Certegy

Heads up about Certegy Check Services, Inc.—per an Aug. 15, 1013 press release at www.ftc.gov, “Certegy Check Services to Pay $3.5 Million for Alleged Violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Furnisher Rule” and in 2013 were assessed a “Penalty that is Second-largest in a Fair Credit Reporting Act Matter” and ordered to change their complaint, etc., procedures—which apparently doesn’t sound like they did. My advice is that everyone who has had a check declined by them for no apparent or legitimate reason should contact their Congressmen mentioning the problem and the above mentioned legal action concerning this company and file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission on their website or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) which is mentioned on-line in the above mentioned press release.
I filled up 08/14/13 at Murphy Oil and had no problem paying by check. Then again on 3/12/14 and 5/02/14 I filled up with gas as I have done for years at the same Murphy’s. Suddenly this time on both occasions I was told they could not take my check and told me I had to contact Certegy Check Services and was provided with a printout giving Certegy’s number & info they required. When I called the 1-800-237-4851 number they could not give me a specific reason why they refused to authorize my checks for cashing. They only gave “examples” why they do what they do. I have good credit and checked with my bank which looked at my account records and stated there was no reason why my check should ever be declined. I asked to be sent a report showing what is in my file which is mentioned in the printout that Murphy gives you when your check is declined.
When I received the report it showed 6 transactions going back to 10-21-12 and listed in the following order and with dates, amounts, check numbers, client, and disposition: Dollar General, 2 different Staples, and 3 for the same Murphy Oil. All were authorized except the first Staples and the last 2 Murphy Oil. I called Certegy back and told them that the Staples “Not Authorized” was incorrect because it was not declined and I have the bank statement to prove it…had it been declined it would have been voided and never have reached my bank. The person indicated she had no proof to such and couldn’t pull up the report. I gave her the Control Number on the report which it says to do when calling about the report but she still claimed she couldn’t access it. I told her to put a supervisor or someone who could access on the line…I was put on hold and then disconnected. Calling back I got a different person and went through the whole thing again. He couldn’t use the Control Number either and said the people that handle that are at the CPRS Self Risk section and their number was 866-324-3120. I called them and she determined he sent me to the wrong place because they had nothing to do with it and their control numbers were 9 digit beginning with 2 and mine was 10 digit beginning with 1. So I called Certegy back and got yet another person and went through the whole deal again. This time I’m told basically same as the previous 2 times that he can’t get the control number to bring anything up so he is referring it to “Research” and they should contact me within 3 to 30 days. Well I told him I would be looking for somewhere else to file a complaint in the meantime. Nobody seems to know what they are doing or they are being coached (because I was always put on hold several times while they conversed with supervisors) to beat around the bush and act that way. There whole purpose is to get your personal info including bank routing numbers and account numbers so they can empty your accounts or sell the info to someone else who will as noted elsewhere on line.
They are noted as a risk management company and appear to be a subsidiary of Fidelity National Information Services so Certegy simply wants to force people to supply them with their personal info.…remember recently in the news how financial info was sold to thieves overseas by another U.S. company so they could steal people’s identity. They are forcing you to give up your info and still not guaranteeing they will correct the problem. This causes a real inconvenience for people and lets other people standing around think you bounce checks or are a deadbeat. Even if you take your business elsewhere, if they use Certegy, you will encounter the same problem.
If I hadn’t had a credit card or cash to pay for it, would they call the police and have me charged with theft of gas or impound my car until somebody else came along to pay for it because they certainly wouldn’t siphon it out!!! This company needs to be stopped!!! The government cracked down on them once but it didn’t help and as long as people sit around and do nothing it will continue. Complain to the right people and let the government go after them again for their failure to comply with the first civil claim. My Congressmen and the FTC are going to hear from me…you need to do the same.