Whole Foods is experimenting with refusing to accept checks at locations in California and Arizona. As a high end retailer, they don't have many customers who write checks to begin with. The eventual goal is to ban checks chainwide if there's no pushback from customers.
Clark was in a discount store and had two people writing checks ahead of him. He thought the guy behind him was going to kill a woman who insisted on filling out her register before handing her check to the cashier!
But the real danger comes if somebody steals your checkbook and passes checks as if they were you. Retailers can swear out a warrant for your arrest if the check bounces because of insufficient funds. And that's even if you put a stop on the checks and close out the account!
Now, you can ultimately sue the store for false arrest, but who wants the headache of being imprisoned?
The solution? Don't carry a checkbook on your person. Keep your checks under lock and key at your home or business.
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Many years ago I had a gas station I went to regularly and the clerk tried to refuse my check because I didn't have a fixed work number. Nevermind that they had all my information and I wrote checks there at least twice a week. Once I got a debit card it made that hassle a thing of the past.
As for safety of debit cards vs checks, a thief doesn't need either to clean you out. A checkbook is just one less thing for me to carry around and worry about losing somewhere.