Gillespie County Hot Check Department

Filing A Hot Check

• Obtain a Worthless Check Affidavit from the County Attorney’s Office

  • Forms may be picked up in person or downloaded from this web page  (below).

• Fill the form out completely and accurately.

  • The information must be LEGIBLE

  • The form must be notarized (it can be notarized at the Hot Checks Department if dropped off in person.)

• Deliver the Affidavit and the Original Check to the Hot Check Department.

  • The original check must accompany the affidavit.

  • Make a copy for your records.

Hot Check Affidavit

• SB548-effective 9/1/2007

  • Allows notice of returned checks to be sent registered/certified with return receipt requested (as it had been), OR first class mail with an affidavit of service (new).

  • Allows collection of an additional delivery notification fee for registered/certified return receipt notices. Merchants must provide our office with proof of costs for us to be able to collect these additional fees.

    [Penal Code 31.06, 32.41]

    [Code of Criminal Procedure 102.007]

    [Business & Commerce Code 3.507]

   

• HB485-effective 9/1/2007

  • Increases the amount of restitution that can be collected on Issuance of a Bad Check cases (Class C Misdemeanor) to $5,000.00 (it was $500.00).The original check must accompany the affidavit.

               [Penal Code 32.41 (e)]

   

• HB2002-effective 9/1/2007, but must comply by 3/1/2008

  • Requires financial institutions to notify check verification centers when a victim reports an identity theft case to the financial institution.

    [Business & Commerce Code 35.595]

     

• HB320-effective 9/1/2007

  • Allows businesses and financial institutions to use electronic information on drivers driver’s licenses for identification verification or check verification at the point of sale.

    [Transportation Code 521.126(e)]

Merchant’s Responsibility
As a merchant you need to:

• Print on the face of the check the Driver License and Date of Birth of the person writing the check - even if it is pre-printed on the check!

• Print the initials of the clerk accepting the check on the face of the check.

• Deposit the check within 30 days of the date it is written.

• File with the Gillespie County Attorney’s Office 60 days from the date the check was written.

• Do not accept any payments from the defendant if check has been brought to the County Attorney’s Office for collection. No restitution is to be accepted after the check is filed with the Gillespie County Attorney’s Office.

• Immediately notify the Gillespie County Attorney’s Office in the case of a STOP PAYMENT check if the check writer returns the merchandise.

• Though it is not a requirement, we recommend that the merchant attempt to contact the check writer once before filing the check with us.

Why Is This Information Needed?
 

County Attorney’s Responsibility
The Gillespie County Attorney’s Office will:

Checks The County Attorney’s Office May Not Prosecute

Suggestions To Reduce Losses From Hot Checks

• Look to see if the check is dated today. Postdated checks should not be accepted.

• Can you read the signature? The checks should be signed in your presence. On business accounts the case must be filed against the person who signed the check, if you cannot read the name please ask for the person’s name and print the name under the signature.

• Look to see if the address is complete. Only checks with a printed, permanent street and home or work phone numbers should be accepted.

• Can you confirm the person’s identity? If the identification or photo looks suspicious, do not accept the check.

• Make sure the written amount and the numerical amount correspond.

• Record the following information:
  Driver’s license number even if it is pre-printed on the check!
  Date of Birth
  Initials of Clerk accepting check

Red Flags – Warning Signs Of Possible Hot Checks

• Starter (or temporary) check or low number check

• Temporary driver’s license

• Department of Public Safety ID card (Intended for Senior Citizens & Handicapped)

• Expired Driver’s License

• Cannot produce Driver’s License

• Any non-matching information between the check, identification, and/or check writer

• Pre-signed checks. The identity of the person signing cannot be verified
   

Did You Know?

• Filing a check with the County Attorney Hot Check Department is FREE.

• The Hot Check Department is funded by fees collected from hot check writers.

• Our office will file Class C Misdemeanors with the Justice of the Peace on your behalf.

• The Justice of the Peace handles charges of Issuance of Bad Check, which is a Class C Misdemeanor (no jail time and fines up to $500.00). They can accept checks with amounts up to $5,000.00.

• Our office has a handwriting expert available to examine handwriting when a person claims that his or her check is forged.

• We will collect the $30.00 merchant fee on all checks. (YOU MUST HAVE A SIGN POSTED THAT IS VISIBLE TO THE CHECK WRITER)

• Even a $20.00 hot check may be prosecuted as a Class B Misdemeanor Theft with a penalty of up to 180 days in jail and $2,000.00 in fines.

• New ‘Substitute Checks’ are legal equivalents of the original check and may be used to file theft by check charges; however, as the quality of these images vary, it is important to write verified identification information clearly.

Is It Theft Or A Bad Check?

Under penal code section 31.03 Theft, a person commits an offense if he unlawfully appropriates property or secures performance of a service from the owner by deception. The key under the law is that the owner must give the merchandise at the time the check writer renders the check. Furthermore, inducing a provider of services to provide services by giving the provider a check which the issuer knows will be dishonored by the bank qualifies as deception. Again, the key under the law is that the owner must provide the service at the time the check writer renders the check.
 

Fraud and Identity Theft Links

Texas Department of Public Safety – Identity Theft Information