BOP Program Statement 8535.01 § 4

An unavailable check action must be initiated for checks that are unavailable or not in the

possession of FPI or the U.S. Treasury, when one of the following circumstances arises:

■ The payee reports a check’s non-receipt, mutilation, destruction, loss, or theft.

■ It is determined the payee is not entitled to the check’s proceeds.

a. Unavailable Check Action. The unavailable check action is used to determine the payment

status of a check not in FPI’s or U.S. Treasury’s possession and/or to request a photocopy, if the

check has been paid.

FPI personnel must submit a request for an unavailable check action to the disbursement officers.

The request must contain adequate information to process it through TCIS, including:

■ Vendor number.

■ Amount of check.

■ Date of payment.

■ Reason for cancellation.

If any vendor master information is incorrect or requires updating, FPI personnel will refer the

inquiry to the FPI Procurement Branch.

Upon receiving the request, a disbursement officer must process the request via TCIS within two

business days. The disbursement officer will notify the requestor after a status determination has

been made.

b. Available Checks. An available check is one physically in the possession of FPI or a vendor

and still negotiable. Upon occasion a vendor may receive a check in which one of the following

situations may occur:

■ Vendor not entitled to the proceeds.

■ Duplicate payment.

■ Holder/payee not the same (check issued in the wrong name).

Under any of these circumstances the staff member first notified of the situation must request the

vendor return the check immediately to the FMB Central Disbursement Section in Central

Office.

All checks returned to the FMB Central Disbursement Section must be defaced with the words:

“Not Negotiable - For Payment and Credit in the U.S. Treasury’s Account.”

c. Incorrectly issued EFT. Errors with EFT payments include the following and must be

resolved by the appropriate FPI personnel.

■ Vendor not entitled to the proceeds.

■ Duplicate payment.

■ Incorrect vendor master file information.