County hires firm to collect cold checks

Prosecuting cold check cases in Hopkins County is easier this month than it has ever been for both merchants and the authorities.

Tracking down restitution payments on cold checks has historically been a time-consuming process. But such Hopkins County cases are being streamlined through a new, Web-based restitution management service, Checkrighter, recently put to use by County Attorney Todd P’Pool.

In the past, a merchant was responsible for notifying the owner of a bounced check, collecting restitution and the county attorney’s fee, then forwarding that fee to the appropriate office.

Rather than place the bulk of responsibility on merchants, “this company will send the letter directly to the debtor along with a deposit slip for the total amount owed,” P’Pool said.

The letter makes it clear that only a restitution payment will stop legal prosecution, said P’Pool. But if the debtor is a repeat offender, they could be sentenced to restitution and two days in jail for each bad check.
Debtors have 10 days to drop off the complete amount, including fees, at any Fifth Third Bank in Kentucky. Payments left in the escrow account are divided up and mailed to merchants twice a month.

The cost of Checkrighter is covered by the county attorney’s $25 handling fee for each bounced check.
P’Pool said he learned of the program during a recent county attorneys conference, where the Elizabethtown company gave a presentation of its benefits in a smaller community.

Checkrighter is already being utilized in 20 Kentucky counties, including Christian, where authorities gave it good reviews, said P’Pool.

The program not only simplifies prosecution, it subjects the process to an annual audit — which has not been done in the past — and is expected to increase the county’s effectiveness against cold check debts, said P’Pool.

“The recovery rates are a lot higher when you make it more convenient for both the debtor and the merchant,” he said.

Its impersonality could be a contributing factor to Checkrighter’s success — debtors are more inclined to repay a merchant when it doesn’t require them to face their accuser across the checkout counter, said P’Pool.

His office has offered further support for the process this month by launching a fully interactive Web site — www.hopkinscountyattorney.com — on which merchants and citizens alike can find information about the court system and Checkrighter.

They may also call the office’s Cold Check Division at 821-3164 extension 213