Privacy Policy & Disclosure
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CHECK 21 POLICY
Substitute Checks and Your Rights
What is a substitute check?
To make check processing faster, federal law permits banks to replace original checks with "substitute checks." These checks are similar in size to original checks with a slightly reduced image of the front and back of the original check. The front of a substitute check states: "This is a legal copy of your check. You can use it the same way you would use the original check." You may use a substitute check as proof of payment just like the original check.
Some or all of the checks that you receive back from us may be substitute checks. This notice describes rights you have when you receive substitute checks from us. The rights in this notice do not apply to original checks or to electronic debits to your account. However, you have rights under other law with respect to those transactions.
Reconverting Bank:
A reconverting bank is one that creates substitute checks itself, or one that accepts substitute checks for deposit from its customers and introduces these items into the check collection or return process. This Bank is not a reconverting bank, in that it does not create substitute checks and it does not process these items for its customers. Therefore, the customer will not, without the bank’s express advance written consent, deposit any substitute check into an account.
Item standards:
Additional liability is created under Check 21 for any bank that introduces into the check collection or return process any item on which the necessary elements (name, account numbers, dates, amounts, signatures, endorsements, and the like) are not clearly legible when they are imaged or copied. Therefore, the customer will not write or deposit a check that is written in an ink type or color that does not reproduce clearly when imaged or copied. Further, the customer will not write or deposit a check that bears designs, security features, or other elements that prevent the check from being imaged or copied with all of its necessary elements being reproduced clearly.
What are my rights regarding substitute checks?
In certain cases, federal law provides a special procedure that allows you to request a refund for losses you suffer if a substitute check is posted to your account (for example, if you think that we withdrew the wrong amount from your account or that we withdrew money from your account more than once for the same check). The losses you may attempt to recover under this procedure may include the amount that was withdrawn from your account and fees that were charged as a result of the withdrawal (for example, bounced check fees).
The amount of your refund under this procedure is limited to the amount of your loss or the amount of the substitute check, whichever is less. You also are entitled to interest on the amount of your refund if your account is an interest-bearing account. If your loss exceeds the amount of the substitute check, you may be able to recover additional amounts under other law.
If you use this procedure, you may receive up to $2,500 of your refund (plus interest if your account earns interest) within 10 business days after we received your claim and the remainder of your refund (plus interest if your account earns interest) not later than 45 calendar days after we received your claim.
We may reverse the refund (including any interest on the refund) if we later are able to demonstrate that the substitute check was correctly posted to your account.
How do I make a claim for a refund?
If you believe that you have suffered a loss relating to a substitute check that you received and that was posted to your account, please contact us at 880 East Cypress Avenue, Redding, CA 96002. You must contact us within 40 calendar days of the date that we mailed (or otherwise delivered by a means to which you agreed) the substitute check in question or the account statement showing that the substitute check was posted to your account, whichever is later. We will extend this time period if you were not able to make a timely claim because of extraordinary circumstances.
Your claim must be in writing and must include-
- A description of why you have suffered a loss (for example, you think the amount withdrawn was incorrect);
- An estimate of the amount of your loss;
- An explanation of why the substitute check you received is insufficient to confirm that you suffered a loss; and
- A copy of the substitute check [and/or] the following information to help us identify the substitute check: the check number, the date of the check, the name of the person to whom you wrote the check, the amount of the check.
