advice on how to deal with cheque lost in post

gymfiend

I was once told, when working for an anonymous bank , that cheques never actually clear and the funds will always be available for recall? My job was BACs recall so I never went in depth - anyone know if this is true?

pinkgem

lightisfading wrote: »

It's not always free to cancel cheques. HSBC generally charge about £15 O_o

I have to laugh at people who get all paranoid about cheques 'having all their details on'. Yes. They do. So why do you use them?? I used to work at HSBC and the amount of dodgy cheques out there is amazing ... as such I only ever use them in an emergency and wouldn't for random people on ebay.... and if I had any more money in the bank I wouldn't use them at all :rotfl:

by the way, pinkgem, I just noticed you talk about cheques being 'added to your account the next working day' .... you do know they're not cleared then, right? they can 'bounce' up to the 6th working day after being paid in.

when i phoned my bank regarding the lost cheque they advised getting the buyer to cancel it and said it should be free of charge as it was presumed to be lost in the post so i passed this information on to the buyer and they have not notified me that they were charged.

i'm not sure what my buyer expected me to do, maybe he wanted me to send the item anyway, even though i had not actually received the funds for it.

when i said added to my account i meant that it gets paid in the next working day and is showing on my statement when i check my account online the following day. yes i am aware that cheques take 6 working days to clear.

pinkgem

gymfiend wrote: »

I was once told, when working for an anonymous bank , that cheques never actually clear and the funds will always be available for recall? My job was BACs recall so I never went in depth - anyone know if this is true?

i believe they are clear after 6 working days now.

soolin

gymfiend wrote: »

I was once told, when working for an anonymous bank , that cheques never actually clear and the funds will always be available for recall? My job was BACs recall so I never went in depth - anyone know if this is true?

It used to be true but changed about a year ago (was it that long). If you look on the board that deals with bank accounts they will explain the 2-4-6 rule that most high sttreet banks adhere to.

pinkgem

last night i sent him a message saying that it was fine to cancel the sale and i said i would inform ebay what he wanted to do so that they can cancel the transaction (and so i can get my fees back,but i didn't say that bit)

well he refused to agree to the mutual so i won't get my fees back, even though i was entitled to as i didn't receive payment and buyer no longer wants the item!

i put the reason as "buyer does not want the item" as he said he wanted to cancel the sale and i put a note in the dispute

"Buyers cheque is presumed lost in the post after being sent to my bank 2 weeks ago but never reachingmy account. Buyer would now like to cancel transaction."

so he has chosen the option that he wants to continue with the transaction (?) but wrote in the dispute:

"i sent cheque to seller she then said she forwarded cheque to her bank, which was lost in the post, because of this i have decided not to send another cheque"

no feedback yet but i'm expecting a negative as that was the last feedback he left for someone else when an item failed to arrive.

i suppose there is nothing i can do about not receiving a final value fee credit or whatever feedback i receive.

i should have just done a full unpaid item dispute stating that i had not received payment (i'm expecting a neutral or neg anyway) so he'd have got a strike!

pinkgem

i feel like playing dumb and sending the buyer a message like

"thanks for informing ebay that you would now like to complete the transaction after all, i'm so glad to hear that you've had a change of heart, please let me know how you would like to make payment, thanks"

but i think i'd rather just leave the situation as it is at the moment and try not to 'annoy' him anymore and do all i can to prevent a neutral or negative feedback..

i am certainly never going to accept cheques or postal orders again, it's immediate payment by paypal only from now on.

lightisfading

gymfiend wrote: »

I was once told, when working for an anonymous bank , that cheques never actually clear and the funds will always be available for recall? My job was BACs recall so I never went in depth - anyone know if this is true?

It was up until a couple of months ago. It's now changed so that after 6 working days you're safe.

lightisfading

pinkgem wrote: »

when i phoned my bank regarding the lost cheque they advised getting the buyer to cancel it and said it should be free of charge as it was presumed to be lost in the post so i passed this information on to the buyer and they have not notified me that they were charged.

i'm not sure what my buyer expected me to do, maybe he wanted me to send the item anyway, even though i had not actually received the funds for it.

when i said added to my account i meant that it gets paid in the next working day and is showing on my statement when i check my account online the following day. yes i am aware that cheques take 6 working days to clear.

Sorry pinkgem, I think my post may have come over in the wrong 'tone'? I wasn't disbelieving what your bank said more felt like it was worth mentioning not all banks are free. And from working in a bank a LOT of people think cheques clear instantly :rolleyes: so thought it might be worth mentioning.

Chippy_Minton_2

lightisfading wrote: »

Sorry pinkgem, I think my post may have come over in the wrong 'tone'? I wasn't disbelieving what your bank said more felt like it was worth mentioning not all banks are free. And from working in a bank a LOT of people think cheques clear instantly :rolleyes: so thought it might be worth mentioning.

I'll second that, my bank charges for cancelled cheques, if the're crossed and signed. Funnily enough its free if you lost a full and blank cheque book, can anyone work that one out?:rolleyes:

lightisfading

because a fully written out cheque can only be cashed by one person, whereas a full blank chequebook can be forged to hell and back. i guess the charge is a deterrant to writing a cheque to someone then cancelling it before they can cash it.