Ask Micki: Bounced Check

Question: Hi, Micki, I have a question about an awkward situation that just happened to me.  I have been tutoring someone in junior high for about 2 years now.  I have always gotten along well with my student, and my student's parents.  My student's test results and homework improvement have been excellent, too.  Overall a great experience, and never any problems.  Until now, that is.

Tonight, I went to cash the check from my student's parents and it bounced.  I feel really awkward bringing it up to them, but I need to get paid in order to pay my own bills, etc.  I am not sure if they did this on purpose because money is tight, or if they honestly didn't know what would happen. Thoughts or suggestions on how to handle this?

Thanks!
Anonymous in CA

Answer: Hi there, Anonymous.  Sorry to hear about the awkward situation.  Billing issues can definitely be the not-so-enjoyable part of the tutoring business.

The good news is that chances are it was an honest mistake on the part of your student's/tutee's parents.  I am almost 100% certain that they did not mean to give you a bad check, nor did they intend for this awkward billing issue to happen. 

I remember way back in my early college years I had switched bank accounts, and accidentally wrote out a check from the wrong account - the one that had been closed.  Of course the check didn't go through, I was embarrassed, and I made sure to keep better records in the future.  The point is that mistakes happen, and they are usually easier to fix than you may think.

What I would do is discreetly bring up the issue to your tutee's parents while your tutee is out of the room.  Mention that there was a problem with the check, and politely ask if there is any way that you could get your tutoring payment again.  Make sure to bring tutoring billing records, tutoring log sheets, etc. with you.

They will probably be a bit embarrassed by what happened, and will do what they can to make it right ASAP.  Give them the benefit of the doubt.  It could have been a simple bank account mixup.

Whatever you do, stay polite, patient, and professional - besides this one billing issue, they sound like dream clients that you want to keep. 

Good luck and, as always, happy tutoring!