Most people who have accepted checks for goods or services will eventually experience a bounced check. There are several reasons:

1. non-sufficient funds — in this case wait until the following week and try having your institution try again if they have not already done so. Try to catch a payroll cycle and go early in a week. This is easy to control if you did the first deposit electronically as you still have the instrument. In that case, take the original to the bank and ask them to resubmit it.
2. account closed — in this case, there is nothing to do with the original check.

So, first, let’s back up a step. You should always keep a copy of every check you receive. It contains important information. It tells us the bank that the debtor works with, gives us an account number and even gives us their address, and sometimes part of a social security number or drivers license number. Don’t risk losing this information or have to indure fees to get a copy. You should ask for additional information: a copy of the driver license or indentity card; phone number; social security number, date of birth if you didn’t get the id already, even they employer is helpful when accepting a personal check. All of these things will help you later.

Passing a bad check with intent to defraud is a criminal offense in Michigan. So we need to decided if there was intent. See MCL 750.131.

What next:

1. Call the debtor, email the debtor and figure out if you really have a problem or there is a mistake (used wrong check book; got hit with some unexpected fee and got below intended balance) or if there is a real problem (they just don’t have it or they intended from the start to leave you unpaid). This may solve the problem and you can stop right there.
2. If it is not a mistake and made good, then investigate the local county prosecutor’s program for bad checks. Most have them. For example, this is Ottawa County, Michigan’s program: https://miottawa.org/wp-content/uploads/Merchant-NSF-Check-Information.pdf
3. Complete a bad check notice (see last page of the Ottawa County Materials and replace that prosecutor with the local prosecutor’s office, if you can’t find a program in your county) for the county in which the check was passed. Note: some prosecutors seem more committed to following up on these than others, but most will actually commence a criminal case. That case is most often dropped if the person pony’s up.
4. In ADDITION to the bad check notice, give the statutory notice provided for in MCL 600.2952, which is repeated at the end of this article. Sending the notice required by that law does two things for you:
   • It requires that the debtor pay a processing fee of $25.00 for the first seven days and $35 within 30 days after you make your demand.
   • If you have to sue, then you can recover up to two times the amoun of the check, with a maximum increase of $100 and you get $250 in costs as well in your lawsuit.
     
     Even if they pay, they have to pay the $25/$35 and reasonable costs if they pay in cash prior to the case coming to trial.
5. Sue them, usually in small claims court, which is permitted and allows you to recover up to $7,000. Help on the small claims process is on Michigan Legal Help’s website.

And now the promised statute with the required demand language to trigger costs and double the check amount or $100, whichever is less, as promised:

MCL 600.2952 Failure of maker to pay amount of dishonored check, draft, or order; liability; written demand for payment; delivery and text; effect of payment before trial; jurisdiction of action.

    (1) In addition to applicable penal sanctions, a person who makes, draws, utters, or delivers a check, draft, or order for payment of money upon a bank or other depository, person, firm, or corporation that refuses to honor the check, draft, or order for lack of funds or credit to pay or because the maker has no account with the drawee is liable for the amount of the dishonored check, draft, or order, plus a processing fee, civil damages, and costs, as provided in this section.

    (2) A payee or an agent of a payee may make a written demand for payment of a check, draft, or order of the type specified in subsection (1), which demand may be delivered to the maker by first-class mail. The text of the written demand shall be as follows:

     “A check, draft, or order for payment of money drawn by you for $__________ was returned to me/us/our client (client’s name) dishonored for:

     [ ] Insufficient funds

     [ ] No account

     This notice is a formal demand for payment of the full amount of the dishonored check, draft, or order plus a processing fee of $25.00 for a total amount of $__________. If you pay this total amount within 7 days, excluding weekends and holidays, after the date this notice was mailed, no further civil action will be taken against you.

     If you do not pay the $__________ as requested above, but within 30 days after the date this notice was mailed you pay the amount of the dishonored check, draft, or order plus a $35.00 processing fee, for a total amount of $__________, no further civil action will be taken against you.

     If you fail to pay either amount indicated above, I/we/our client will be authorized by state law to bring a civil action against you to determine your legal responsibility for payment of the check, draft, or order and civil damages and costs allowed by law.

     If you dispute the dishonoring of this check, draft, or order, you should also contact your bank or financial institution immediately.”.

    (3) The maker of a dishonored check, draft, or order for payment of money is liable to the payee as provided in subsection (4) if the maker fails to pay 1 of the following in cash to the payee or a designated agent of the payee after the mailing of a written demand for payment pursuant to subsection (2):

    (a) Within 7 days, excluding weekends and holidays, after the date the written demand provided in subsection (2) is mailed, the full amount of the dishonored check, draft, or order, plus a processing fee of $25.00.

    (b) Within 30 days after the date of the mailing of the notice provided in subsection (2), the full amount of the dishonored check, draft, or order, plus a processing fee of $35.00.

    (4) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (5), a maker who fails to make payment pursuant to subsection (3) and who is found responsible for payment in a civil action is liable to the payee for payment of all of the following:

    (a) The full amount of the check, draft, or order.

    (b) Civil damages of 2 times the amount of the dishonored check, draft, or order or $100.00, whichever is greater.

    (c) Costs of $250.00.

    (5) Subsection (4) does not apply if, before the trial of an action brought pursuant to this section, the maker pays to the payee or a designated agent of the payee, in cash, the total of the amounts described in subsection (3)(b), plus reasonable costs, not exceeding $250.00, as agreed to by the parties.

    (6) An action under this section may be brought in the small claims division of the district court, if it does not exceed the jurisdiction of the small claims division, or in any other appropriate court. If the amount of the check exceeds the jurisdiction of the small claims division, the action may still be brought in the small claims division, but the amount of damages awarded shall not exceed the jurisdiction of the small claims division.