDOM of writing checks whenever you pleased (I mean, this IS America, right?) I emailed Certegy Reps back and forth about the payment, Nicole Malucci was one of them. It was going to get taken care of, they'll have it cleared out, my check writing status would be great, and I wouldn't have to go through the embarrassment of getting declined again, yada, yada, yada. She took my information, said she'd research it, debt my account the $35 fee, and my check writing status would be in good standing.

After a few months I started writing checks at Walmart, Sam's, HEB with no problem so I figured all was well. Then I went to Babies R Us and I got declined. It was SO embarrassing. I called Certegy again but couldn't get any information. I called my credit union and the fee was NOT deducted from my account, so NOT ACTION had ever been taken from Certegy's side of things. It's crap. If I'm willing to overlook THEIR mistake and just pay the damn fee they claim I owe, just to be done with it, they why can't they fix their system so I can write checks again? Three years later and I'm still scarred to write checks at certain places. Nothing is more embarrassing than getting declined when you know full well you have the fund to cover it and that you've never written a bad check. HEB, Walmart, Sam's, my daycare provider, my rent, my insurance payments, all those things still accept my checks and have NEVER given me a problem. It's just certain stores and Certegy's unwillingness to fix what they messed up.

If there is lawsuit against them... Let me know! I still have the email correspondence between me and their reps supposedly getting things 'cleared up'.

I had to deal with Certegy over a check that bounced, which I paid. Certegy took it upon themselves to do an electronic check against my account for the amount already paid. The explanation's I've received is that my payment crossed with the Electronic check they issued against my account and today I was told I should have followed the instructions in letter they sent me. The letter gives an address to mail cashier checks to cover the bad checks.

Today I was told the reason the money was taken from my account again is because of the Code used the day they processed my payment in their system, which cannot be over ridden. So now I have to wait another week for my refund.

Now I am over paid and having a hard time getting my money back from them. One day they tell me the money will be wired back into my account, the next I'm told they don't do that. The only way they will refund my money sooner than what their system allows, is to have my bank write them a letter stating “We are confirming that the following check numbers and amounts will not be taken back or reclaimed from the bank.” There is nothing to reclaim... they OWE me my overpayment.

There's more but there isn't enough room to note everything. This company is very difficult to do business with. The right hand doesn't seem to know what the left hand is doing. I've filed a complaint with the FTC and Fla. Attorney General hoping they will investigate Certegy's books and what I feel are unethical methods.

I am very distressed over the situation due to the conflicting stories I get regarding the status of my refund from their representatives.

Something has to be done to this company. They have NO right treating people this way.

We are victims of Certegy also. What can we do? And a comment to the earlier posting by "In Your Face" - not everyone uses credit cards, our credit union does not have debit cards and it is out of town from where we live, so checks are our only way of purchasing. We will join with any who want to file a class action suit. Contact me please.

You may wish to forward this on to your friends so they are aware of what can happen when you have your check scanned at a business.

On 5-7, I wrote a check for $61.32 to the gas station where I buy gas every week. The girl scanned my check and said it would not go through, possibly because of the check number since she knew me. I wrote another check and it went through.

When my statement came, I had two deductions for $61.32. I went to the bank and they stopped one. I immediately sent a letter to the home office of the company along with my statement copy explaining what had happened. I was sent to collection.

In the meantime, I am denied at two businesses in Peoria, one after having all of my merchandise bagged up and a long line of people behind me. I was given a card with the name Certegy on it. After creeping out of the stores, embarrassed and without my merchandise, I called the number on the card. They were not nice. I tried telling the lady what happened but she would not listen and wanted $61.32 plus $25 bad check fee. I went back to my bank. My bank sent them a letter and I sent letters certified mail which someone signed for including my statements etc. A lady from the home office of the gas station told me she would fix this when I called her and sent her my statement for proof. Yesterday, I received a second notice to pay $61.32 plus $25 from Certegy. I made copies of everything last night and sent letters to the State's Attorney's Office asking for guidance and assistance. I also sent Certegy, the home office of the gas station, and my bank copies of everything again along with copies of the letter to the State's Attorney. In the meantime, I can not write checks. This is damaging, embarrassing, and some business in Florida should not be allowed to do this to people. I have found blogs on the net where others are also hurt. I refuse to pay twice. What if my check had been for hundreds or thousands? Beware when they scan your check! My choice in business dealings has certainly changed. This company can screw up your life and it is impossible to get them to listen.

E Huffman

I also had a very poor experience. I had left my debit card / credit card in another purse and was desperate to get a dress before the store closed and we flew out the next morning to DC. I asked the Polo outlet store before even browsing if they accepted checks - "yes" they responded. Went to purchase a $250 dress and my check was denied by Code 2 - it was TERRIBLY embarrassing. I called home and got my account number from the debit card - and OF COURSE it went right through because there was more than amble funds! Spoke with the bank first thing Monday morning - there was no history of bounced checking writing, insufficient funds or poor credit... hmm not sure what was going on, but I won't be writing checks every again and will be writing a letter of complaint to both the store and the company.

I was at K-mart today to drop off a prescription. it was going to take awhile for them to fill it so, i went to the photo center (same store) to pick up some photos. The cashier kept making a big deal about how many I had and about how expensive they were. most people only spend about $15-$30 while i was spending $100. Thinking nothing of it i told her that I was picking up photos for my daughter and my husband. I wrote a check no problem. When my prescription was ready I wrote a check for $15 that was when the pharmacist told me my check had been declined and gave me the name and number for certegy. I have tried to call them 3 different times only to get some automated system! I shop at K-mart all the time household items, photography needs as well as prescriptions there has never been a problem with my checks. It makes me wonder if this is not a way for retailers to force people to only use credit cards or debit cards.

In writing a check to Staples for $350 off an annuity account just because I don't usually carry regular checks with me they denied my purchased based on ? I spoke to a rep no one there could actually tell me why my check was denied other than the computer said the account did not meet their standards? Anywhy I cannot see how anyone with a new account can ever get established if Certegy denies your payment. I also will never purchase any more office supplies from Staples because of this, I for one do not have a negative credit history, have never written a bad check and own a home and am a president of a company that write checks for a lot more than $350. If anyone here is looking into using this type of service use someone else. There customer service is terrible and they cannot answer any questions aside from saying you check being denied is not a negative reflection on you. Tell that to the 10 people in line behind you that think otherwise. You will lose business using Certegy, just as Staples...

Certegy has had a lot of problems lately. I just got a letter stating that my checking account information was sold to third party companies by a Certegy employee. There should really be a lawsuit for this. I was also declined by Certegy when attempting to write a check a few months ago and I know there were no bad checks on my account and I had plenty of money in my account. It was payday for Pete's sake. I just thought that some of you would like to know to continue to avoid Certegy because your bank information could be floating out there somewhere. If there is a lawsuit for this, you bet I will be there. This is ridiculous. We trust these people to take care of our information and while they can't control their employees ever minute; they should have to pay when someone steps out of line like this. Besides, they are suing the companies the employee sold the information to. We are the injured parties here. We need justice.

I don't think they are suing the companies the employee sold the information to. They are suing the employee. I doubt they'll recover any money. You should be able to get free credit monitoring from Certegy. What are your damages? How much money have you lost due to identity theft?

Certegy has just announced that 2.2 million names, along with address, telephone, bank account number, expiration date on credit cards/debit cards, and in some cases transactional information and date of birth, have been sold by an employee to at least one data broker.

Since I NEVER write checks at merchants, and rarely pay anything with a check I am most surprised to be in their database. The letter they sent me includes part of my bank account number so I know they have that information. It is of course impossible to talk to them, and their website is quite useless, unless you want to listen to the recorded press release, which answers very little. What really frosts me is they they expect ME to put fraud alerts on all three credit repositories, and suggested I put a security freeze on my credit files, which requires writing a letter to each of the three repositories. Certegy is doing nothing to explain or disclose WHERE they got the customer information that they negligently lost.

I plan to NEVER do business with any company I determine uses their services, and from now on I will be giving grocery stores phony information in order to get a customer card. I have never had a check guarantee from the grocery stores and now have a good reason never to get one, and a reason never to tell them my real name.

Here is their website:
http://www.certegy.com/

Yes, Amazon uses Certegy for debit cards and electronic checks. This is not disclosed until Certegy declines authorizing your transaction - it is then up to you to deal with Certegy to convince them to allow your transaction to go through. Who is Certegy? I am an Amazon customer, and should be dealing with Amazon... not some company that I don't have a relationship with... The issue got worse when I called Certegy and they said, "your transaction matched our computer model and was denied. There are no exceptions" Meet the wall! No remedy. Just, sorry... We won't take your check (even if it is good).

Certegy is an utter disaster... but in my case it was for accepting fictions checks, written to a fictitious account with a real bank routing #. All a criminal needs is a fake license and real routing # and a fake account on a check. I'm my case they accepted checks, Certegy that is, from all major retailers, without checking acct #s. They are a joke! I have a better Idea... lets quite writing checks all together.

I am just a single individual that is interested in gathering some names for a CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT against CERTEGY check services. If you received a letter from Certegy concerning the ID THEFT/FRAUD and are interested in pursuing legal action, then contact me BY WAY OF A REPLY TO THIS INFORMATION BOARD and we can discuss ways to pursue this avenue.

Companies that harvest your personal information without your consent should be stopped!

I received the letter telling me my Business Acct was among those SOLD by an employee to third, fourth and fifth parties.

You KNOW they are scamming... I live in NY and my brother got the same letter and he is in FL... I called my bank and they said to be on the safe side, I should close the account and open a new one, which I will. I only wonder how long it will be till they send another letter with THAT acct on it.

My bank also said I was the 4th one in 3 days to alert them to this and they are forwarding the info to their FRAUD department.

My advice is to let your bank know what is going on... so they can block these a-holes. I am also reporting them to the FBI for interstate FRAUD!

I would like to send a plea to all those affiliated with companies using Certegy's "services." Something is not right, here. As one of the millions who received word that her personal and checking account information had been "misappropriated" by Certegy (even though I haven't written a check to a retailer in... 5+ years), I do NOT feel safe doing business with any merchant in any way related to Certegy.

I also received a letter of the third and fourth parties and I live in California. I'm pissed did anyone notice that they didn't give the date of the incident, its probably been going on for a long time. Certegy is covering their ###. There should be some type of lawsuit that can be filed on this my credit has accts on it i have never seen, I was put on check system and my bnk acct always had me over drawn until i just closed the accts because the bank wasn't understanding their was something wrong with te acct.

I'm really messed up. Any suggestions?

I have also had problems with Certegy. My check was declined as I attempted to check out at an adult book store (you may or may not agree with the concept, but I am an adult of legal age). The clerk gave me a dirty look like I was a pathetic loser, and gave me a slip of paper with Certegy's 800 number. When I called I listened to the prompts, bounced around, and eventually was informed that I had a returned check from a nearby riverboat casino for 1000.00. Now I didn't believe this for a minute, my checks always clear. I asked the woman the check number and date, and it did match up. So I asked if I could pay for it over the phone, she said it had already cleared the bank on redeposit, and next they were sending the returned check fee through of 40.00. I never gave them authorization to run a returned check fee through my account! I said that checks are usually deposited twice, so if my check cleared on the second deposit I shouldn't be liable for the returned check fee. She said that a returned check is one presented more than once, that the fee couldn't be waived, and that I would have to wait 7 days until I could write another check. I work hard for a living so I can play hard too. One thing is for certain, this porno-hound won't write another check from here on out. I will only use my debit card. Take that, Jerk-E-Gy.