COLUMBIA (WACH) -- Bounced checks, it’s something business owners have to deal with on a daily basis.

But a program with the solicitor’s office is helping to reduce worthless checks.

The Worthless Check program allows businesses to collect on money that has been written to them in the form of bad checks.

Solicitor Dan Johnson says it’s a free program that’s open to business owners in Richland and Kershaw County.

Once a business owner joins the program you can turn in a bad check to the solicitor’s office and they will try to get back the money that’s due you.       

“So what we do is we will run the check down for you. We'll send them a letter and say you've got to pay this check. If you don’t pay it then we will seek a warrant against you. If you do we won't seek the warrant. You'll have to pay the check plus the fees from the bank and also a fee to the government,” says Dan Johnson, 5^th Judicial Circuit Solicitor.

If you’re the guilty party and do not follow the solicitor’s efforts to retrieve the money you could be arrested and face criminal prosecution.

Johnson says the program will help bring in about $60,000 -$80,000 in bad checks.

To help bring awareness to local business owners the solicitors office has also setup the Worthless Check street team.

Johnson says this program is also open to individuals as well who have been trying to cash a bad check.