At 08:51 PM 12/23/96 -0500, you wrote:

Equifax does business by tracking reputations, as do all credit reporting companies. That's how a free market handles bad checks.

Even worse is an outfit called Telecheck. All they do is see if you have a listed telephone number. Since I do not give out my telephone number, and it is unlisted, an autobody shop refused to accept my check, and I ended up having to use a credit card. The idiot teller refused to call the bank to check my balance. What does a listed telephone number have to do with ability to pay?