What happens if a customer purchases a product and gives you a check and then puts a stop payment on the check.

Question

The customer then gives a credit card and it has insufficent funds this has gone on for weeks, now the customer is giving excuses one after the other please contact me and see if you can help, the truck driver and out of state can I file federal charges against them.

David A. Cincotta · Answer

No, you cannot file federal charges against him. The US Attorney decides what criminal charges to pursue in federal court and the District Attorney or Oklahoma Attorney General decides what criminal charges to pursue in state court. You can report the matter to the police. The police may investigate it, inform you that it is not something they can help you with, or they may turn it over to a Investigator with the DA's office or another agency. There are several different criminal statutes that might (and I emphasize "might") be applicable to the customer stopping payment on the check - not on the customer having insufficient funds on a credit card. That said, more would have to be known about the matter. Beyond that, however, is does appear to be something you could take him to court (small claims court if the value of the item is less than $10,000). It may or may not be worth pursuing that depending on the value of the product he purchased, the fact that he lives out of state, and considering he appears to still be in contact with you about trying to pay.

Q: What happens if a customer purchases a product and gives you a check and then puts a stop payment on the check.