Are people writing you bad checks? Have we got a program for you!

A program expected to make life easier for individuals and business owners paid with bad checks -- and more costly for those who write them -- is starting up in Beaufort County next week.

Previously, when an individual or business received a bad check, they'd have to track down the person who wrote it and send them a certified letter. They then had to wait to see if the person would make good on the check.

If the check writer didn't respond, those holding the bad paper -- or their lawyer -- would have to bring a copy of the check and the letter to a magistrate, who would sign an arrest warrant.

Under the Worthless Check Program, which the 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office is launching Tuesday, all a merchant or citizen has to do is contact the Solicitor's Office, which will handle everything, from sending the initial letter to collecting restitution to getting an arrest warrant.

"The only thing (they) have to do is hand us the check," Solicitor Duffie Stone said. "It costs (them) nothing. It costs the county nothing. The guy who writes the check funds pretty much everything."

In addition to going after money owed to individuals or businesses, the Worthless Check Program charges the check-writer a $41 fee that goes into the county's general fund; $50 that goes to the Solicitor's Office to compensate employees needed to process the bad checks; and $30 to the merchant or individual to cover returned check fees.

"The business person can spend their time running the business instead of running down worthless checks," Stone said.

A high percentage of people who write bad checks tend to settle up when they get a letter from Stone's office, Stone said.

Another reason the program is expected to succeed is the office's access to driver's license and criminal databases, which can help track down the person's real address.

"We have the ability to find these people a lot better than business owners because that's our business. It's not theirs," Stone said.

There's an added advantage to using the Worthless Check Program.

Business owners or individuals pursuing an arrest warrant currently can only get a courtesy summons from the magistrate that requires the suspect to show up for a court date.

The Solicitor's Office is able to get an arrest warrant that will put the person in jail.

The national program already is in effect in Jasper, Hampton, Colleton and Allendale counties.

In the program's first year in Colleton County, which is part of the 14th Circuit District, Stone's office recovered about $89,000 for businesses from 1,647 bounced checks. Only 24 percent of cases ended with the Solicitor's Office obtaining a warrant for the check-writer's arrest.

It is unclear what the percentages are in Beaufort County because only bounced checks that aren't settled are reported to authorities.

Beaufort County had 1,163 bounced checks reported to magistrates in 2007. Roughly 82 percent -- or 959 warrants -- were served or are waiting to be served, according to data from the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office.

The Sheriff's Office has several cabinets full of active check fraud warrants.

In the past year, the Worthless Check Program has recovered more than $250,000 from bounced checks in the four local counties where it has been implemented, according to the Solicitor's Office.

RECEIVED A BAD CHECK?

Call the 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office at 843-470-3725 to get the Worthless Check Program on the case.