Telecheckmate. Again.

A few years ago, I had my first head-to-head encounter with a company called Telecheck. During a 20 percent discount sale at Half Price Books, I went on a shopping binge and tried to write three checks in a 48-hour period. The third check was rejected, and it really pissed me off. I called Telecheck and ended up hearing an automated message explaining that personal checks may be disapproved based on the frequency and amount of checks written at a merchant participating in their system. It was my first experience with a profiling process. The check wasn't refused because of insufficient funds, but because I fit the profile of a hot-check artist ?

Somehow, I've become ensnared in the Telecheck matrix again -- Half Price Books is refusing to accept my checks because Telecheck won't approve them. Today I called Telecheck again, and jumped through all the hoops required to speak to a human representative. It was a hassle, but I was too fucking mad to be shuttled off to some machine. The young man who handled my complaint had an accent and fit the profile of someone filling an outsourced job, but he was courteous and confirmed what I already suspected.

People who think racial profiling is a good thing have not been profiled themselves and don't expect to be. I've been profiled as a hot-check writer --- it's humiliating and inconvenient and it influences my attitude toward the whole issue of profiling people.