Convenience Checks Can be Anything But.

Today's tale concerns Loretta and Lucas Yastrebov of Ambler, Pa., and First North American National Bank (FNANB) head-quartered in Georgia.

Last October, the Yastrebovs bought a set of library shelves from Priba Furniture Sales & Interiors in North Carolina for $2,348. In November, they got a letter from FNANB, enclosing holiday convenience checks. You can use the checks to buy goods.

The Yastrebovs knew that consumers have some protection when they buy merchandise with a credit card. If the merchandise is defective on arrival, and the store won't make good, a bank can "charge back" the purchase. Your card is credited with the amount you paid and your bank collects the money from the merchant's bank.

The Yastrebovs called FNANB and asked if convenience checks also had charge-back protection. According to them, the bank rep said yes.

So in early December, the Yastrebovs used one of these checks to pay Priba the balance due. Then, the unit arrived from the factory with two broken glass shelves, inconsistent color and other problems.

Fed up, the Yastrebovs asked FNANB for a charge-back, but the bank refused to reimburse the portion paid with the convenience check ($1,642). FNANB director of account management Daniel Tierney told my associate, Dori Perrucci that "the Yastrebovs want to retain possession of the merchandise" and get the credit, too. "If they return the product, the merchant will issue credit," Tierney says.

The Yastrebovs say they're dying to get rid of the furniture, and just want their money back. Priba's Priscilla Knox says that Priba will repair or replace the furniture, as the sales contract calls for, but will not take it back and issue credit. (They're at a stand-off because the Yastrebovs called a lawyer in.)

The moral here: Don't rely on any consumer protection if you pay for goods with a convenience check.