I don't know if this will work in the US given your banking rules are slightly different, but it works very well here in Canada.

I had a deadbeat customer who finally gave in and wrote us a series of three cheques on his personal account to pay his company account. The first cashed as it should have, but the second bounced. Unfortunately, by that time, his phone numbers had been changed and we could no longer get in touch with this man.

Rather than bang my head against the wall, we took the bounced cheque and the uncashed one and set them aside. From that day forward, I took a minute every morning and called his bank to see if he had enough cash to cover the cheques.

Finally one morning, about a month later, he did. He must have thought I'd given up on cashing his cheques by then.

We jumped into the car, ran over to his branch and immediately certified both cheques. To his surprise and wonder.

I can't imagine how surprised he was when he discovered that the money had been removed from his account.

I guess the tip and trick... if you have a cheque you think won't clear, call the branch and get it certified before you get into the car and drive over. That or, if you're the deadbeat, when you change your phone numbers, close and change your bank account. :D

I hope someone finds that useful.

Tina Brooks, VP Marketing
Brooks Pepperfire Foods, Inc.
Makers of Peppermaster Hot Sauces
http://www.peppermaster.com

Eat more peppers!