cheques not worth the paper

Savvy_Sue

I like the idea of pinning cheques to the noticeboard ...

Might also be worth asking any other small shops in your area whether they've had a similar problem, but as others say, it may just be an expensive lesson to learn!

katiepops_2

Maybe the reason your member of staff didn't write the details on the back of the cheque was because she knew the customer??

Kate

challenger_2

Stopping a cheque after you have received goods is an offence. I unfortunately have first hand experience of this as the one that stopped the cheque!!! I bought a business as a going concern. The business books were cooked, there were hidden CCJ's and debts galore!! She had duped one and all. As soon as we realised what was going on we stopped the cheque for the stock but held the stock until monies for the business was returned at which point the transaction would have been null and void. The devil (may she rot in hell) who sold the business then issued a court summons on me for the cancellation. Apparently there is no excuse legally for a stopped cheque unless it is fraud or mis-representation as it is a promise to pay money. We went down the fraud & misprepresentation route but the devil was almost bankrupt, did a rnner from various creditors and a walk away ageement with a court order in my favour was eventually reached a year later ............. but she got the stock back that I had stopped the check for!!!!!!!!!!

My advice ........ you have the persons name and approx whereabouts geographically from the cheque, find their address through the internet and go to your local court and issue a summons against them for stopping the cheque. Put the amount on it and include cost to you and interest. This will make them act. They will not want to engage a solicitor and run up thousands.

J_P_S

its the 1978theft act that covers obtaining goods or services by deception iirc.

"Apparently there is no excuse legally for a stopped cheque unless it is fraud or mis-representation as it is a promise to pay money."

that is correct, it is an unconditional promise to pay so shouldnt be stopped unless you were forced to write it or it was stolen

robertbruce

Hi
As mentioned elsewhere, it is illegal to stop a cheque once issued if the intention is to defraud someone of that amount. TIME TO BECOME A DETECTIVE.

Your problem is a simple one, that of finding the person who wrote the cheque. If it is a scam with a stolen cheque book, you are unlikely to find them as they will have created the situation that way. More likely though is that someone noticed your staff did not take details and is trying an IMPULSE THEFT by stopping the cheque.

Start with what you know and what you don't know until you arrive at an address.

1- You know the NAME, BANK NAME & ADDRESS, ACCOUNT NUMBER, DATE of TRANSACTION, AMOUNT OF THEFT, so start with that.

2- Your staff knows what the person looks like and what was purchased.

Courses of action include-
1- an inside source at the bank giving you the nod (UNLIKELY but possible)
2- making a list of every SURNAME and address from phone book, voters roll, etc. for town and surrounding area. If its no more than a dozen of this surname, then consider a VERY POLITE letter outlining that a customer's cheque of that surname has been returned and you are trying to trace that person to clear up the matter. Be sure to give the perpetrator an easy way out by mentioning that you will be pleased to resolve the matter privately if contact can be made rather than involving the Fraud Squad of the local CID (veiled threat). Ask the reipient of the letter to excuse your approach to them but you are hoping that they know the person who bought the goods.
3- OPPOSITE TACTICS... involve the local paper in a CRIMEWATCH project and ask them to find this person through the public. This will produce a number of results for your store. a) The person will be found and you begin recovery proceedings in the small claims court, b) The public will know not to take you on as you are seen to fight back, c) Your store will get publicity for a couple of weeks while the story runs, even if you never get the £200 back. OR POSSIBLY ALL OF ABOVE OUTCOMES.

Just work out how much time and trouble all this will cause you, and you may just decide that it is a £200 training exercise which will have more impact than a week on a course could ever have had for your staff.

Good luck. Regards. Bob.

A_LANCASHIRE_LAD_2

Have you ever thought that the person that came into the shop & purchased goods from you isn't in fact the bank account holder.... Your member of staff took a cheque (presumably over it's cheque guarantee limit) and didn't "guarantee" the cheque by writing the details on the back, most shop assistants don't even bother to look & see if the signature even matches the card. The bank may have stopped the cheque at the customer's request as their cheque book / wallet was stolen

Jay-Jay_4

I don't know if this has been mentioned already but the sort code of the cheque will tell you where the person holds their account. I would certainly be doing a Miss Marple to find the person.

In the meantime, send a letter via the bank. You never know, they may have stopped the cheque in error ie: given the wrong cheque number when they arranged to stop the cheque.

kavomix

I know this is quite late and you may well have sorted the porblem but a good place to start searching for someone would be at b4usearch.com

You have the customers name, and you also know roughly the area the customers lives in so do a search, and if she is on the electoral register her address details will come up