(Long Island, NY) “If you have a credit card or any line of credit, you’ve probably received ‘convenience checks’ from the banks or financial institutions who issued them, without your having requested them,” said Senator Kemp Hannon (R-Nassau). “When banks send these unsolicited checks, consumers are unaware they’ve been sent, and they can be easy targets for mail theft.”
A new law which took effect on November 13, 2013, prohibits the unsolicited mailing of convenience checks to customers. It also stipulates that consumers who have been sent convenience checks by credit or debit card issuers will not be liable for the use of these checks, unless the consumer has accepted by the check by using it.
“Thieves can get ahold of these checks, and use them before the consumer is even aware they were stolen and fraudulently used,” said Hannon. “By that time, the victim’s credit and bank balance may have taken a serious hit.”
The new law will ensure that consumers are not held liable for any fraudulent use of these convenience checks.
