Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Michigan
stolen checks
We had 2 personal checks stolen from our mailbox. The checks were acid washed and rewritten to two local stores. The stores accepted the checks without checking ID; our bank accepted the checks even though the signature was clearly forged. We contacted the police and have a police report, we filed a forgery claim at the bank and at the post office. We closed that checking account, disposing of several unused checks. The bank returned these two stolen checks to the stores that accepted them, as having ''insufficient funds''. The two stores then came after us to get their money, even though the police had been to both stores and they knew they were stolen. My question.....both stores reported our name as having written ''bad checks'' and now we are unable to write checks at retail establishments. I've contacted our bank and they will not return my phone calls or emails. Do we have any legal ground? We want our name cleared.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: stolen checks
You absolutely have recourse. Your defense is that the stores must not go against you, but against the forger. You are not a party to the instrument and did not authorize your signature. The forger is a party to the instrument just as if he had signed his real name. You have recourse in the fair debt collection practices act.
Sounds like you could use an attorney to defend your case. If you are interested in me to represent you, please visit my website at www.lawrefs.com or contact me at [email protected].
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