We just had 4 bounced checks with our fall fundraiser. One person even had the nerve to write a check on a closed account. Why would someone do that? Why do people write checks when they know they don't have to money in their account to cover the check? It really makes me angry. Luckily, if the 4 bounced checks can't be resolved before our scheduled delivery date, the company will just take the merchandise back and won't penalize our PTO. I hate fundraisers. Too bad we can't earn the $20,000 per year through the Box Tops program!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Because the same issue happened two years in a row she may be feeling embarrassed and guilty therefore may not want to admit fault. The fact that she was able to make good last year is a good sign & one would believe that she will make the effort to resolve the issue. It's frustrating and a hard call but trying to work things out discreetly would be more beneficial for both parties involved - you live in the same circles, kids go to school together etc. If they hadn't recieved the products you'd have better recourse/leverage but it's understandable why they were given the product given the situation at the time.
I would suggest that for all fundraisers here on out oders with checks come in one week before you place the order with your vendor (should be enough time to clear). Works for us - no issues to date knock on wood.

Good questions...the people at the fundraiser pick-up felt like they had no choice other than to give her the products because it was that or call her a liar. She swore the check had cleared. At that moment, they had no way to prove that it had or hadn't. Plus the fact that they would have had to find storage for $400 of food products. I LOVE the idea of being able to deposit the checks before the orders are turned in.

Family history is that this happened last year as well. Bounced check, but it was made good on. Dad is in Iraq which of course makes me feel more sympathetic except that this is a voluntary fundraising event that the family shouldn't have participated in if money was an issue. If financial problems are an issue, we are MORE than willing to work something out, but the mom doesn't say that.

Thanks for the advice. I will work on the idea of getting checks deposited before orders are submitted.

We just dealt with a similar situation. We have been waiting for 2 large fundraiser checks to clear that will determine prize winners, but we had reason to suspect the checks might bounce. I went directly to a branch of the issuing bank and explained the situation. The manager looked up the account and verified that the checks had cleared the parent's account. Whew. You need to know the bank and probably the account number (from the check), but since you know the amount, maybe the bank will be willing to tell you if a check in that amount has cleared.

Don't back down on this one. Also don't accept anymore checks from this family until the situation is resolved. The family owes you the money. Good advice to check with the school for some insight. Hopefully this just hasn't been a priority for the mom, but you can't just ignore it. Take this as a lesson and document a policy for your future tresurers. Good luck!

Looks like some trouble ahead no matter which way the cookie crumbles. You could discuss the situation with the Principle and get their thoughts on how to proceed as well as consulting with legal for advice. What's the past history with the parents? Are there some underlying problems you may not know about (financial problems) perhaps working together on a payment plan if they can not produce a copy of the cashed check could save the relationship in a dignified manor.

We hold all product until we can verify payment (copy of cancelled check). Also, we try to deposit fundraiser money before we send the order in just in case a check bounces. This way, we avoid receiving products that are not paid for.