4.18.1998

Men Take Business From Dorm Room Throughout Southeast
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

OXFORD, MS - A couple of bad checks have turned into a gold mine for William Alias III and John Lewis.

The former University of Mississippi roommates began their company, Security Check, in their dorm room at Stockard Residence Hall in 1994.

According to Alias, the two got their start in collections after they sold beauty shop invitations to freshmen and sophomore women at Ole Miss. After the customer bought them, the invitations allowed the bearer to try local beauty shops free of charge.

Unfortunately, the coeds were often short on funds when Alias and Lewis tried to cash their checks. The two business students were good at getting their money back, however, and the seed for Security Check was planted.

Soon, the two men were using Alias' sister's computer to grow business for their collection firm, and by 1995 the two had enough clients to buy a house, purchase another computer, and open an office in a spare bedroom.

Alias and Lewis attended Ole Miss in the morning, drummed up clients for their business in the afternoon, and collected against the checks in the evening.

After a while we realized we could do this outside of Oxford," said Alias, and the two men expanded their customer base to Starkville. Eventually Alia' father joined the business as well, adding business expertise and financial support.

Now, four years later, Security Check has 32 full-time and 54 part-time employees in Oxford, and 15 sales and service offices throughout the Southeast. The sales and service offices are joint ventures, half-owned by Security Check, and half-owned by the local sales and service organization.

Besides collecting on a client's bad checks, Security Check sells or rents check verification systems, allowing Security Check's clients to decline checks at the point of sale. The company is linked with the National Check Network, a national database of bad check records.

Part of the company's success is their treatment of debtors. Most bad check writers want to pay off their debt, Alias said, and Security Check's collectors are not allowed to argue with someone who they are trying to collect from.

That philosophy has helps the company collect on between 60 percent and 80 percent of the bad checks it works, Alias said.

Alias declined comment on the privately-owned company's revenues, but said Security Check is committed to an aggressive growth plan.

Security Check www.securitycheckllc.com is a privately owned and operated company that offers a full range of payment and customized process solutions. By offering their clients a customized payment solution, Security Check has been able to develop new products that will enable their clients business to grow.