Cooke County Texas

Merchants Don't Get Burned By a Hot Check

The County Attorney’s Office Hot Check desk is available to help local merchants try to collect funds from checks that are returned as unpaid.  This service is FREE to all merchants and individuals in Cooke County.  The County Attorney’s office is responsible for prosecuting hot check writers who commit misdemeanor crimes, such as Theft by Check and Issuance of Bad Check, in Cooke County.  This information has been provided to better assist you as a Merchant in taking checks and in the unfortunate event of an unpaid check, to assist you in the process of filing with the County Attorney’s office.

The Hot Check desk’s primary purpose is to receive complaints from area merchants of Theft from the passing of worthless checks and to develop these instances into prosecutable cases.  To help merchants in this effort, the County Attorney’s office is providing the area merchants information on proper procedure for their employees to accept checks for payment for their goods, products or services.  When this proper procedure is followed, it should minimize the number of worthless checks that you accept.  It will increase the likelihood of the offender being charged, the Merchant obtaining restitution and the odds that the hot check writer will get a conviction increases.  You can download our Hot Check Manual  to assist merchants in learning these proper procedures.

• NSF 
• Checks Written on Closed Accounts
• Types of Checks the County Attorney Cannot Prosecute
• Substitute Checks 

Tips Merchants can Use When Accepting a Check
Merchants BEWARE

Theft by Check IS a Crime

• Hot Check Filing Deadline 
• Notification to the Check Writer
• Affidavit of Service by Mail
• Restitution
• How to Process a Worthless Check Complaint
• After the Complaint if Filed