Those places serve a legitimate purpose. A lot of people on the low end of the financial stratum can't even open bank accounts these days. One bad check and the computers lock you out for something like five years if the bank decides to make an issue of it with ChexSystems.
Longer than that! I bounced a check at 19 (which I cleared up immediately) and those bastards still hold it against me!
That's really fucked up. And I'm no bleeding heart when it comes to stuff like this. Bouncing a check is technically a financial crime. But it really CAN happen to anyone. Especially today when you can "deposit" a check with an iPhone.
Anyway, if someone's a chronic offender or check kiter, then they SHOULD lose their check writing privileges for a while. But five years for a single mistake? No wonder people hate banks
.
