N.J. considers ban on mailed unsolicited checks

You may want to think twice before cashing in any free checks mailed by marketers. A New Jersey lawmaker says they’re not what they seem.

You may want to think twice before cashing in any free checks mailed by marketers. A New Jersey lawmaker says they’re not what they seem.

Listen:
[audio: 091130pgchecks.mp3]

They just show up in the mail. Unsolicited checks that if cashed or deposited enroll you in a costly program or make you pay for services you may not want to purchase. Assemblyman Paul Moriarty wants to ban businesses from sending out those checks.

Moriarty: This is really a deceptive practice. Many people especially seniors don’t see the very fine print that says by signing this check and cashing it you have enrolled yourself in a travel club or some other type of club and I think that this practice should be banned.

Businesses that violate the proposed ban would face fines of $10,000 or more. Morarity says his measure will go to the Assembly’s Consumer Affairs Committee, and he’s hopeful it can be enacted before the end of the year.