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CrossCheck · Check verification

Check declined because of a CrossCheck report?

CrossCheck, Inc. decides whether merchants should accept your check or ACH payment, using its own file on your check writing history. If that file is wrong and CrossCheck won't fix it, the Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to sue.

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Who CrossCheck is and who relies on its reports

CrossCheck, Inc. is a check verification and guarantee company founded in 1983 and headquartered in Petaluma, California, with a second office in Southlake, Texas. Its website lists check guarantee, check verification, ACH with open banking, remote deposit capture and multiple-check services for merchants. The CFPB’s list of consumer reporting companies places CrossCheck in its check and bank account screening category and says it serves mainly automotive sales and repair, building supply, home improvement, retail, medical, dental and veterinary businesses.

When you pay one of those merchants by check or ACH, the merchant may run the payment through CrossCheck. CrossCheck says your file report may contain information on your check writing or ACH payment history, which it may use to decide whether to authorize the payment. A decline at the counter can mean a car repair, dental visit or furniture order falls through, often with no explanation beyond a phone number. CrossCheck’s file is separate from bank account screening files kept by ChexSystems and Early Warning Services.

Errors that show up on CrossCheck reports

Check verification files are built from returned payments and identifiers such as your driver’s license number and bank account. Problems consumers report include:

  • Paid checks still listed. A returned check you made good on still treated as unpaid.
  • Identity theft and stolen checks. Checks written by someone else on your account or with your ID.
  • Wrong-person matches. Another person’s history linked to you through a mistyped license or account number.
  • Bank errors. A payment returned because of a bank mistake or an account the bank closed, reported as your fault.
  • Obsolete history. Old returned items that should no longer count against you.
  • Shallow disputes. A dispute closed without reviewing the proof you sent.

How to dispute CrossCheck

CrossCheck’s consumer pages describe how to get your file; its site does not publish a separate dispute form, so use the same channels to dispute:

  1. Request your file report. Use CrossCheck’s online request form and choose either an annual report or a specific check authorization inquiry. For an inquiry about a declined payment, you can list up to six declined payments, including routing and account numbers. CrossCheck says it mails your file report within 15 days of a complete request.
  2. Or call or write. Call 1-800-843-0760, or mail CrossCheck, Inc., Attn: Consumer Inquiry Department, P.O. Box 6008, Petaluma, CA 94955-6008.
  3. Dispute in writing. Send a letter to the Consumer Inquiry Department that identifies each item that is wrong, explains why, and asks CrossCheck to correct or delete it.
  4. Attach proof. Include copies of bank statements showing the check cleared or was repaid, a merchant’s paid-in-full receipt, or an identity theft or police report for stolen checks.
  5. Dispute with the merchant or bank too. The CFPB advises disputing with both the reporting company and the company that supplied the information.
  6. Keep copies of everything you send and receive, and note the date you mailed it.

How to contact CrossCheck

  • Online consumer request form: consumerinquiry.cross-check.com
  • Consumer phone: 1-800-843-0760
  • Mail for file requests and disputes: CrossCheck, Inc., Attn: Consumer Inquiry Department, P.O. Box 6008, Petaluma, CA 94955-6008

Your rights under the FCRA

  • Accuracy (15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b)). CrossCheck must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information in its reports, including matching records to the right person.
  • Reinvestigation (§ 1681i). After you dispute, CrossCheck must conduct a reasonable reinvestigation, free of charge, generally within 30 days, consider the documents you send, and correct or delete information that is inaccurate, incomplete or cannot be verified.
  • File disclosure (§ 1681g). You may see all information in your file and its sources.
  • Free disclosures (§ 1681j). You are entitled to a free copy within 60 days after an adverse action, and CrossCheck and the CFPB say you can get one free file report every 12 months.
  • Identity theft blocks (§ 1681c-2). If you send an identity theft report, CrossCheck generally must block information that resulted from the theft.
  • Reporting time limits (§ 1681c). Most adverse information older than seven years may not be reported.
  • Adverse action notice (§ 1681m). A merchant that declines your payment based on a CrossCheck report must tell you, name CrossCheck and explain your right to a free copy and to dispute.

Can you sue CrossCheck?

Yes, if CrossCheck reported or used inaccurate information because it did not follow reasonable procedures, or if it failed to reasonably reinvestigate after you disputed. Examples include continued declines over a returned check you proved you repaid, or over checks an identity thief wrote after you sent a police report.

What you may recover. For a negligent violation, you may recover your actual damages, such as lost purchases or services, out-of-pocket costs and emotional distress, plus attorney’s fees and costs (15 U.S.C. § 1681o). For a willful violation, you may recover actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, punitive damages, and fees and costs (§ 1681n).

The deadline. An FCRA lawsuit generally must be filed within two years after you discover the violation and no later than five years after it occurred (§ 1681p).

Keep the decline receipt or notice, your CrossCheck file report, your dispute and any response.

Get a free case review

If CrossCheck kept declining your payments over information that is not accurate, do not wait too long. FCRA Attorneys represents consumers in federal court on contingency, so there is no fee unless we win. Contact us for a free case review, or see our FCRA practice and the other companies we cover.

Questions about suing CrossCheck

Can I sue CrossCheck?

Yes, if the facts support a claim. The CFPB lists CrossCheck as a consumer reporting company in the check and bank account screening category. If CrossCheck reports or uses inaccurate information without reasonable procedures, or fails to reasonably reinvestigate your dispute, you may have a claim under the FCRA.

Why did CrossCheck decline my check?

CrossCheck says its file may contain information on your check writing or ACH payment history, which it may use to decide whether to authorize a check or ACH payment. The merchant usually cannot tell you more. Request your CrossCheck file report to see what is in it.

How do I get my CrossCheck file?

Use CrossCheck's online consumer request form, call 1-800-843-0760, or write to its Consumer Inquiry Department in Petaluma, California. CrossCheck says it mails your file report within 15 days of a complete request, and that you are entitled to one free file report every 12 months.

What does it cost to bring a case?

There is no fee unless we win. FCRA Attorneys handles these cases on contingency, and the FCRA lets a successful consumer recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs from the company.

Related reading

Sources

Updated November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.

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