Use CERTIFICHECKS by Friday at the Commissary!!

The clock is ticking: You have until close of business Friday, July 31, to redeem those old commissary gift certificates known as CertifiChecks.

Just present them to the cashier at your commissary when you pay for your groceries.

However, customers who were deployed or away on temporary duty from March 6 to July 31 will get an extra year to use the CertifiChecks. The Defense Commissary Agency has extended their deadline to July 31, 2010.

To get the year’s extension, customers must complete a form certifying that their duty took place for the entire period from March 6 through July 31, and have a supervisor sign it. The form can be downloaded and is also available in store customer service areas and cash offices. The customer must present the signed form along with the gift certificate at the time of purchase.

DeCA is looking for a “replacement solution” to the CertifiChecks program, said agency spokesman Kevin Robinson.

CertifiChecks Inc. of Dayton, Ohio, went out of business Feb. 26, leaving customers of hundreds of businesses and associations around the country holding worthless gift certificates. The Defense Department agreed to allow commissaries to continue to accept the gift certificates, and the commissary agency will absorb the losses through its retail stocks account in the Defense Working Capital Fund. Between that time and July 18, certificates with a face value of about $732,705 have been accepted by commissaries, according to Robinson.

CertifiChecks Inc. filed for bankruptcy in April.

The military exchanges also used the CertifiChecks program, but their policies regarding the certificates vary:

* The Army and Air Force Exchange Service and Coast Guard Exchange Service continue to accept the certificates, with no cutoff deadline at this time.

* Marine Corps exchanges and Navy exchanges stopped accepting CertifiChecks on May 31, but each continues to offer gift cards in exchange for the full value of the CertifiCheck.