Just wondering-- when you write a check, how does the bank and or credit card company and or gas company know exactly the amount you're filling out the check for? Yes, it's really kind of easy in a lot of regards in that a lot of people have nice, clear handwriting and take the time to write their check with their nice handwriting but a lot of people (not me, of course) have bad handwriting and don't spend a lot of time making their checks legible. So, if say, you fill out a check for $28.78 but make the $28.78 part (or even the name of the company you're writing out the check for) so illegible that it doesn't even look like $28.78, how is the bank supposed to know? Do they just guess? Have handwriting experts to study it? Just take out a lot of money thinking that that's what the check writer would want?