FISGlobal.com / Certegy’s earns a 2.7-star rating from 224 reviews, showing that the majority of financial service clients are somewhat satisfied with payment processing solutions.
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scam and cheating!
My client is a television producer who shall remain nameless, however, he lost his wallet and around the same time his laptop crashed, and he was in dire need of a new one. He went to Best Buy, and wrote a check, which was declined. He immediately called me, as having POA in all of his affairs, and asked me to figure out what was going on. I was told he had a code 2, which means he had no negative information in their system, but could also give me no "good" reason for the decline, and that he should apply for a "Gold Account". After making a few phone calls, and a couple of days later, made my way to a member of the Upper Management Team. I made a few threats of violating his rights, telling them that he earned the privilege to write a check when the bank gave him an account, not to have that privilege denied by this company. We went on for about 5 minutes, I explained why my client was not going to apply for this "Gold" account, let alone his "Status", but also noting the issues Certegy has had in the past year with personal information. The manager I spoke to then gave in, and told me "I am going to upgrade his status to one of our VIP checkwriters, and he should have no further problems. I immediately called my client, advised him of the outcome, and at that time he went back to Best Buy, and wrote his check. Only to have it declined again. So now, my client, a very wealthy and powerful television producer, was embarrassed in front of a line of people at Best Buy. He called me right away, it being after 5, the manager I dealt with was no longer in the office, but the decline code was once again a code 2. I called the 800 number for my client, and they gave me the same line about nothing negative, and no "good" reason. I advised that my client was a VIP checkwriter, which they acknowledged, and did see it in their computer, but then continued to tell me, that VIP status does not "guarantee" an approval! WHAT? Then why are they asking for such personal information, and telling people that if they sign up for this gold thing that they shouldn't have any further problems? I am no convinced that this is a scam to get peoples information, and am waiting to hear back from this manager I spoke to earlier today! A lawsuit is now pending. If for anything, the defamation of my client in front of about 15-20 people.
refused check as payment
I couldn't find my debit card in my purse tonight so I wrote a check from my personal account for my purchases at K-Mart. In the meantime, I found my debit card and thank goodness I did because Certegy refused my check.
My debit card, which is actually my checking account, was accepted. This was embarassing to me. I don't understand why they refused my check and I have no way to contact them. I have never had a check returned and have over $7000 in that account. This incident helped me to remember that in December of 2006, my husband wrote a check to Northern Tool for over $1500 for a go kart and Certegy refused the check when I had more than enough in the account to cover that amount. My husband put the go kart on his Master Card which was a mistake. He should not have bought anything from that company. Hope someone out there knows a solution because this is actually a bad reflection on our credit.
check denial
Yesterday I had my company's business check denied by Certegy at Best Buy. I got the same computer generated "excuse" that everyone else has gotten. There is no negative activity reported on the account, but in an effort to prevent fraud their computers establish certain "patterns" that indicate fraud and my check fit the pattern. Judging by what I've...
Read full review of FISGlobal.com / Certegy and 7 commentsdeclined check 1 year ago
i wrote a check to k-mart 1 year ago during the holidays to and was declined , i then called the certegy number and the explanation i recieved was the check sequence was not in order. well what about checks that you write to various creditors or utilities and mail that have not been posted. so check #'s 2100, 2200, 2300 & 2400 may have been written and mailed the previous day and then you go to k-mart and you get declined because they don't have any record of those checks being written. i went through christmas eve not being able to buy the presents i had left because unfortunately my husband was out of town with the debit card. whalla! major whammy. needless to say i was so upset that i have not written a check to any merchent store for one whole year. i only write to utilities, car note etc.. how unfair is that. so does anyone know how to get a hold of certegy? thier websit is like a crackhead hiding from the landlord wanting the rent. as i am writing this i am feeling the whole situation replayed and i feel like the red headed stepchild of the check writing world. same goes for telecheck because the ball rolled uphill to telecheck and so on.
I wrote a check at Pep Boys and it was declined. The reason reported was my bank has a limit. I called Certegy and finely talked to a person, They reported nothing wrong with my account. So now what? I called my bank concering a limit. They reported no limit on my accout. I guess I'll need to ask each time before I write a check about who they use to verify the check.
My information was stolen from CERTEGY by there employee now I am having trouble writing checks can I get into a class action sute against them, they are a bad check cashing company they should do away with them lets dont do business with any one who uses them
can't clear a good check
My husband and I just moved to OKC, opened up an account with a credit union and ALWAYS HAD A POSITIVE AMOUNT in the account. Several times my husband has gone to 7-eleven for gas.He has written a check for $40.00 or $50.00. The first time of the denial, he was told he was a new customer and he had "no profile" and the company would mail him an application to fill out,but 7-eleven took his info and took his check anyway. IT CLEARED of course. The next week after still not receiving the app,my husband went back to 7-eleven wrote a check for like $51. and some change. It was denied. He told the clerk they had cleared her check last week. So the clerk called the company,they told the clerk they could take the check this time but my husband could not write it for over $50.00. ( We have a jeep,it takes more than $50.00 to fill it up with these gas prices) So the next week he went back and wrote a check for $49.00 and once again it was denied. ALL of these checks have cleared our credit union with NO reprocutions. We hate using debit cards because that information can be stolen from the computers that are swiped on. With I.D theft as it is today, that is why I like writing checks. I have proof I wrote the check. Needless to say, any business that have there system I will not use. I agree after reading all the complaints. There need to be a lawsuit filed. I will be on that list if need be, Because it is embarrassing to be in a store and be denied in front of people knowing that you have the money but nobody else knows that and after seeing you get denied, they either think of you as a criminal trying to get stuff for free by writing hot checks or they think you are needy and try to purchase the items for you as a good jesture. All because of this company's lack of business sense.
Actually, using your debit card is much, much, much safer than using checks. Anyone can steal your checks just by writing down the numbers and having their own checks printed or by "check washing". It's much, much, much, much harder to hack a computer system and get your debit card information. You are really making yourself vulnerable to check fraud and identity theft by carrying your checkbook around. Use your debit card or credit card. It's much safer, faster, and easier.
Checks are not a guaranteed form of payment and it takes several days to find out if a check is good. Therefore, not all checks are accepted. If a crook has stolen your checking account information and a retailer blindly accepts it for payment of $200 in gas, the bank will probably not get the check for a few days. When the bank finally gets the check 2 days later, they will ask you if you wrote that check, you'll say "No, I never wrote that check". and the bank will refuse to pay the retailer. So, the retailer has given away $200 worth of gas and has no recourse to recover the money. They only have a driver's license which was probably fake anyway. So they are out $200 and will probably raise prices to meet their business expenses.
On the other hand, if they use Certegy and they accept a check that turns out to be fraudlent, Certegy will pay the retailer the $200 so the retailer doesn' t have to worry about whether the check is good or not. Certegy guarantees the check is good.
It's not about you spending your money the way you want. It's about the retailer getting paid for their goods and services. Some places don't accept checks at all. Do you have the right to force them to accept checks? No, of course not. The retailer can choose the forms of payments they accept.
check declined for no reason!
On December 4th 2007 I wrote a check at Aldo shoe store for boots. The salesclerk told me my check was declined. He tried several attempts and called to get the check approved. He was very sympathetic to me but I was embarrassed in front of a store full of customers. First I went home and called my bank to check my balance which was way above and beyond my...
Read full review of FISGlobal.com / Certegy and 6 commentscertegy is ruining my credit!
I had more than enough money to cover the checks I wrote. I wrote one at K-mart which was declined in the middle of the night. So I couldn't contact my bank, so I contacted the company that printed on the back of my check. Certegy, who told me that it was because my check was inappropriate in appearance. They then went on to tell me that if I wish for this to never happen again and to improve my credit history that I was to take their "Free offer" which was going to improve my credit history. That sounded like a scam, period. So I declined their offer and hung up. The next day I reported it to my bank, and my bank also said it sounded like a scam and said to watch my bank account to make sure no money was taken out of it.
So I took 70 dollars out of my checking account to go back to k-mart and buy what I was going to buy.
Later that week I went to Herbergers to buy something and it came to 105 dollars. I was also denied, at this point in time Herbergers was embarrassed about the incident because it shouldn't have happened so they tried to figure out what happened. And Certegy said that it was a code 2 decline and said nothing more to them.
So I went back to my bank, which because I reported the same thing again... I got the manager of the bank to look over my checks, my account, my account history, and everything. They said there was no reason for any of my checks to be declined, I've wrote out hundreds of checks, never once had a returned check, never once ran low on cash, and there was nothing wrong with my current checks.
Then I called Certegy again, this time I wasn't as friendly with the representative, I wasn't exactly a enraged raving lunatic... but... I wasn't taking the whole "I'm sorry for your inconvenience, but we're not going to change anything." So I asked him to tell me the truth and stop giving me the run around in a way.
They then told me that it was because I normally write out checks for 20-50 dollars and for me to write out a 70 dollar check was too high of a check to be accepted. That's when I said I've wrote out checks for 900, 700, 600, and my rent alone is 400 a month I pay in check. So what's the difference now? He had no answer, then he went on to say, well you've already had two checks against your credit so we will not accept any checks from you for awhile. That's when I went off the deep end, I'm only 19 years old, I've been trying my hardest to get credit, now this company is ruining it by declining my checks. So, I pretty much stated I'm going to have to report this incident with the BBB, and with the attorney general with my state. They pretty much stated, that there is no attorney that is going to try and fight a multimillion dollar company. And that they can refuse any check they want because it's just a piece of paper and not really legal tender(sp).
Then I asked my local District Attorney about this, and they said to report it to the sheriffs department.
Fantastic post, I am thankful for the info - Does anyone know where my assistant can grab a sample 2014 CA FTB 540 example to edit ?
What can we do? I've always wrote checks where I go we need to get the companys to quit using them.
Certegy is a NIGHTMARE...Having an excellent credit standing, they declined my checks twice in ROSS and Mervyns. When I called frustrated, they could give no particular reason for decline. Amazing, how these companies can still be out there and mess with our credits and personal information. They mailed out this Certegy Gold Application form, but I did not trust sending them my financial information. Who can trus them after all?
I was declined a purchase at Walmart using a expense check written by a multi-billion dollar corporation. The check amount was $29.72. Certegy declined the transaction and could not give me a reason.
I left Walmart and went to the nearist ATM, got the funds I needed and proceeded to Target. I will write a complaint letter to Walmart letting them know I will be shopping at Target in the future. The reason being they use Certegy for check transaction verification. Please let your stores know we hate Certegy and their poor business practices!
bad company!
I pay by check just for almost anything I purchase on the outside. Last month I went to my local Best Buy Electronics store as I was in the market for a new Laptop computer. The purchase price was well over $2000.00 and when I went to pay for it I asked if I could pay by personal check and I was informed Yes, and I had to produce my valid Drivers License. My check was accepted and I purchased was made. Now, about 3 weeks later, I returned to Best Buy to purchase some accessories for the Laptop I purchased from them an that about totaled $500.00. Now, I want to you to keep in mind, the original check I wrote for over $2000.00 had cleared and I also happen to have in my briefcase my bank statement and canceled checks. When I went to pay for the additional items that I wanted for my Laptop, my check was declined. I asked the salesperson what the problem or issue was and there answer was, we do not know and we can't assist you as this is controlled from a company called Certegy check acceptance. Well, prior to leaving the store, I asked and demanded a telephone number for this Certegy check outfit and was provided one and proceeded to call them and find out what the issue or problem was and I was told after looking on there system, after giving my valid information, that there was no problem at all and my name and reputation was spotless. So, I asked, why was my check declined...? The answer I was given is that the computer system decides whether to accept a check or not. Folks, all I can say is that stay far away from Certegy check services and Best Buy as that is the company they use. In closing, I was very embarrassed to say the least, and most of all Best Buy will never get a penny of my hard earned money ever again. Good Luck to you all.
We also got the shaft by Certegy. We live in a rural area and have to travel 100 miles to get to the nearest home depot. We are in the middle of a major remodel and as we have no roof, getting the materials was essential. My husband drove a large gas guzzling truck 100 miles to pick up materials and when he got there his check was declined. Home Depot gave him a card with the Certegy info on it so he came home thinking there was something wrong with a substantial account, nope, they just stated that it fit a "random" pattern and so it was declined our account and the check were fine have a nice day. Is Certegy going to pay for the extra gas or the down time. Their representative (if you continue hitting 0 you will eventually get a live person) told me that it had been for my own good. No they had not called the bank to verify funds, this was at their discretion and I should be happy they were looking out for my best interests. Playing God with my time and money hardly seem to be in my best interest!
I'm mad as heck also...I was shopping at a Publix grocery store and they denied a check that I had written...I've been shopping there for over 20 years nad they couldn't give me a reason as to why my check wouldn't clear, but to call Certegy...I called them and they said that they didn't have any answers either and they referred me to a company called Early Warning Systems...They said that there is nothing wrong with my account, which by the way, I had no idea that they had information about, and I was free to write checks...Who in the world is this company and when in the heck did some company other than my bank, begin secretly monitoring my banking habits without my knowledge? I have two points of thought: 1. We were huniliated in front of a group of people at the store when I had to leave a buggy full of grocerys there, return home, get my debit card, and return to pay for them and 2. If this compnay has all of my information and is making decisions on whether or not to allow me to cash a check, why can't they provide any information about the reason they denied the check in the first place?
I had my purse stolen on 12/23/09, the person wrote almost $5, 000 worth of checks from my acct. I faxed a police report and affadavit of forgery in Jan (1/23) and again 3/9/09. Every rep I speak to gives me a different answer and assures me it will be resolved by the next day, when you call 2 days later, it still isn't resolved. Their "supervisors" have spoken over me, been rude and unhelpful. I have now called Staples Corporate# and they have an escalated number at Certegy they can contact and I am patiently awaiting their return call.This also could have been completely avoided had Staples simply looked at my identification. From Surveillance at Target, the person is african american and I am not, very simple... By the way the Staples store on Preston Hwy. in Louisville, KY. has no surveillance video or cameras ?!?!?!? What idiots.The 3 checks written at Staples were written 3 minutes apart.
Ok just got the return call from Staples, now their "escalated manager" at Certegy sees nothing wrong with me writing a check other than it is a new account. States that they would have never blocked my id?! Their own supervisor told me my id was blocked?!?!?!? Now we are trying to get a 3 way call, because I am tired of playing their games and getting different answers with every different rep I get.
I was so mad when this happend to me, if i was any where near Tampa I think I would have personaly paid CERTEGY a visit and complaint to them one on one. WE MUST COMPLAINT TO THESE MERCHANTS ENOUGH THAT THEY CHANGE TO TELE CHECK OR any other company besides certegy.I must really DO SOMETHING CAUSE IF IT HAPPENDS AGAIN I MAY...we need to do something KNOW ! maybe every time I enter a retail store I will go to costomer service counter and ask If they use them...if they say yes then I will have to leave and NOT SHOP there...I just refuse to deal with them anymore!
This weekend I went to Marshalls and Sears and they both denied my checks; I I had plenty of money to pay these checks. I was so embarassed and even my mother started to worry about me. I reassured her that I had plenty of money. Then I started to get worry that maybe someone had hacked into my account. This is exactly when I started to pay with checks because I have been hacked already 3 times. So after leaving the 2nd denial store, I called CERTGY and they could not give me an exact answer but told me to call my bank. I called my bank and they said they had no marks against me and there should be no reason why I could not write a check. I think this is their way of forcing us to go to a cashless society.
I have never heard fo this company before until tonight when I wrote a check at Walgreens and it was denied from Certegy Check Services. The check was only for a little over $40 and I have never written a bad check before nor have I had a check decline before even the ones that are done electronically like Walmart. I was very embarrassed and will be transferring my prescriptions from Walgreens to another pharmacy.
fraud and cheating!
We went to Walmart to cash my husbands payroll check and we got the classic reason # 2. Even if we had bad credit how can a payroll check from a company that we DON'T own be refused when they have the available funds THIS COMPANY SUCKS! And the cashiers at Walmart they are idiots too! Nobody knew how to load a damn green dot card even thought the directions are on the card!
personal check declined
My husband and I were both recently victims of the "Certegy Idiots" . Sorry, but my blood is still boiling!
We shop at GameStop in our local town all the time and spend plenty of money there... that is until recently. We went to purchase an XBox 360. The first check we wrote was for 303.00 and written by me, it was declined for reason "2". I thought okay this is definitely a mistake, maybe their computers are crapped out... but no, the next day my husband went back and his check was declined as well and for the same reason. I , like everyone else was given a # to call, which consisted of a recording saying that not enough information was found, but that Certegy did show that we had no negative check writing history!
Hello isn't that what its all about! OK here it is for anyone out there wanting to know the number to actually chew out a real live person from Certegy, but believe me they will tell you the same thing! But at least you get your compliant in!... [protected]. Thats it good luck and we are all for sueing! btw. last July our checking account # was one of the millions sold by one of certegys employees, back in July 07!
On [protected], I went to Lord & Taylor in Mclean, to purchase a facial cream for the amount of $50.93, my check was decline for no reason. On [protected], it happen again, this time at Ann Taylor in Mclean VA, I wrote a check for the amount of $94.96, it was decline for no reason. On [protected], the same situation at Lord & Taylor, in Mclen, VA. I have tried to call Certegy a [protected], and Ican't talk to anybody or get disconnected. I have the right to now why my checks are being rejected, this has never happened! This are stores that I have shopped for more than 30 years! I call my Bank and asked if there was a problem, I was told the problem was with CERTEGY . My checking account has more than enough to covered this small amounts. I have the right to have a written report from this financial institution. I have been force to charge this purchases on my Visa. I have a very good credit thank god! All this has been very upsetting, not to mention the embarrassment.
Sueing for what? Minor inconvience? Get a debit card.
erroneously returned checks!
We received a phone call that a check written to Albertson's Grocery Store was returned marked "Unable to locate account." Through conversation with them, it was determined that the check was misrouted to a Credit Union in Memphis, Tennessee (my bank is in Florida). I spoke with Certegy regarding the error and asked them to refer to a letter written by my Bank indicating that the check in question was never submitted to them for payment and that at no time would this item have been declined as funds were available.
In the meantime, I have had checks declined at stores based on the derogatory information in their database and Certegy insists that they cannot clear my name and this erroneous record from their database for at least 24-48 hours after arranging a payment to clear the item. In addition, they claimed that if I did not pay this check through them, rather than allowing the item to be re-run and paid through the normal system, then they would never remove this derogatory information from their database. This account is used to make purchases for my business and until this is cleared up, I am out of business.
The customer service people were rude and had poor skills at dealing with people who have been erroneously labeled "deadbeats". I have written a letter to the company, with a copy to the State of Florida Public Service Commission and the FTC. I believe this is a violation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) and will file any possible complaints to end this discriminatory practice related to the check clearing process.
The consumer is left out of the error resolution process with this company. The regulators should be extra diligent in their oversight of and sanctions against this company, especially in light of the breach of security that they recently experienced through theft of consumer information and the sale of that information to marketing companies.
I have had checks declined--reason was i was using a lower check number than what had shown as the last to clear the bank!
Can't some one do something, why would multi companys use this stupid check cashing company? I've always written checks at the Argossy casino and never had a problem until 2 months ago checks are denied now called them and they said there is no problem with check account, still denied. My bank says we have very good checking account so who are they to tell me I cant write a check. Bad company please help!
I was embarrased on Monday due to Publix telling me along with this company that I had bounded a check. I have NEVER bounced a check. I was totally upset all Monday and Monday night thinking someone had stolen my identy and who knows what else.
I went to the Bank the first thing on Tuesday to find that all my check to Publix and everyone else had cleared. I had to go to the DMV to find that everything was okay with my driver license.
These people do not care who they hurt and they certainly do not know how to treat people. They should not be allowed to continue in business!
My own personal experience with Certegy...
I purchased a pool from Recreational Factory Warehouse in Tampa Fl on 13507 N Nebraska Ave. Everything went great. I wrote my check, I asked who to make it payable to. The clerk said RFW of tampa. So, I put that on the Pay to the Order of line of my check. Over 3 grand spent. They ran the check through Certegy and fine. No problems. The pool arrives, it gets installed. A couple weeks later, I receive a notice in the mail from Certegy on behalf of RFW stating my check had been returned as nonsufficient funds. So I check with my bank and the money is still sitting in my account. The bank checks my records and has a photocopy of my check. They had returned the check to RFW's bank because RFW had endorsed the check as Leisure Systems. So the endorsement did not match who the check was made payable to. So my bank plainly stated with the returned check, "Endorsement Mismatch" and requested the check to be resubmitted with the correct endorsement. At this point, Certegy blacklisted me, preventing me from writing checks to ANYONE that used ANY checking guarantee service. So all my checks were being refused through no fault of my own. The money was there, it is just that RFW could not seem to endorse the check with their OWN name after telling me to make it out that way. So I called Certegy and spoke to a guy named Brown. He was a total jerk to me and stated the check was returned NSF (Non Sufficient Funds). I told him I had been in contact with my bank and that was not the case. Certegy was now claiming I owed the additional amount plus collection fees totaling more than $200. This took weeks to straighten out and only the threat of a lawsuit because they were preventing me from writing checks for normal stuff (like house payments and bill payments) got someone from higher up to call me. This person, whose name I forget right now, stated that he could see the check was returned as an endorsement mismatch and that it should have been taken care of the first day. He cleared my accounts and removed the black marks and I was able to write checks again. Still, he wanted $25 for a returned check fee. I told him to collect it from his client as it was they who could not sign their name to the check and I wrote it in good faith. Now, the story does not end here. Where as I used to be able to write a check for $3,000 + dollars to make purchases, I can not write checks for over a hundred now. Certegy rejects checks that I write that approach the $100 mark. Case in point, I went to Circuit City in Tampa to buy a laptop computer and new phone. I wrote the check for my new phone which cost me $300, and Certegy declined it. They also declined the seperate $2200 check for the laptop. I had over 10 grand in the bank and they declined me. The response I got from them was, "It does not fit your spending habits." So I asked, "What are my spending habits?" I was told, "We don't know. It just does not fit your spending habits. However, you can join our Gold..." They always want people to join this Gold Club thing. What happened is they are P.O.'d at me for problems that were not my fault to begin with and are now hiding behind a convinient blanket statement of "It does not fit your spending habits." Certegy is a big monstrous company who if you displease them in any way, even if you are correct on principal and virtue, will flex their mighty corporate arm and smash you into the dust. My bank says there is nothing wrong with my account and I have NEVER bounced a check. They state there is no ethical reason Certegy should turn down my checks or even state something like "It does not fit your spending habits." I have spoken to Circuit City. I am in the market right now for a complete new entertainment center (HDTV, BluRay DVD, PC with Media Center, and surround sound as I moved recently. I can not spend my money at Circuit City for fear of the humiliation that when I cut the check, it won't fit my spending habit and I'll be denied in front of everyone again. If the money is there, and you provide proof of who you are, the check should clear. A check is a legal document promising payment. Certegy should be checking if it is a good check and not arbitrarily deciding who can buy what when. They are worse than a HMO.
checks refused!
I have had to close accounts and invest funds in new supplies because of this company. I have five business accounts and a personal account. Certegy, although it had no record of insufficient funds checks, decided that my check writing pattern was "suspicious" and began declining checks. They refused to discuss the matter with me, hanging up on my telephone calls, and refusing to answer letters. My only recourse was to close my accounts and open new ones, since they based their claims on checking account numbers and check numbers. Now I receive a letter from them whining that they have been "victimized by an employee". The histrionic, immature language used by a company who has made it very difficult for me to do business; all with no particular data to substantiate their claims; simply adds to my opinion that this is a company in need of restructuring, from the president on down.
My 17 year old daughter wrote a check to BI LO where she worked as a cashier. We knew about the check because she got a statement from her bank. We were waiting for a letter to come from Certegy. BI LO told her that they dont handel the bad checks anymore they go directly to Certegy so we would have to contact them. We called them with the little paper they give you at the register saying to contact these people if your check is declined. They said they didnt have her checks. Well 2 weeks later we found out that BI LO has a policy that if you write a bad check then that terminates your employement with them. So she was fired. On top of that Certegy never sent out anything to her about the check. The reason they didnt have it every time we called is because they sent it directly to the Solicitors office to have her arrestesd for worthless checks. now a $15.00 check is $258.24. Because they didnt want to sent out a letter asking her to pay her bad dept within 30 days.
non-reimbursement of overpay!
I notified Certegy that I was closing my account and was told to send them a money order instead of directly withdrawing from my account. They withdrew anyway, my former bank paid and charged me a NFS fee. After being hung-up on by a representative, I finally spoke with a "manager" who told me to send a bank copy statement. This was in November of 2006. I have sent a certified letter and bank statement twice now and still no reimbursement. Last week I was told that I now need to submit a letter on my former bank letterhead in order to receive reimbursement of the $84.00 overcharge they still owe me. This is a horrible company to work with; very unprofessional and untrustworthy.
loss of sensitive information!
I received a letter from Certegy claiming that very sensitive and personal information has been lost. This includes my bank account information. Is there a class action suit on this yet as I am not alone? What can be done to protect my information?
People beware!
There should be some law to protect people from companies like Certrgy. I had a check situation with Certergy and the debt was paid. Certergy has put a block on any check writing priviledges to any company they deal with. Food World and Office Depot are also companies handled by Certergy. Certergy had a company to contact me and make a contractual agreement on their behalf. When my part of the contractual obligation was fulfilled, Certergy did not honor their contractual part as per their company represenative statement. I have statements where my contract with Certergy has been paid in full and they had another company contact me trying to get paid for an already fulfilled contract. Although I sent the company and Certergy information showing that the contract was paid in full, Certergy still has an alert out to all the companies they deal with not to honor any of my check because they claim that they have information that I owe a company called Trident money. I have never dealt with a company called Trident and have not gotten any correspondence from this company stating that I owe them any money. Could this company Trident be a benefactor of information from Certergy's negligence in handling personal financial information or be apart of Certergy's unscrupulous way of obtaining extra monies from contractal agreements made by companies on their behalf.
I too was asked to complete a Certegy Gold application - they wanted all sorts of information, basically asking when I last went to the bathroom. I shredded the damn thing.
Certegy won't let me write checks anywhere - they always tell me the checks are "not in my usual spending pattern."
Let's hope that suit knocks them out of existence.
I went into your Sears Outlet Store today, 05/25/08 and tried to purchase a Refrigerator & dishwasher - total amount 2129.23. The check was declined when I asked why I was given a card and told to call the company Ctergy. I called the company and spoke with a representative . She informed that it had nothing to due to with the amount in my bank account but rather the activity on the checking account? Also, that it was this company (Ctergy) responsiblility to protect Sears from FRAUD! I am having a home built and the checking account was a "construction" loan account. This account is what I use to pay vendors or contractors for my home that's being built. Therefore you will see increased activity on this checking account . You can not imagine the embarrassment and disgust that I am feeling at this time. I am upset and I am looking for some type of response from Sears. I have been a Sears credit card customer in the pass and had an excellent history with you all. Most purchases that I have made since cancelling my credit card account is cash. By the way they did make me an offer to purchase with a CREDIT CARD! I don't understand that if you are trying to protect the company from FRAUD why would you accept my credit card vs. cash? I called back and spoke with a manager at Certergy and was told that if I completed a Certergy Gold Application that I would have a better chance. If I had a history of writing bad checks or bad credit I could understand, but NO I don't understand the decline.
Girard Gibbs LLP Announces Class Action Lawsuit Against Certegy
Wednesday August 15, 8:02 pm ET.
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The law firm of Girard Gibbs LLP (www.girardgibbs.com) has filed a class action complaint on behalf of approximately 8.5 million consumers nationwide whose financial and personal data was stolen by an employee of Certegy Check Services, Inc. and Fidelity National Information Services, Inc (NYSE:FIS - News) and released to unauthorized third parties. The complaint alleges that a senior database administrator misappropriated the confidential information of millions of consumers and then sold the data to direct marketing firms and data brokers who may have resold it to others.
ADVERTISEMENT:
"Certegy and FIS had a duty to safeguard the confidential data of consumers from any breach, including that of their employees. Once the internal breach became known, it should have been communicated to the public in a timely and adequate manner," said Eric Gibbs, one of the attorneys for the plaintiff. "The failure by these companies to make the internal data breach immediately known exposed consumers to direct marketing campaigns and the risk of unauthorized use of their bank accounts and identity theft."
The case was brought by a Los Angeles, California resident who, prior to the public announcement by Certegy and FIS of the data breach, started noticing an influx of direct marketing and promotional offers as well as phone calls to his home. After subsequently receiving a letter from Certegy informing him that his personal data may have been compromised by one of its employees, the plaintiff engaged a credit monitoring service.
Certegy and FIS merged in January of 2006. Certegy provides check-verification services to major U.S. retailers such as Wal-Mart, Sears, Bed Bath & Beyond and Amazon.com. Due to the nature of the services provided by Certegy and FIS, and their undisclosed role in financial transactions, consumers do not choose to use the services of these companies but rather are forced to do so.
The complaint alleges that Certegy and FIS failed to implement and maintain adequate security measures to protect consumers' confidential financial and personal information. Their failure to properly monitor and supervise their employee subjected consumers to risk of data theft and other fraudulent actions.
The class action lawsuit was filed in federal district court for the Central District of California on August 14, 2007. It asserts claims of negligence, invasion of privacy and breach of implied contract.
Girard Gibbs LLP is one of the nation's leading firms in prosecuting class actions and other lawsuits involving consumer fraud. For more information about this case, please contact Girard Gibbs LLP toll-free at [protected] or through our website www.girardgibbs.com.
Contact:
Girard Gibbs LLP
Eric Gibbs, 415.981.4800
Find out what info Certegy has on file about you:
UNITED STATES - Consumers - Certegy Check Services
Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act ("FACT") Disclosure Request Instructions
How to Request Your Free Annual File Disclosure from Certegy Check Services:
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, usually referred to as the FACT Act, gives consumers the ability to request a free copy of their file from any consumer reporting agency once during any 12-month period. Certegy Check Services is a “specialty consumer reporting agency” under the FACT Act and maintains a toll-free telephone number for consumers to request a copy of their file.
To request a copy of your file, you can call our special toll-free number 24 hours a day. The toll-free number to request a copy of your file from Certegy Check Services is [protected]. This is an automated system and you will be asked to enter your drivers license or state ID number, date of birth, checking account number, and zip code using the keypad on your touch-tone telephone.
Please note: Before calling Certegy to request a copy of your file, have your check and drivers license or state ID card in front of you. Since drivers licenses and state ID’s may include letters as well as numbers, the automated telephone instructions will ask you to “convert” any letter to a number. For your convenience, these instructions are also presented here:
* First press the “#” key on your telephone keypad - this tells the automated system that the next entry will be a letter.
* Then, press the key on your telephone keypad that contains the letter you want to enter.
* Since there are several letters on each key, you will then need to tell us which specific letter appears on your license by entering that letter’s position on that key.
For example, if your license number contains the letter “K”, you would first press “#” , telling the system that you are going to enter a letter, followed by pressing “5” since that is where the letter “K” appears on the keypad. Then, you would press “2” since the letter “K” is the second letter on that key. This is illustrated below:
If we cannot validate your identity over the telephone from the information you give us, you will be asked to mail your request.
Also, if you prefer, you may mail your file request to Certegy rather than using the automated telephone system. If you write to Certegy to request your free annual file disclosure, you will need to include a copy of your drivers license, a voided check, and a tax or utility bill to verify that you are entitled to the information that you are requesting. Send the request for your file disclosure to::
Certegy Check Services
P.O. Box 30296
Tampa, Fl. [protected]
Here's a link to a possible class action lawsuit:
http://www.girardgibbs.com/certegy.html?gclid=CK6ewITW5o0CFR3PggodB1S
You can file a complaint about Certegy at www.ftc.com
and also file a complaint about Certegy with the Florida attorney general's office at: http://myfloridalegal.com/Contact.nsf/Contact?OpenForm&Section=Economic_Crimes
I received a letter from Certegy yesterday. I too am a victim of identity theft.
I'm glad I found this website..very insightful. I too got a letter this month and am wondering if I'm going to have issues with my bank in the future. After having a dealing with ever private card services it seems as though I would need to change my bank account to be protected. I don't want to lose the years with the bank as far as the length of time I've been there by having to change the account number. I'll have to see about it.
certegy is a fraud
Certegy sucks. With Certegy, they are only GUESSING!!! Even after supplying routing number, account number, name, etc... If they can't verify an amount in the bank, they are totally useless. I am boycotting NTB tire over this certegy company. I don't need to go into details. They did to me what they did to the other poor soul posting here. CERTEGY is a...
Read full review of FISGlobal.com / Certegy and 4 commentscheck authorization problem
Hello I have an interesting situation/story. It involves Certegy a check cashing company that stores such as Walgreens, Target, Academy, Williams Sonoma hire to either let you buy their products or not. I have lived in Austin for 30 some odd years. I write checks all day long. Until this week I was denied buying things from Academy. I was given a piece of paper. When I called the number with which they gave me a got a answer that blew me away. My response was so you have flagged me and I got assurances I wasn't. On monday I went to Williams Sonoma for a wedding gift and to my surprise and once again embarrassment I was declined again. I called again and got a different excuse. Why I am writing you is I have spent the better part of today trying to clear this mess and it gets deeper into credit history reporting from one company to another (i think) where they feel they have the right to flag you as a certain type which seems to be in the gray area of nazism? I googled this company and was surprised to find out I am not alone there are MANY complaints out their with people as normal as I. I tried calling the companies that use this check policy and tried to share my assault on my account which has been tarnished and got I am so sorry but we can not... Well I've decided not to shop at these stores as there are other companies that they can use ie... Telecheck and others that are out there. The number that Academy in Katy texas gave me was a debt collector? I have none of this? I called the numbers that were given on the card when they refuse your check still no clearance of this issue. Why now? Why two times in one week? Why the same company? I worked in retail at Scarboroughs at Foleys if we had a large check we had a number to call to verify it. I cant understand why a company would not do a background check on companies that refuse a transaction that leads to #1 them not making the sale #2 bad press when the buyer is at NO fault #3 Loosing future sales.. i even called my bank as one Certegy person said maybe the bank is at fault WHAT? I called my bank and they have had a couple of calls about this company even from a reputable fence company that banks at my bank and they had a check denied as well.
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/certegy-check-authorization-services-c2968.html
http://forums.dealofday.com/showthread.php?t=176396
Here is the story that match mine to a T. I was flabbergasted after I read these I want to sue, I want results, I want to join a class action suit if there is one started, I want to stop this injustice as they have so done to me, I want this out in the open, I want these companies to know what they have hired to represent them! They have insulted me and now I live in fear that the next store I go to will do the same with out probable exact evidence that my check will bounce? I refuse to have a credit card or give anymore information this Certegy already has on me to acquire another form of payment. Its been fine for the last 48 years. I don't want them to be able to tell me where I can or can not shop, but alas its starting to be.
i have over 10 thousand dollars in my daily operating expense account.. a signature bank account with a reputable bank Union bank..
and Certigy refused my check at Pep Boys.. what a load of crap..
### Gertigy..
you have no business in business.
I also have become a victim to Certegy. Over the last 10 days I have had 3 checks denied. When I call Certegy, the only explanation I am given is that I have no negative check writing history. So, if I have no check writing history, why are my checks being refused? Isn't it strange that this has just started happening after having my checking account for over 20 years and writing out many checks each month? I am at a lost as to what to do. I am embarrased each time my check is refused and I am extremely upset! I am going to file a complaint with the better business bureau. I strongly recommend each person who has had this happen to them, also file a complaint. I am also going to print off these complaints and carry them with me and make it a point to show the stores' manger each time my check is denied. Perhaps if we all take this step, word will get out about the kind of assinine company Certegy really is and that they do more harm than good.
file a complaint with ftc!
I was just bitten by this company as well. My story will read like many of yours so rather than repeat it, I want to make a STRONG suggestion. You can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission which oversees companies such as this one. They WILL respond - I just received a confirmation from them about the complaint I filed.
Go to the Federal Trade Commission website, click on Consumer Protection, click on File a Complaint. It is a bit hard to make the form accommodate what you want and need to say but it can be done. Make is businesslike and short. They may contact you for more details.
The only way that something will ever get done about them is if all of us will take the time to complain to to the governmental agency that oversees Certegy.
In addition, use word of mouth, your email address book, groups you happen to belong to, radio and tv station consumer problem helpers (many if not most have them) to get the word out. Join discussion groups, send emails and letters to national groups like AARP. Get the word out!
PLEASE help.
I called to find out why my checks were denied and was told it was because "I don't have a history with them in the last 13 months."
Gee, I've only had a checking account with one bank since 1992! The account my check was denied from I opened 2-3 months ago.
Makes me wonder how teens just starting out are ever going to be able to write checks.
certegy sucks!
I went to KMart yesterday. Spent $252.81 and my check was denied. I used the debit card, that is the same as my checking account, and it worked. I called Certegy from the number printed on the back of my check, which is a bunch of automated crap, then it couldn't understand my address.
So, last night I sent e-mails to Kmart and Certegy. Kmart sent me an e-mail with no explanation, but gave me another number to call. Talked to "Jay" who seemed concerned, yet couldn't give me an explanation either. He gave me 2 more phone numbers to call. Automated again! Couldn't understand my address again! So I spoke to "Jennifer" She tells me that there is nothing showing negative against me, but this is to protect the consumer as well as the Merchant and for safety reasons my check was denied. I asked what I can do to prevent this from occurring again? She said there's nothing you can do maam. I told her that I'd like for her to be standing in a checkout and have her check denied... In conclusion CERTEGY SUCKS! The companies using this service is going to turn customers away from their stores. They should reconsider who they use!
Crystal Parham
I propose a call to arms on this! You can make this go away! Here's how:
So, this just happened to me with almost 2 hours-worth of shopping in my $700 basket. This included a lot of custom paint as well. I ended up standing in line for like 30 minutes trying to get someone to override or a human contact at Certegy. Of course, nothing happened and in the end, we just left them with our purchases and went out to eat.
It occurred to me later that my visit probably cost Home Depot quite a bit of money. No, I don't mean the money that I -would- have spent there but wasn't able to because they wouldn't take my check, that's lost of course, but they never had that. What I'm talking about the real cost that the entire episode caused them. Things like their overall customer experience (I had a register line tied up for 30 minutes trying to call Certegy and eventually someone had to come up from the back to open a register to handle the large backlog of waiting people), the employee -time- it cost them (I had like 2 supervisors and the register employee tied up for at least 30 mins, plus the guy that had to open a new register, -plus- the time it took employees to return all my -wide- variety of items to the shelves later), plus some of the materials themselves were actually custom, one-off things (custom cut lumber, mixed up paint colors, etc.) that they had to hope to sell to someone else at a discount or just eat the cost of.
My plan is this: do this every freaking day from here until they take my check. Every few days, I'm going to go back and attempt to buy the exact same things (and more, -every freaking thing- on my building materials list this time) with this check. It will only take me a few minutes each afternoon to assemble all my custom supplies (including all my custom colors for my entire house, custom lumber for my projects, etc.), then leisurely stroll up the register with my $500 in custom paint and multiple baskets of odds-n-ends. Then, I'll back up a line, call in some managers, and let them eat that cost every single day I go in. After a couple weeks, I should be costing them tens of thousands of dollars. What can they do? Kick me out of the store for attempting to buy something with a -perfectly valid check-?
Here's where you come in.
I encourage every one reading this to do the same. If you found this site like I did (from just trying to buy something and getting 'Certegy denied' for no reason), I encourage you to run right back there in a couple of days and do it all over again (and again and again and again). I might not be able to make a difference nationally (though I plan on putting the hammer down on my local store), but if all of us just did it a few times, Home Depot would quickly have to start rethinking it's policies on using Certegy. It wouldn't take long before they'll have to start explaining to stock holders why they are loosing so much money.
It costs nothing to contribute! Do this same thing any place where Certegy denies you a purchase with no good reason.
I had a similar incident with Certegy, both on my own and with a client. I posted it on my blog awhile back, and I'll provide the link if you're interested. I'd like to see these guys get shut-out of the check verifications business completely!
My post about them is located at:
http://carolinaregion.blogspot.com/2006/12/bestbuy-maybe-not-certegy-should-be.html
CERTEGY SUCKS HARD! OMG! The same thing is happening to me! I hate them! They suck! Get rid of them Merchants. It's true, it is only denying you of our sales!
Check denied!
To whom it matters:
On Friday, March 30, 2007, at approximately 2:40p, my personal check # 14235, in the amount of $150.48, was denied by Sears Store #02311, in Norman, OK.
This denial of processing my check was absolutely ludicrous! The account has been active for 20+ years with absolutely no checks previously denied by Sears, OR, for that matter, any one else. The account name on the check is: DEMUTH FARMS, which has been in existence for over 98 years, which has always dealt in a fair & honest manner.
Apparently, CERTEGY CHECK SERVICES system is faulty and needs an immediate fix to eliminate situations such as described above. You provide no protection for me that I cannot address myself and I will avoid stores in the future which use your check services system. In addition, I will alert my friends and neighbors to CERTEGY CHECK SERVICES and how it could affect them. Put that under your bonnet for what good it does.
check approvals - this is not consumer protection - this is fraudulent!
I had an experience this past weekend, similar to one that I read about on your website. I wrote a check at a Home Depot. The check was denied, with no explanation. I was eventually told to contact Certegy, the company that approves the checks.
Certegy had no information that would suggest that they should deny a check written from this account, other than citing that the amount was a large amount ($600), while I have thousands of dollars sitting in that account.
They offered me an opportunity to fill out a Gold application that would give them additional personal information about me, and would allow me to write checks from this account. I have no plans to do so.
This is not consumer protection... this is fraudulent. I have made a complaint to the FTC. I am also looking for other government agencies to look into this. I have seen other complaints about Certegy on the internet.
Possible class action against Certegy:
http://www.girardgibbs.com/certegy.html?gclid=CLniqMLx9I0CFQkpYAodvy2jLA
Find out what info Certegy has on file about you:
UNITED STATES - Consumers - Certegy Check Services Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act ("FACT") Disclosure Request Instructions.
How to Request Your Free Annual File Disclosure from Certegy Check Services:
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, usually referred to as the FACT Act, gives consumers the ability to request a free copy of their file from any consumer reporting agency once during any 12-month period. Certegy Check Services is a “specialty consumer reporting agency” under the FACT Act and maintains a toll-free telephone number for consumers to request a copy of their file.
To request a copy of your file, you can call our special toll-free number 24 hours a day. The toll-free number to request a copy of your file from Certegy Check Services is [protected]. This is an automated system and you will be asked to enter your drivers license or state ID number, date of birth, checking account number, and zip code using the keypad on your touch-tone telephone.
Please note: Before calling Certegy to request a copy of your file, have your check and drivers license or state ID card in front of you. Since drivers licenses and state ID’s may include letters as well as numbers, the automated telephone instructions will ask you to “convert” any letter to a number. For your convenience, these instructions are also presented here:
* First press the “#” key on your telephone keypad - this tells the automated system that the next entry will be a letter.
* Then, press the key on your telephone keypad that contains the letter you want to enter.
* Since there are several letters on each key, you will then need to tell us which specific letter appears on your license by entering that letter’s position on that key.
For example, if your license number contains the letter “K”, you would first press “#” , telling the system that you are going to enter a letter, followed by pressing “5” since that is where the letter “K” appears on the keypad. Then, you would press “2” since the letter “K” is the second letter on that key. This is illustrated below:
If we cannot validate your identity over the telephone from the information you give us, you will be asked to mail your request.
Also, if you prefer, you may mail your file request to Certegy rather than using the automated telephone system. If you write to Certegy to request your free annual file disclosure, you will need to include a copy of your drivers license, a voided check, and a tax or utility bill to verify that you are entitled to the information that you are requesting. Send the request for your file disclosure to::
Certegy Check Services
P.O. Box 30296
Tampa, Fl. [protected]
http://myfloridalegal.com/Contact.nsf/Contact?OpenForm&Section=Economic_Crimes
This is a link to the Florida Attorney General's office to file a complaint about Certegy. Any readers may also want to google "certegy class action" to get the addresses of law firms considering class action suits against Certegy.
Besides the FTC, you may want to file a complaint with your local attorney general, and with the attorney general of the state Certegy's home office is in (Florida?). There is no excuse for this kind of blackmail/bait and switch tactic of refusing checks and then asking for a fee to not refuse them. It sounds like a "protection" scam fun by the Mafia!
I had a similar incident with Certegy, both on my own and with a client. I posted it on my blog awhile back, and I'll provide the link if you're interested. I'd like to see these guys get shut-out of the check verifications business completely!
My post about them is located at:
http://carolinaregion.blogspot.com/2006/12/bestbuy-maybe-not-certegy-should-be.html
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FISGlobal.com / Certegy Contacts
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FISGlobal.com / Certegy phone numbers+1 (800) 237-4851+1 (800) 237-4851Click up if you have successfully reached FISGlobal.com / Certegy by calling +1 (800) 237-4851 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have successfully reached FISGlobal.com / Certegy by calling +1 (800) 237-4851 phone number Click down if you have unsuccessfully reached FISGlobal.com / Certegy by calling +1 (800) 237-4851 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached FISGlobal.com / Certegy by calling +1 (800) 237-4851 phone numberConsumer Inquiries+1 (866) 544-0234+1 (866) 544-0234Click up if you have successfully reached FISGlobal.com / Certegy by calling +1 (866) 544-0234 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have successfully reached FISGlobal.com / Certegy by calling +1 (866) 544-0234 phone number Click down if you have unsuccessfully reached FISGlobal.com / Certegy by calling +1 (866) 544-0234 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached FISGlobal.com / Certegy by calling +1 (866) 544-0234 phone numberCustomer Service+1 (800) 759-2034+1 (800) 759-2034Click up if you have successfully reached FISGlobal.com / Certegy by calling +1 (800) 759-2034 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have successfully reached FISGlobal.com / Certegy by calling +1 (800) 759-2034 phone number Click down if you have unsuccessfully reached FISGlobal.com / Certegy by calling +1 (800) 759-2034 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached FISGlobal.com / Certegy by calling +1 (800) 759-2034 phone numberCollection Calls
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FISGlobal.com / Certegy emailsgetinfo@fisglobal.com100%Confidence score: 100%Supportmoreinformation@fisglobal.com100%Confidence score: 100%
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FISGlobal.com / Certegy address601 Riverside Avenue, Jacksonville, Florida, 32204, United States
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