FISGlobal.com / Certegy
Reviews and Complaints

I cashed a Student loan Check from my College a few months ago... It took about 3 times for Walmarts cashier to get it through. I received another check and tried to casdh at the SAME WALMART today for within $100 of the 1st check amount. They gave me a computer generated paper slip stating that (Reason: 1 "we cannot cash this check. this is based on information from Certegy Check Services." ) The Walmart associates in Holly Hill, FL were CLUELESS as to who Certegy is and would NOT Call my College for approval or the bank BB&T (BOTH #'s listed right on the check) They asserted that it was declined for no apparent reason by Certegy and there is an 866 # to call... So, I went outside after being embarassed by the Management and staff of this Walmart and called Certegys #, providing my Check # and Amount to an automated message, supposedly the transaction was in an effort to protect Walmart and me from fraudulent check activity and was reported to the Merchant, which is Walmart., that it's Ok.. I went back in and they ran it through some machine after I jumped through hoops and provided my SS # SEVERAL times. It was Still declined for Reason: 1. No explanation and no answer from a live Certegy Rep. Their automated message suggested I go to askcertegy.com...I entered the information online on 2 separate browsers because the 1st Firefox was not going through...as I write this, half an hour later the browser search is still going round and round on both browsers. Who regulates these people? WTF

complaint I filed with Walmart and the FTC:
" I wish Walmart would look into Certegy's check verification service.
On 11/20/2014 I attempted to cash a payroll check from Rice University in the amount ot $271.25 at Laporte Texas store # 5116.
I was instructed to input my SSN into a data input device. I was then informed that due to Certegy reason code 2, that they were unable to cash my check.
I assumed that reason code 2 was an indication that something in my credit history prevented me from cashing the check. On the print out I was informed that under the FCRA I had a right to know what was in my check transactions file at Certegy .
When I called the 800 number for Certegy I was told that I was unable to cash the check due to "analytical models" and " risk factors" related to the check itself ( and apparently not due to my credit history/report) and that the transaction had been declined for that reason.
I suspect that Certegy may possibly have given me in- correct information since the decision was made after I provided my SSN AND I was given a written printout that I had a right what was in my check transactions file.
If in fact the transaction was denied due to a SSN-based credit check, then I believe Certegy had a duty to inform me of that to give me a chance to correct any possibly inaccurate information in my credit report.
If Certegy based their determination not to cash the check solely on a SSN-based credit check then I do not think this was proper, since the determination should have been based only on whether or not the check was valid, and not on the credit-worthiness of the check presenter

Details of transaction:
11/20/2014 Store 5116 OP# [protected] TE# 93 TR# 09989

I wrote a check to pay for my purchases at my local target store. Certegy disapproved the check - my good check - for no justifiable reason. I own the check book, I own the bank account, I have banked with the same bank for 15+ years, no bad checks ever, and here I was at my local target store where I could not make and pay for my purchases because of certegy. After many humiliating minutes later in front of store clerks I know and a teacher from my kid's school standing behind me in the line, I went home and called certegry. After speaking with two of their staff, I got nowhere. They had the nerve to tell me to enroll or subscribe to their vip services so these things don't happen again. I suspect malpractice of sorts here! They wanted more information about me and skirted the issue and tried to trap me to their service, which I am sure will maliciously track all my transactions. I refused. Then they solicited my social security number. I refused. Their manager on duty was off-duty, telling you so much about their company culture and customer service. It is a shame of a company and more shame to target for using them to drive loyal customers in good standing like me!

I received a money order purchased with cash at a walmart in tennessee. I can't find anyone including walmart to cash the money order in georgia. Even liquor stores who cash anything said "we will cash any money order except a moneygram. Its too difficult to get them to pay!". Walmart called the verification number and the money order is fine. Then they called certegy who rejected with a reason code 2. So walmart doesn't want to cash it either. Called certegy check services and I get "the system says no its not me but the system"... Still can't even find out from the company why i'm getting a reason code 2? The money order was paid for in cash. What's the problem people? Doesn't anyone know how to use their mind these days? I'm sending back the money order so that my friend can take it back to the original walmart in tennessee to get the money back. I have since received a personal check from them which has already cleared the banks and still haven't been able to cash this money order. I will never use another moneygram! They take your money but don't pay...

I have gone to Lowes to purchase items that totaled $21.71. My check was refused due to Certegy. When I call them they are very rude, cant answer questions I have asked. I contacted my bank and Lowes. My bank says they have never heard of this company, while lowes says they cant do anything about it. This is quite embarrassing since at the time I had over $800 in my bank. This is the 2nd time in 6 months. I will not shop at Lowes as I am not going to be looked at badly again by the people behind me in line or the checker. This practice needs to be stopped. I am going to try and get this company shut down. It is total BS for people to go through this.
You can respond to me by emai at [protected]@msn.com

I was denied cashing my State of CA payroll check at Walmart on Saturday. They handed me a teeny slip of paper with Certegy's phone number on it, citing them for the reason. I spent several minutes trying to contact them as I was instructed on the paper, to find out what the issue was, but got nowhere. The number was an automated call center, and they had no record of the transaction at all. So I had to go to a Moneytree and pay $60 to get the darn check cashed (my credit union is USAA, and they only have ATM's - which hold all but $150 of your check for several days until they can verify it will clear, even though it's a payroll check. This makes my rent late, so I started going to Walmart, cashing the check and depositing the cash. No waiting period, and it only cost $6. Not today). So on Monday I looked Certegy up on-line and found a more direct number, where I got a live person. That person looked high and low and was unable to find any record of the transaction, or any negative record of me. Their explanation to me? Sometimes the connection is bad, so they just deny the transaction. Sorry. I am so pissed! This was embarrasing and expensive, not to mention inconvenient. I complained to Walmart, but of course the stupid girl there didn't care one iota. This company has too much power, and no accountability. Is there no oversight for this kind of thing?

Forgot my debit and credit cards at home but had my check book with me but when I went to pay for a $100.00 gift card with a check I was told Lowe's could not accept my check, Certegy had Code 2 my check. The statement on our Lowe's printout was that the check was not rejected because of bounced checks and I know we had plenty of money in our checking and money market accounts.
When I got home I called Certegy to find out what happened and waited for a half hour to connect with someone who sounded like they were in India. In order to get a copy of what caused this rejection I was asked to submit the check number as well as the routing number, but when the person asked for my social security number I said 'No'.

I am very concerned that this company and it's companion TeleMark are operating an identity theft scam with the blessings of these big box retail stores and our legislators. For absolutely no apparent reason I was blocked from paying for a transaction with a check and in order to find out why the transaction was blocked I am suppose to provide ALL my person information to the company that itself has a bad history of analyzing data and blocking checks for no reason whatsoever! Seems to me that the company has a very big incentive to block checks and by doing so get voluntary surrender of personal information. I am concerned that this info is then sold off to another 'legitimate' or not 'business'. Why are there no checks and balances put on these high ended crooks?

How does one get a class action against these companies and the retail stores that hire them? How do we get legislation drafted and placed that give protection to the consumer from these sharks?

Heads up about Certegy Check Services, Inc.—per an Aug. 15, 1013 press release at www.ftc.gov, “Certegy Check Services to Pay $3.5 Million for Alleged Violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Furnisher Rule” and in 2013 were assessed a “Penalty that is Second-largest in a Fair Credit Reporting Act Matter” and ordered to change their complaint, etc., procedures—which apparently doesn’t sound like
they did. My advice is that everyone who has had a check declined by them for no apparent or legitimate reason should contact their Congressmen mentioning the problem and the above mentioned legal action concerning this company and file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission on their website or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP [protected]) which is mentioned on-line in the above mentioned press release.

I filled up 08/14/13 at Murphy Oil and had no problem paying by check. Then again on 3/12/14 and 5/02/14 I filled up with gas as I have done for years at the same Murphy’s. Suddenly this time on both occasions I was told they could not take my check and told me I had to contact Certegy Check Services and was provided with a printout giving Certegy’s number & info they required. When I called the [protected] number they could not give me a specific reason why they refused to authorize my checks for cashing. They only gave “examples” why they do what they do. I have good credit and checked with my bank which looked at my account records and stated there was no reason why
my check should ever be declined. I asked to be sent a report showing what is in my file which is mentioned in the printout that Murphy gives you when your check is declined.

When I received the report it showed 6 transactions going back to 10-21-12 and listed in the following order and with dates, amounts, check numbers, client, and disposition: Dollar General, 2 different Staples, and 3 for the same Murphy Oil. All were authorized
except the first Staples and the last 2 Murphy Oil. I called Certegy back and told them that the Staples “Not Authorized” was incorrect because it was not declined and I have
the bank statement to prove it…had it been declined it would have been voided and never have reached my bank. The person indicated she had no proof to such and couldn’t pull up the report. I gave her the Control Number on the report which it says to do when calling about the report but she still claimed she couldn’t access it. I told her to put a supervisor or someone who could access on the line…I was put on hold and then
disconnected. Calling back I got a different person and went through the whole thing again. He couldn’t use the Control Number either and said the people that handle that are at the CPRS Self Risk section and their number was [protected]. I called them
and she determined he sent me to the wrong place because they had nothing to do
with it and their control numbers were 9 digit beginning with 2 and mine was 10 digit beginning with 1. So I called Certegy back and got yet another person and went through the whole deal again. This time I’m told basically same as the previous 2 times that he can’t get the control number to bring anything up so he is referring it to “Research” and they should contact me within 3 to 30 days. Well I told him I would be looking for somewhere else to file a complaint in the meantime. Nobody seems to know what they are doing or they are being coached (because I was always put on hold several times while they conversed with supervisors) to beat around the bush and act that way. There whole purpose is to get your personal info including bank routing numbers and account
numbers so they can empty your accounts or sell the info to someone else who will as noted elsewhere on line.

They are noted as a risk management company and appear to be a subsidiary of Fidelity National Information Services so Certegy simply wants to force people to supply them with their personal info.…remember recently in the news how financial info was sold to thieves overseas by another U.S. company so they could steal people’s identity. They are forcing you to give up your info and still not guaranteeing they will correct the problem. This causes a real inconvenience for people and lets other people standing around think you bounce checks or are a deadbeat. Even if you take your business elsewhere, if they use Certegy, you will encounter the same problem.

If I hadn’t had a credit card or cash to pay for it, would they call the police and have me charged with theft of gas or impound my car until somebody else came along to pay for it
because they certainly wouldn’t siphon it out! This company needs to be stopped! The government cracked down on them once but it didn’t help and as long as people sit around and do nothing it will continue. Complain to the right people and let the government go after them again for their failure to comply with the first civil claim. My
Congressmen and the FTC are going to hear from me…you need to do the same.

Went to Walmart today to cash a student loan check and was denied with a reason number 2. I can wait to cash the check and that isn't even the issue, this is the second time that this has happen and I can't understand why, and no other information is given besides reason 2, which is apparently is supposed to mean that the person cashing the check doesn't have enough check cashing transactions, so therefor the person is denied. Or from what I can understand is it could be a fraudulent transaction or fake check. Well, lets see. It is a student loan check that came from the state with all the watermarks fingerprint things and a knight. It has my name on it, I have proper ID, but nope, not allowed to cash it. I refuse to use a bank and I like to use cash instead of having some greedy bank steal money from me.

Not to mention they had a class action lawsuit against them for hiring a criminal database administrator that stole and sold peoples information. Now if this company cant even do a simple background check on one of their employees that has access to every single piece of information available, why would anyone want to use them as a fraud prevention 3rd party adviser?

Went to walmart to cash payroll check and deposit funds to my walmart debit card as I had done every 2 weeks for the last year. Certegy Check Services declined to cash my check and the recorded message that I was told to call stated that "it had nothing to do with me or my check, but the computer analyzes patterns and this was a preventitive measure designed to protect consumers from check fraud and identity theft. The amount of the check (which was the same amount as it had been for a year!) was above the limit that they were willing to take a chance on at this time and no one in customer service has the authority to override this decision." I spoke to a customer service rep anyway and they so helpfully suggested (it is now 4pm on Friday and Monday is a bank holiday for Memorial Day) that I find another place to cash my check! The manager on duty (who looked to be 12 years old) repeatedly stated to me that Walmart has nothing to do with that Walmart Money Center or Certegy.

I was denied cashing a cashiers check at the walmart in Whitehall, pa. on april 10, 2013 at approxitemately 6:35 pm. the check is valid and it is dated april 8, 2013. as a result of this company policy, whatever the hell they are, I was put in shame and my car gave out of gas because I depended on that money to refuel. this Certegy company is a joke and I am interested in joining in on a class action lawsuit.

I have a Walmart check cashing Debit card which I have had for almost 9 years. I have my checks automatically deposited. I also cash checks at the Walmart Store that are not set up for direct deposit. Today I went to cash a deposit return from my utility co. compete with the stamped signature and full payment stub, the check was made out to me, with my address which is the same address have had for 12 years. Walmart went through the motions, then said they could not cash it because a check cashing co. stopped it and I was given a number to call. The Walmart employee told me she could cash it that same night if I call now. I did but could not get a hold of any actual person. The recording asked me for the amount and proceeded to tell me it had nothing to do with my past check writing transactions. They said sorry for the inconvenience and hung up on me. I tried to call back three times and each time the same exact xxxx. So I asked the customer service checker to call a Mgr. I explained to her that I had the amount in my Walmart check cashing acct. to cover this check, and I told her what hapend. she said she cannot cash the check, because they cannot overide this company. Walmart Corp is a sham and so is the xxxx they sell and the xxxx they dish out. Synergy or Cynergy Curtesy check serives, or whatever their called, is a fraud and should be stopped from imitating a business in money mgmt services. Walmart speaks for themselves.. .

I had recently relocated (within the last week) to Indianapolis, In., and was in a local Hobby Lobby buying stuff for my new home, had a complete cart full, obviously decorating an entire house, you can imagine how long that process takes and how fun and exciting it is to find all of it and the idea of having it in your home only to get to register, go thru the pain staking process of checking out to only have the little clerk run my check three times, call over a manager (did I mention there was only one checker and a TON of other customers behind us) to be handed a little slip saying they cant accept my check for whatever reason and that I have to call this company, Certegy to get an answer; well after my complete embarassing moment I went out to my car and called immediately only to get an automated system asking questions pertaining to the transaction (of course no option of a LIVE person) to be told they could not vertify any information and did not see why it would have been declined and that my transaction was at the discretion of the merchant; well that wasn't going to work apparently and I still can't get a straight answer from them or bank as to why I was declined; So now, after my embarassing moment I am truly afraid of writing a check anywhere ever again. Not sure what direction to take now since Certegy isn't going to be a help, and my bank obviously can't tell every merchant I go to that my check is good; having never written a bad check I really am not sure why I should even continue using a bank, maybe I should go back to the old way of things and put my money in my mattress; Automation is a two step forward and one backwards.

I pruchased a MoneyGram on 04/09/2012 at WalMart, when I tried to use it at WalMart on 04/29/2912 it was declined. Their explanation from WalMart Customer Service was there was a problem with me and the nature of the transaction ?. I bought the Money Order at WalMart and wanted to use it at the same WalMart. The only mistake i made was givign WalMart $1200 that they could then refuse to return.

I have called Certegy multiple times to complaint that my personal checks are not been honored by Von's Supermarket located at Lake Mead Blvd & Buffalo in Las Vegas, NV and at Albertson's Supermarket located at Craig & Tenaya in Las Vegas, NV. Every time I call the number [protected]) given to me by both stores, the reps I speak with say I do not have a negative report in their system but yet the checks keep been denied. I do have money in my checking account to cover the amount. I have not had a returned check from any supermarkets anywhere. I do have an Identity Theft on the 3 Major Credit Bureaus which took place in 2008. I mailed the police report and all pertinent information Certegy requested of me. I had been cleared since 2008 and now all of a sudden these 2 entities are denying my checks and no one can give me a straight and correct answer and the problem persists. I would like to find out why is this happening? I want this problem solved and my checking privileges cleared. Thank you.

I wrote a check at Target for $217.95 on a checking account that had $4000 in it at the time and it was DECLINED by there checking service Certegy. I was told to call them to clear it up. I knew that it would take awhile so I just used another bank card so I could complete my purchase. When I got home I called Certergy and waited 20 minutes to talk to someone and then was told I was not declined because of my account or my credit but because the "program" said that my check was a risk. I went round and round about what was the exact reason but they could not tell me. They could only tell me that it was a "Code 2" which is a hard code in the system. I asked "What does Code 2 mean?" answer "Neither myself or boss know it is what the program says". Why can this company decline me and not give me a reason. They cannot even tell me if it will happen again or not. Shouldn't they be required to give you a reason so you can make sure it doesn't happen again? My very favorite part of the situation was this following conversation: me "So you are telling me that after waiting 20 minutes to talk to you, and then wasting another 20 minutes actually talking to you, about why I was declined you cannot tell me anything?" response "Yes". Please help stop this madness.

I wrote a check at Marshalls on March 8, 2012 and was declined by Certegy; I have excellent credit, the money is in my bank; I could not see any reason why my check was decline; the employee gave me a card and told me to call a company named Certegy; I called and was told that the check was declined not because of any negative reasons but for preventive reason; this is a scam.

The cashier checked me out and the total came to $115.77. I didn't have bank credit card with me and the cashier said I could write a check. The check was denied by Certegy. The manager was called and a long waiting line had formed. They moved me to another register and they rang up the order again. Once again the check was denied. I had over $600.00 in my acciount and naturally I was shocked. I was told to call certegy but was unable to get an answer. The Manager told me theat I would get an answer when I called the 800 # on my receipt. They did not ovver an explanation but said the check was denied for preventitive reasons. When I lloked up the company on Google I saw numerous other complaints and also reference to a lawsuit against the company.

I went to our local Lowes to purchase materials for a job on my business account & they gave me a slip to contact Certegy. They said in recording that a 524.11 check was unpaid. I immediately logged into my on-line banking service & discovered the check WAS PAID by my bank. If Lowes continues to use Certegy, they will lose several thousand dollars in business from me. If Certegy is going to say these things, then I DEMAND that $524.11 be put back into my account! I see many complaints on these idiots. Sorry Lowes, if you use someone of this caliber, & lack of honesty & integrity, I prefer to do business elsewhere!