Parents who write Bounced Checks at showcases and camps

State laws are different. Yes, embarass the parent. That would work.

Post it? Absolutely not unless you want to wind up in court which has happened many times under that common situation. Could be a bank error too.

There are laws against bad checks AND
there are laws against Invasion of Privacy.

Have you confronted the parent?

Once a check written to the booster club had bounced and it was simply a mistake (she said she forgot to enter a debt in her register therefore her balance was off). The very embarrassed parent immeadiately made good on the check and also paid the fee that was charged to the booster club account.

Hey
What's the point? All you have to do is call the guy and tell him about it, and try to find a friendly solution to the problem.
Have you ever got a check bounced on you?
COME ON...Think about the kid! You guys have to relax and be nice.

Would you go to a law discussion group for baseball advice?

Agree with Softhands on this one. Above all, do not embarrass the kid. He probably gets enough peer pressure when he sees many parents drive up in fancy SUV’s and live in big houses, other kids with the latest equipment and meanwhile his parents are working their tails off just trying to make it.

I’m sure this time you are going to tell us that this parent has all kind of money. That’s fine but there are many times when that is just not the case. I am as conservative leaning as they come and believe in personal responsibility but I agree with President Bush that we need to have compassion.

As a person running a showcase, what is your financial situation? Can you afford to ever entertain offering a scholarship or discount to some players who have richer talents than parents.

Have you ever watched the Christmas classic, “Ebenezer Scrooge”? A little charity did wonders for him. Maybe we all should try it.

And above all, do not embarrass the kid!

a person who received a bounced check not only does not receive money, but gets charged $20- 30 in bank fees.

No excuse for a parent that can not balance a checkbook, it reflects very badly on the player and parents.

As they say "s--t happens"

All one needs to do is call them and get it straightened out and they add the fee to the new check--most of the times it is an accident anyway

No big thing

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No excuse for a parent that can not balance a checkbook, it reflects very badly on the player and parents.

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Who would know besides you?

Now why should it reflect badly on the player?

do you want your kid to be known as that is the kid whose parent wrote a college a bad check. Real simple, write a money order or pay by credit card.


I am sure any parent who go nuts if their pay check bounced

Here is what we do.

If it’s an individual player fee, we send the person an invoice. If we don’t receive payment… we write it off!

When it’s a team tournament entry fee, we do everything within our power to collect.

We are not interested in causing problems for people. If it’s simply a mistake, people tend to correct the matter. If they are having financial difficulties and can’t correct the situation, what do we gain by embarrassing them or making their life even more difficult.

All they’re trying to do is help their son. I would much rather have a player’s parents send us a bad check and allow us to see their son, than never seeing their son. If possible we want to help rather than ruin someone’s reputation. I agree completely with “SBK” … “above all, do not embarrass the kid”!

This has never been a big problem for us. We have had some fairly big business people “stiff” us though. In those cases we go after them with everything we have.

As we have often said… We are not business experts, we are just baseball people. And there are people out there who try to hurt us much more than someone writing a check that doesn’t clear.

Dibble
So, you have never had a check bounced on you!!
Congratulations...you're the first one!
There are a lot of poor kids out there, this baseball business is getting really expensive for most working people.
Key word, "compassion".

PG-you are a class act.

Dibble-I dont bounce checks because I have an overdraft protection option linked to a saving account. But I will say that I have had to rely on that option more times than I would like to admit. This past 6 months with baseball events and college visits not only have I had to draw often from savings, I nearly maxed out a credit card, and even touched some money that I said I wasnt going to touch.
Some people dont have to worry about such things, and many others have less options than I.
Your compassion and understanding are overwhelming!

Dibbs,

Being lefthanded, a little off as some say, a devil's advocate or defender of the underdog I have always tried to see both sides of the coin and even support someone in the minority opinion, including you. On this one your lack of class, compassion or both are noteworthy, and cannot be defended. Why so strong, were you personally affected?

On the other hand PG reaffirms why I will continue to speak so highly of him and his organization!

PG your post should tell everyone what you guys are really about. That is pure class. As a coach and a parent of a player all I would have to do is read that post and I am sold on you guys. People make mistakes all the time. A kid should never be embarrassed over something like this. He should never be made aware of it by those that recieved the check. This is a situation that should be handled in a professional and courteous manner between the person receiving the check and the one that wrote it. I have been there before. I have had kids in our camps that show up with a check and then I go to cash it and insuffiecent funds. I would never go to the kid under any circumstances. I call the parent and let them know and then I give them time to straighten it out. If they dont I just write it off as part of doing business. Maybe the next time I have a camp I ask them for cash if they come. But I would never turn a kid away because of lack of funds or a bad check.

Dibble and PG...your posts tell us all we need to know about either of you.

Use the Visa check card.

My wife used on-line bill payment and paid the Phone Co. $ 14,500 instead of $ 145.00.

Took us a month to get the money back, luckily the bank covered for us.

My first concern was that the checks to his baseball training facility would bounce, to me that's personal. The electric company can wait!

Dibble, that is good advice since a credit card may provide additional safeguards for consumers

Andy: Grow up. Stop whining. Deal with it.

Our courtrooms are filled with people who have written "bad" checks...but I would wager that most parents do not write checks to companies that involve events concerning their children....but it does happen...I know I have given all my children a check to be used in the case of an extreme emergency, well, my oldest, used hers and neglected to inform me....sent my checking account into a tizzy and I spent weeks trying to rectify the problem...if we were all perfect there would be no need for erasers on pencils....my take on this would be that unless you are out thousands of dollars call the person....give them a chance to "make good" on the check and maybe change your payment policy if you are so concerned about being shafted

Interesting to note, that many baseball camps, are not accepting personal checks, and are reqesting payment via credit card, check card and money order. Their reason, bounced checks from parents and many parents do not make good on their checks later

So what? Why defend a bad position to the bitter end. I agree with Redbird. Your post shows your character.

Accepting Checks

Bad checks can put a dent in your cash flow. Protect yourself with these tips.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,265184,00.html


New law could mean
more bounced checks

http://www.gmtoday.com/news/local_stories/2004/November_04/11052004_05.asp

It is not about whether to accept checks or not, it is about you willingness to embarass kids because their parents made a mistake, are deadbeats or whatever. That is despicable. Don't cloud the issue by pretending that you are just giving busines tips. lol

No one said , anything about kids, I said pay by credit card , money order, or check card.


Just make certain you have enough money in your acount if you pay by check. There is no float period any more

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No one said , anything about kids, I said pay by credit card , money order, or check card.

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Oh Really? Your nose is growing.

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Should they do like they did on a Seinfeld Episode post your bad check and pic on a wall or can it be turn over to the collection department of Guido and Vito.

No excuse for a parent that can not balance a checkbook, it reflects very badly on the player and parents.

do you want your kid to be known as that is the kid whose parent wrote a college a bad check. Real simple, write a money order or pay by credit card.

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Who would make it known if not you? These are your quotes.

To add further to what I posted earlier:

01-- 99 out of 100 times it is a mistake and they make good immediately--we have even been called by parents before it happened so as to alert us. And the kid need not know it even happened--it isnt his fault

02-- we also use PAYPAL which is secure and safe-- there is no chance of the $$ amount being incorrect as the fee is posted on the transaction page and cannot be changed by anyone but us. Parents can register on line with ease and comfort

Dibble

Adults make mistakes...

They also have the right to be informed about a pending legal matter.

As a small business the approach should always be to provide service.

I'm sure you are not dealing with thousands of bad checks, more like one or two. If there is a working phone number on the check call the debtor and give them a chance to explain it or repay it.

If it's uncollectable, forget it, write if off as a carry-forward.

Any person or organization that doesn't account for a 10% uncollectable Potential Business Losses accounting write-off to the bottom-line, needs to take a course on the proper way to set up a business.

I agree with Pic, adults do make mistakes.

An obvious example is you, Dibble. First you write "it reflects badly on the player” and then a few posts later you write, “No one said, anything about kids”.

Were you being untruthful? Maybe, but let’s just chalk it up to you making a “mistake”.

And no, we won’t hold this mistake against your kids.

thanks my kids are happy you said that

And kids who don't find out from you that their parents made a mistake, are deadbeats or whatever, thank you!

Time to move on.

Guido Play check from Chucky Cheese Bounced

Showcases are an emotional experience to parents and players but the showcase promoters must look at it from a business perspective, sans emotions. I’m not suggesting they don’t get pleasures from helping a young player but the actual event is a business transaction and should be handled in a business like manner. No different that me buying a bat from a sporting goods store and passing a bad check for the purchase. I own a business that provides products and services and on occasion we have bad debts. We place these customers on COD and if they request service after the incident, we require a full settlement and payment on all future service on the front end.

If I recall correctly, all the showcases and camps my son attended required payment well in advance of the event. This way any “bad’ checks would surface prior to the event date. I tip my hat to PG because they do go that extra mile for young players.

“What’s in your wallet?”
Fungo