Bounced Checks: How Local District Attorneys Get a Cut of the Debt Collection Business

CNN and ProPublica produced this story about local District Attorneys who are outsourcing debt collection on bounced checks, most often to a group called American Corrective Counseling Services, or ACCS.  ACCS splits the money collected with the government offices, but also makes money by charging exorbitant fees for financial literacy classes.  ACCS often falsely claims that consumers are required to take the class to avoid criminal prosecution.

One couple who bounced a check for $14 ultimately paid $285 for the mistake, including the $160 they paid for the class fee.  Read the article here.