Cleveland Heights, Ohio
January 2003

Government agencies are similar to retail businesses in that they accept "over-the-counter" personal checks for their goods and services. And like retail operations, the government, whether a city, state or federal body, unknowingly takes in checks written on accounts with insufficient funds (NSF). "Bad checks are a problem we take very seriously," said Tom Malone, director of finance for the city of Cleveland Heights. "It's a priority to recover our NSF checks and do it quickly." CheckAGAIN helps businesses and government agencies recover bad checks efficiently.

Cleveland Heights is located in Cuyahoga County, just northeast of Cleveland, Ohio. With a population of more than 50,000, the city takes in thousands of checks each month for tax payments, water payments, utility fees, recreation fees, parking tickets and more. Unfortunately, collecting bad checks was consuming too much of the city's valuable time. To remedy the situation, last spring Cleveland Heights implemented CheckAGAIN's check recovery services and has seen a dramatic increase in the number of bad checks recovered ever since.

CheckAGAIN helps businesses and governments recover NSF checks faster and at a higher rate of recovery. By using technology that easily integrates into existing accounting and database systems, CheckAGAIN's advanced electronic re-presentment (RCK) services get businesses the money they are owed.

Before CheckAGAIN, Cleveland Heights used a lengthy and limited process to recover NSF checks. "When we'd discover a bad check, we would simply send out a letter to the citizen asking them to resubmit payment. We would also tell them that if they didn't send payment, the city would sue them for the money due," reports Malone. "The letters were ineffective. First, it takes up many personnel hours to write letters and track payments. Second, writing letters is costly, especially when it's a letter for a $6 NSF check written for a parking ticket."

Now, Cleveland Heights relies on CheckAGAIN's RCK service to recover bad checks. Letters are no longer necessary. When a bad check comes through, CheckAGAIN scans an image of the returned check and keys in necessary information. The check can then be easily sent through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network to be re-presented directly to the check writer's account. And because the transaction is electronic, it has "first-in-line" status in the banking network. NSF checks can be re-presented to the check-writer's account within 24 hours of receiving the returned check. "The faster we can re-present a returned check, the better chance we have on obtaining the funds," says Malone.

Electronic re-presentment results in a 20 to 30 percent higher recovery rate over manual collections. CheckAGAIN has recovered nearly $15,000 for Cleveland Heights since the start of their program. "Not only has CheckAGAIN recovered our money faster, it's allowed me to allocate our people to other activities," states Malone. "And my revenue collection team can operate more efficiently in the collection of city revenue."

Working with CheckAGAIN gives Cleveland Heights an advantage over bad check writers and the ability to take control of their check recovery process. "CheckAGAIN puts the teeth back in our bad check policy," concludes Malone. "A citizen may write a bad check, but you can be sure that we're going to go after that money and do it quickly." Together, CheckAGAIN and Cleveland Heights are winning the battle in recovering bad checks.

About CheckAGAIN

Established in 1998, CheckAGAIN uses innovative technology to simplify and improve the recovery process on returned checks for merchants. The widely used system helps businesses nationwide increase their recovery on return checks, while lowering associated transaction fees. CheckAGAIN assists consumers by significantly reducing inconveniences normally associated with resolving misunderstandings due to returned checks. For additional information please visit www.checkagain.com or call 800/666-5222.