Is this check from the FTC for real?

Herb Weisbaum • Profile • E-mail

This week, I’m dipping into my reader mailbag to field some of your questions. One reader wonders if a check from the FTC is legit. (Yes.) Another wonders if it is ever legal to dine and dash. (No.)

Q: Does the Federal Trade Commission really send checks to people with little or no explanation? I just received one with a case name (FTC v. J.K. Publications, Inc., et al) and no other information. Is this payment genuine?

It is, but you’re smart to be skeptical. Con artists often use fake checks (that look completely legitimate) as bait. In this case, the check is real and the money is yours.

In mid-June, the Federal Trade Commission mailed about 400,000 checks worth more than $12 million to victims of an illegal credit card billing scam run by J.K. Publications of Nevada and other defendants. Most of the illegal billings took place in 1998.

So why are the checks going out now? The FTC says the crooks were able to move millions of dollars of ill-gotten gains offshore. It took federal prosecutors a great deal of time and effort to locate the money and have it transferred back to the U.S.

The FTC routinely send checks to scam victims whenever it settles a case and can get significant restitution. In July, the commission mailed checks to people who filed claims against a Florida company, Integrity Financial Enterprises. Those checks, for more than $200, become void if not cashed by September 13, 2009.

Q: I recently had an unpleasant experience at a local restaurant. The food was cold and the customer service was terrible. I complained to the cashier who was rude and did not care, so I left without paying.  Did I do the right thing? Should I have called the police or the health department to file a complaint?

Actually, you didn’t. If you’re served a meal and it’s not prepared properly, you need to tell the server right then. If the kitchen tries again and still can’t make you happy, tell the server it’s unacceptable and you’re going to leave.

But you can’t eat the food and then decide not to pay – that’s theft – and the people who run the restaurant can call police to have you arrested.

Here’s the right way to handle a situation like this. Ask to see the manager and explain why you don’t want to pay. If you’re turned down, pay by credit card then challenge the charge.

I did that once with a hotel in New York where the rooms were dirty and there was no hot water for my morning shower. I couldn’t get the room rate reduced, so I paid the bill, requested a refund from my credit card company and they removed the charge.

You should have reported the food preparation problem to the health department. Hot food needs to be hot and cold food need to be cold. If not, it could make you sick. Health departments rely on customers to let them know when there’s a problem.

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