Consumer complaint received 2016-08-11
Company: COMMUNITY CHOICE FINANCIAL, INC.
State: OH
Product: Other financial service
Sub-product: Check cashing
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
I want to make sure that it is clear that my complaints are not opinions. I will provide attached uploaded documents and lay out the factual events that happened to me by checksmart that are violations of my consumer rights, how I was denied cashing valid payroll checks, denied a right to speak with a supervisor or manager after requesting multiple times and discriminated against for not taking out any payday loans. 
Checksmart provide a lot of services, but their main source for profit is consumers taking out payday loans. I have never ... taken out or needed a payday loan from checksmart. Checksmart also does check cashing, sign consumers up for prepaid debit cards ( which allows you to get umlimited free faxing, copies made and direct deposit ). Checksmart also does money wires, money orders, bill payments and other services as well. In approximately XX/XX/XXXX, I started having some ... .checks and money orders cashed at checksmart, not on a regular basis but sparingly. I signed up for their insight prepaid card which also included the free services I mentioned in this above email and I sometimes pay bills. 

Starting XX/XX/XXXX, I would go into checksmart to do one or more services but again ... never ... a payday loan. I was told almost continuously that the computers were down and they could not help me. I thought this was odd. I waited a while and went back into checksmart in approximately XX/XX/XXXX and all of the employees were new. One of the new csr 's told me that all the employees that were there were fired because they were not helping alot of people who were NOT taking out payday loans and doing other illegal activities in the office. I was concerned about those type of people having access to my information. I went back into checksmart in approximately XXXX XXXX ( I felt it was safe and secure with the new people that were hired ) to cash a check that was about 2 months old and the check was verified and cashed. I am blessed and usually do not have to get my payroll checks cashed immediately & some of my payroll checks are direct deposited. I have multiple employers as well. About a month later I had another old check to cash, it was cashed. I went back into checksmart in approximately XXXX XXXX and was told the computers were down. Since I had not been told this in awhile I thought ... .that the computers were probably actually down. I went back into checksmart XXXX XXXX. XXXX to cash another payroll check. The csr/named XXXX told me it would be {$5.00} to cash the check and started cashing the check by writing on the check, stamping the check for deposit and running the check through the scanner. XXXX then said she has to verify the check and that she was sorry she did n't notice she had to verify before she started cashing my check. XXXX called my employer and talked to the help desk department. I advised XXXX she needs HR Payroll not the help desk. Another csr/by the name of XXXX started to argue with me and said she took XXXX classes and she does not need HR to verify my check. I advised XXXX that the help desk would have no access to my check information but HR Payroll would. XXXX and XXXX refused to contact hr payroll. I requested a supervisor. No supervisor was in the office so they called a csr by the name of XXXX who they said was the office lead. I explained to XXXX what was going on. XXXX apologized for the fiasco and said she will provide coaching to XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX instructed XXXX to call my employer back on a 3 way with me on the line. We called my employer at XXXX and talked to helpdesk rep. ( XXXX ) who said I was correct in what I said which is that XXXX needs to speak with HR Payroll NOT the helpdesk. XXXX said she will tranfer us to the correct department. After a ... See continued complaint below

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation