Cheque Clearance Times

f1widow

Hi Im new to this so bear with me - hope i am correct in what im doing - today im very annoyed over cheque clearing times with my bank. I have just deposited a "large" cheque when i asked how long before i could draw on it was told Friday. Now im being told that it wont be until next week end of Tuesday beginning of wednesday - this from all accounts is because i am not "known" in the branch - it is not something i normally do ????? - they are not familiar with the company where the cheque comes from - it is at the managers descretion on how long it takes to clear and this one is going to take the full 6+ days BUT dont worry you will get interest from wednesday - aaaaggghhh i dont want just interest i want my money.
Originally I had asked about special clearing cheque system - this apparently is not so i can withdraw my money earlier just that i can be told it will clear ??? BUT yet again if i was known in the branch etc etc there would be a descretion that i could have my money on Thursday this week
Has anyone else had these problems and if so what did you do i am livid :mad: !!! Many thanks for any suggestions or help

dexters_mum_2

I had to deposit a cheque for £9,000 in my account last year, from a remortgage.

I deposited it on the Monday and was told that it would be available on Friday.

No sign of it the Friday, I was told extra security had to be undertaken on cheques over a certain amount. I was fine with this, as long as they told me in the first place!!

However, we needed the money by the following Tuesday, so I spoke to the branch manager and she said it should clear by the Monday. It did.

Have a chat with the branch and see what they say again.

SPANIEL36

can i ask which bank your with? My bank (natwest) always tell me that it takes 5 working days but always shows on my account within 3 BUT i can only withdraw through the ATM, if i went into the bank and withdrew over the counter they'd tell me it wasn't fully cleared and because i've withdrew it via ATM if the cheque was to bounce i'd have to pay it back, very confusing i know!!!

YorkshireBoy

http://www.chequeandcredit.co.uk/246/-/page/113/

Cat695

its a joke if you ask me they just hold them to gain the extra cash for holding your money......in this day and age it could be done in seconds not bloody days.....example of banks ripping people off

natweststaffmember

F1, the bank are 100% correct under the 2 4 6 clearing system. And yes, NatWest work on the same system. Apologies but it is a Monday

agsnu

Cat695 wrote: »

its a joke if you ask me they just hold them to gain the extra cash for holding your money......in this day and age it could be done in seconds not bloody days.....example of banks ripping people off

In fairness, clearing cheques is necessarily quite a manual process - the cheque is actually shipped back to the branch which holds the account it was drawn against for verification... If you want the money faster, use an electronic payment (BACS or hopefully going forwards Faster Payments).

Aegis

Cat695 wrote: »

its a joke if you ask me they just hold them to gain the extra cash for holding your money......in this day and age it could be done in seconds not bloody days.....example of banks ripping people off

In all fairness to the banks, they actually allow you to start earning interest 4 days before the cheque is guaranteed not to bounce, and allow you to withdraw money against it 2 days ahead of that. If they were covering themselves 100%, they would make you wait the full 6 days before you were able to do either of these things.

Cheques are a seriously out-dated payment method, and there are plenty of much faster alternatives now. This makes the amount of month it would take to speed up the cheque clearing cycle a waste of money.

In short, if you're not too fussed about when the money's available, feel free to use a cheque. Otherwise use Faster Payments, BACS, cash pay-in or CHAPS, the worst of which will clear in less than half the time of a cheque.

Allyson_Kellie

The basic process for cheque clearing in the UK....

visit http://www.taxfreegold.co.uk/clearingcheques.html

silentscream999

natweststaffmember wrote: »

F1, the bank are 100% correct under the 2 4 6 clearing system. And yes, NatWest work on the same system. Apologies but it is a Monday

this is wrong, you work in a bank so you should know this!

if he/she paid the cheque on monday then why should it be available to spend on monday ? by law it has to be made available on friday.

if they take any longer then i suggest you take the bank to court because this is completely illegal and goes against the new rule that came in late last year.

natweststaffmember

I hate being right yet again on cheque clearance. Silentscream999, I am very arrogant when I know what I am talking about, and I present as evidence APACS own site based on 2 4 6.
http://www.apacs.org.uk/payment_options/documents/ChequestheFacts2007FINAL.pdf
Page 5.
Most banks will not allow large withdrawals until the close of business t+6 although withdrawals through the atm and via online will still be permitted. That is what the bank is doing in Post 1 from what I am reading.